"Ever been called a terrorist?" This is just a taste of what it's like
to think and act in Cole's shoes in Empire City. This game has plenty
of moments that make you sit back and think about what just happened or
could based upon your actions. It's easy to pick up, fun to play, and
will leave a lasting impression when the credits finish rolling.
Story-A
very compelling narrative about your actions in a drastic situation.
Whether you are good or evil you will find near the end of the game
being Cole McGrath is NOT about just blasting and shocking things. The
games story is about 12-17 hours long depending on how you play and
with enough replay value for those who want it. I've spent about 40ish
hours with it and almost have the Platinum trophy so it has enough
there to make you coming back for more. The story is told through
clever comic book cut scenes and in game dialogues. It hosts a variety
of voice actors who do a top notch job across the board. My only
complaint is that whether good or evil Cole is hard to make out if he's
being GOOD or EVIL from his voice tone. It's also a bit of a shame that
in the comic book cut scenes you don't see a visual representation for
how evil you have become. Without giving anything away though it will
be the story that will really make you enjoy this game and is the
reason why it earns the score it does.
Gameplay-This game plays
of course very reminiscent of the Sly Cooper games back on PS2. What
does that mean? Very fluid gameplay that leads to make your own fun.
You'll be jumping, air gliding, climbing, grinding rails, zapping, and
just all around having a "shockingly" good time. ;) The best part about
the game play when you are doing quests or the main story arc is
nothing ever feels forced or difficult to learn. It's just pick up and
play things almost all gamers will automatically understand from
previous games they've played. The game will automatically put you into
a difficulty setting on your first time playing based on how you do on
the tutorial portion of the game and if you aren't satisfied with the
results just bump it up or down a notch to meet your gameplay style.
The gameplay however does get bogged down by the tedium of repetitive
quests. You will feel a real sense of deja vu from the 3 islands of
Empire City as you'll be doing each side quest at LEAST 3 times if not
more. The variety is there, and some of the side missions are fun, but
the majority will be very uninspiring. It's one of those rare cases
where unless you are a completionist you should just skip plenty of the
side missions if you know it's a repeat of one you've done before.
Graphics-The
game doesn't WOW like Uncharted 2, but comparing an open sand box to an
adventure game is apples to oranges. inFAMOUS does look great, better
than any sandbox game that comes to my mind. The games graphics are
supported though by a great art style both in the in game and the comic
cut scenes. The attention to detail is shown all throughout and when
this game is compared to something like Prototype you will know who the
real winner is graphically without a doubt. The one issue though this
games graphics suffer from are pop in issues, but they aren't a game
breaker by any means. Adding to the pop in note I should point out
again if you compare this game to Prototype you will laugh at how small
the amount of pop in is when stacked against Prototypes suffering
amounts.
Sound-The voice acting is spot on. The sound effects
are all very enticing to the ears. The only problem with this game
sound is the lack of a real soundtrack. Every once in a while organic
sounds come in that should be the moment for amplifying the theme of
the moment in a mesmerzing tune, but instead you are left with maybe 10
seconds of odd noises that don't give the player any feeling. It's just
all melodies, if you can even call them that, which you won't be
whistling in the shower. This is strange to me since the early
previews, developer interviews, and even the demo were talking about
how the soundtrack in the game was going to be amazing, but feel far
from that mark.
Fun- The most important factor to not inFAMOUS,
but any game. Is it here? Yeah and in big amps. You'll come away with a
great 12-15 hour romp through Empire City on your first play through,
and with plenty to do and see you'll wonder where the time went. The
only part I stress again that takes away from the fun is the deja vu in
the side missions, but that aside you will have one of funnest
experiences in a long while with inFAMOUS.
8.5/10. An amazing
story packed with fluid gameplay will let you have an awesome romp in
Empire City. However the lack of REAL music scores, more mission
variety, and more development time could've made this game a MUST BUY
instead of a MUST RENT. It's a shame what 2 more months really could
have done and it's a bigger shame when the side quests you spent time
on to create are the things I highly encourage people to stay away from
due to deja vu...
