Infamous
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Infamous opens with the main character, Cole, lying on the ground, broken and bruised after surviving a massive explosion. You control Cole through the opening sequences, learning the controls as you begin to discover the gravity of the situation. Someone gave Cole the package that caused the explosion and now everyone thinks Cole is a terrorist. You are thrust into the ruined city and your actions will either push it farther into ruin or save the citizens from the corrupted people who now rule the city.
This premise seems awesome, and it is, but it would have been nice if the player was afforded more choices throughout the game. You can be good or evil… that’s about the extent of the moral dilemma in Infamous. The thing is, you never really feel like you are in control of your reputation. If you play good, people still hate you. If you play evil, you will be forced to make decisions in favor of the greater good on some occasions. While this limits your control over the character, it allows for a more directed narrative, which makes up for the slight loss of freedom.
The main draw of Infamous is your ability to move through the city in a variety of speedy and usually destructive ways. You’ll scale skyscrapers, grind on wires, propel yourself with static electricity and generally fling yourself from rooftop to rooftop in search of your next objective. Movement is unique since Cole seems to gravitate toward objects. This allows you to achieve flashy jumps with speed and confidence but it can be annoying to be pulled to an object when all you are trying to reach is the ground below. Overall, the fluidity and ease of movement that the controls lend outweigh the few moments when your intentions are misread.
Combat is brutal, especially if you play as an evil character. You have many electric powers at your disposal such as grenades, force push and a final power that will blow you away, but the citizens of the city don’t take kindly to your terror and will do their best to get in your way, throwing rocks to knock you down when you climb and punching you when you’re on the ground. By the end of the game each encounter will be a spectacle with cars and reapers (the game’s enemies) exploding left and right.
The story is told through comic-style cut scenes that are excellently crafted and add a very unique style to the game. In truth, most of the story is gleaned from the city itself and the missions you complete as you work to unravel the mystery behind the package.
A great strength that infamous has is its cohesiveness. The moral choices, music and graphics lend a certain feeling to the city which, in turn strengthens the story and makes you feel like you are actually affecting the city. For example, if you play evil, the sky is blood red by the end of the game and pedestrians make death threats and attack you at every corner.
Infamous is a game with a solid mechanical foundation and enough polish to make it shine where other games may fall flat. Infamous is a perfectionists dream with 350 blast shards to collect, dead drops to find and many side missions to complete- all fun because the game’s radar hints to their locations. The choices you make connect you with the characters onscreen and you’ll want to play it through at least twice to see the differences a few kind words, or a few more innocent pedestrians fried could make.
This premise seems awesome, and it is, but it would have been nice if the player was afforded more choices throughout the game. You can be good or evil… that’s about the extent of the moral dilemma in Infamous. The thing is, you never really feel like you are in control of your reputation. If you play good, people still hate you. If you play evil, you will be forced to make decisions in favor of the greater good on some occasions. While this limits your control over the character, it allows for a more directed narrative, which makes up for the slight loss of freedom.
The main draw of Infamous is your ability to move through the city in a variety of speedy and usually destructive ways. You’ll scale skyscrapers, grind on wires, propel yourself with static electricity and generally fling yourself from rooftop to rooftop in search of your next objective. Movement is unique since Cole seems to gravitate toward objects. This allows you to achieve flashy jumps with speed and confidence but it can be annoying to be pulled to an object when all you are trying to reach is the ground below. Overall, the fluidity and ease of movement that the controls lend outweigh the few moments when your intentions are misread.
Combat is brutal, especially if you play as an evil character. You have many electric powers at your disposal such as grenades, force push and a final power that will blow you away, but the citizens of the city don’t take kindly to your terror and will do their best to get in your way, throwing rocks to knock you down when you climb and punching you when you’re on the ground. By the end of the game each encounter will be a spectacle with cars and reapers (the game’s enemies) exploding left and right.
The story is told through comic-style cut scenes that are excellently crafted and add a very unique style to the game. In truth, most of the story is gleaned from the city itself and the missions you complete as you work to unravel the mystery behind the package.
A great strength that infamous has is its cohesiveness. The moral choices, music and graphics lend a certain feeling to the city which, in turn strengthens the story and makes you feel like you are actually affecting the city. For example, if you play evil, the sky is blood red by the end of the game and pedestrians make death threats and attack you at every corner.
Infamous is a game with a solid mechanical foundation and enough polish to make it shine where other games may fall flat. Infamous is a perfectionists dream with 350 blast shards to collect, dead drops to find and many side missions to complete- all fun because the game’s radar hints to their locations. The choices you make connect you with the characters onscreen and you’ll want to play it through at least twice to see the differences a few kind words, or a few more innocent pedestrians fried could make.
