Opening Thoughts:

As far as PlayStation 3 goes I’ve been having some trouble finding games that I actual find fun and exclusive. I often go for Xbox 360 games when it is multi-platform solely because most of the people I know are on the 360 and no one I know uses a PS3. But that awkward period between my PS3 and myself seemed to pass when I purchased Infamous.The game has you take control of Cole McGrath a bike messenger boy who seemed to have been given quite an explosive package to deliver. Horrible puns aside the game follows a pretty standard path of an open world video game.

Gameplay:

There are scattered missions throughout the world that you can choose to do; from escort missions to time attack across roofs. What makes the game dynamic are karma missions. There are 15 karma missions that have you take a bad side or a good side. Once the mission is done it locks the opposite mission forcing you to be entirely good or entirely bad in order to lock all of Cole’s power upgrades. There are also things you can do to further your virtuous or vice side. Reviving people who have been attacked by gangs or sucking them dry once they are incapacitated is almost seamlessly placed into the game, though after a while it sometimes feel as if you are going out of your way to do it. With the title being Infamous it can be implied that actually becoming infamous would be easy and that is essence is correct. There are far too many ways to become a bad guy while the only real way to become a Hero outside the game is reviving people. Destruction of cars. people, and simple and catastrophic idea that pops into your head will push that little meter down a wee bit more each time. Though with that being said, some of the neutral things you do advance your good karma once it has hit a certain point. Cleaning up the city of Empire City aside the obligatory missions move the story along. Exploration of the world is good if not lacking in a few departments. You have your collectibles in blast shards and dead drops but the feeling of collecting all the blast shards seems a bit over whelming and more time consuming than its worth. Dead Drops are satellites that are easily located with a radar like sensor on the map that points out the nearest one, though obtaining them makes for a little challenge here and there. There are some powers that making getting around Empire City much less of a hassle and feels more fun than a chore, which in the beginning of the game felt like it would drag on forever.

Story:

Now to be honest it was difficult for me to invest into the story at first. I was given my standard gruff voiced protagonist who had choices to make. It wasn’t until around the second half of the game does it truly get good and it is definitely worth the wait. The ending of the game is a clear view for a sequel. Cole delivered the bomb that gave him super powers, now everyone wants said bomb to potentially give everyone else powers. It is a used plot but it fits well into this game because it is shown in a new way so it feels fresh. Cole is a one man army bent on getting everyone he cares for out of the hell city while helping or harming those he come across. With such crucial decisions it can make one feel like they truly have control over the fate of the city.

Combat:

The combat (in all its super powered lightning glory) is a little bit in the lacking department. You have you standard lightning strike but then you advance those moves as the story progresses with lightning bombs and lightning sniping. The melee combat was almost never used and some of the good side powers were simply either too boring to use or simply too destructive to use due to the collateral damage it caused, once again pushing your karma further down. Being Infamous though causes a wide variety of destructive abilities to be at the players finger tips, though as the game goes on enemies don’t know when to stay down and on harder difficulties it can mean death to not clean up that one enemy who should, by all means of logic, be snuffed out. Boss battles are few, I think I recall fighting one or two bosses that didn’t become a standard enemy.

Characters:

Incidentally there are very few characters that are in this game. Trish, the disgruntled girlfriend who seems to be a real pain in the arse at every turn simply because the explosion that gave you your powers killed her sister, QQ. Zeke, who in my opinion is one of the best characters in the game, is the best friend and conspiracy theorist. Moya, your employer who promises safe exit out of the quarantined Empire City for finding her husband John. The bad guys are few as well, with Kessler being the main antagonist, gangs, and a former employee of Kessler named Sasha.

Overall:

Overall this game is a good pick up even if you aren’t a fan of the open world. If you don’t mind a few bugs here and an unusually medium sized world to explore than this game is something that could be fun. Feeling like Cole is fantastic and charring your enemies even if sometimes it can become a little excessive lets you fulfill the lightning powered dreams you’ve always had.
Gameplay: 8.5
Story: 8
Presentation: 9
Replay Value: 10
Overall: 9