inFAMOUS



Main character Cole, being titularly infamous.

As part of Sony's Welcome Back program, one of the games I picked up was inFAMOUS, a sandbox, free roaming game where you play Cole, a courier who unknowingly unleashed a massive electronic explosion and is now a superhuman with electric powers.  The game's story unfolds as you explore Empire City's three districts, restoring power, taking back the streets from hoodlums, and uncovering the mystery of the explosion that leveled a few city blocks. 

The game is from Sucker Punch, of Sly Cooper fame, and it feel very similar.  On other games, this might be a bit of a bad thing, but for Sly and inFAMOUS, the balance works excellently!  The third-person camera is mostly cooperative (as it was, except for exceedingly painful moments in Sly) and the addition of electronic powers fits nicely.  There's cover, which I despise, but if you go headlong into a bulletstorm and die, the game is mercifully forgiving, starting you at the beginning of missions or in a convenient spawn location.

Considering it was on the docket as a free game, I wasn't sure how well, altogether it would frame up, but I was pleasently surprised at the length, depth, and altogether enjoyment I got out of this game.  More (and spoilers) after the jump.

First, let's get my main criticism out of the way.  One of the things the game runs on is a Karma system, wherein your powers and even the environment is shaped by the dichotomous good and evil of your actions.  Subtley is completely thrown out the window as you are asked to chose between stark decisions such as "should I put myself at risk to help these people," or "should I kill them all and watch them bleed for fun?"  I have a little more fun when this sort of thing is done with some ambiguity, like the faction system in Fallout: New Vegas.  The choices in inFAMOUS have no ambiguity at all, and Cole even provides inner monologue to that effect, "gee, if I help this orphaned kitten get an education, he'll become a productive member of society, but if I kill him, it'll be funny."  Actually, I guess helping orphaned kittens could be ambiguous. 

Other than that, I will admit that - while I enjoyed it - the story was a bit contrite.  Mostly told through the collection of audio diaries dead drops, you get to learn some background.  However, your best friend betrays you, and the FBI agent you're working with betrays you.  Playing video games has made me relatively certain that anyone offering help towards me is secretly trying to further their own agenda and will screw me over the moment I've beaten their rival to death with a 9 iron.

However, what does it really matter?  At the end of the day, I got to shoot lightning out of my hands while grinding on electric wires and train tracks.  And it's fun to jump around the buildings and other structures (almost everything is climbable, which is way more fun than relentless searching for the one surface you can grab on to).
 

Grinding on the wire.  This was more fun than I thought it'd be.

In addition to finding the dead drops, Sucker Punch follows its example from Sly Cooper's clue bottles and has distributed 350 blast shards across the sandbox urban terrain.  Finding the shards increases your energy, and they are relatively easy to find, but are a source of frustration for completionists seeking a Platinum trophy for the game.  Like the clue bottles, there's no need for you to find the shards, it just makes you more powerful.

As it was one of the two "big" games available in Welcome Back, and a PS3 exclusive, you've likely played it, but if you're looking to pick it up, the market is currently saturated with them (there were 6 copies in the bargain bin at Gamestop yesterday), so it shouldn't be hard to find.