inFamous

Pros • Choice of good or evil paths • Awesome selection of superpowers • Great mission variety • Solid movement and controls • Powers can be upgraded	Cons • Enemies have ridiculous aim • Some camera problems
Bottom Line An awesome superhero game.

"I have a new favorite game on the PlayStation 3. Hello, InFamous."

Jason's Score: 9.0

Why does this game appeal to me so much? I love open world games, especially when they decide to completely drop the pretense of realism, and just give you crazy abilities and encourage you to use them without restraint on their virtual streets. Saints Row 2 remains a favourite of mine for that reason. InFamous goes further by giving you Marvel/DC level superpowers before turning you loose. That's why InFamous is a hit with me.

InFamous is an open world game in which you play Cole McGrath, a courier who gets the power to control electricity after a mysterious blast levels his home town of Empire City. Unfortunately said blast originated from a package Cole was carrying, so the world at large looks upon him with suspicion, to say the least. The government has cordoned off Empire City. Gangs, shadowy government agents and secret societies comb the streets looking for the Ray Sphere, the MacGuffin that gave Cole his remarkable abilities. So, will you become a selfless hero protecting the innocent from these conflicting interests, or will you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil, because you're confident that nobody can out-evil you?

As I noted in my preview, Cole's arsenal of powers is simply awesome. Although this is a new game, the powers have a logic and a consistency that make the game feel like it's based on a rich, ages old mythology, just like a long-running comic. Also, it's really cool when they blow s*** up. By the game's end, Cole will have the ability to zap people with bolts from his fingertips, blast cars and people out of the way with a wave of his hand, block incoming fire with an electric shield, glide using electro-magnetic propulsion... and more.

There's a real visceral feeling to shocking an enemy into submission, then going to the nearest traffic light to suck out the juice and be ready for more action. Even the obligatory Sixaxis power is pretty wicked: a powerful electric storm which you can guide by tilting the controller, annihilating everything in the storm's path.

The game unveils these powers gradually and allows you to use experience points to upgrade them over time. You collect XP with every enemy takedown, every completed mission and every collectable you find. It's paced to make you feel like you're becoming even more superhuman over time. It also encourages you to do all the side missions (more on those in a sec), engage tougher opponents and heal pedestrians, all to get that precious XP and make yourself more powerful.

Movement and control in the game is excellent, combining some the best aspects of open world games like Saints Row, Crackdown and Assassin's Creed. You can't drive cars, but you don't need to. You can climb up buildings easily, as long as they have a slight ledge here and there. You have perfect balance, and can jog along wires and thin ledges without fear of falling. Even if you miss a ledge, no biggie. Cole can survive any drop, as long as it's not into water. Later, you'll get the ability to glide and grind along electrified wires and rails so you can get around even faster. The game auto-targets nearby ledges and surfaces when you're free-falling, so climbing and jumping is not only intuitive, the game encourages you to try crazy leaps of faith and it feels really cool when you pull them off. There are some camera issues when you get caught in a tight corner, but nothing game-killing.

Mission variety is another strength. InFamous has everything from "go here, kill that" to item hunts which are a nice break from the fighting. You'll get an image of a hidden box of Blast Shards, which are used to increase your personal power reserve. You need to look around the area and identify the landmarks in the picture so you can find the Shards. There are also some nifty missions where you take on armoured and even airbourne vehicles.

Though you are a lone hero, the game manages to find a reasonable excuse for putting in a checkpoint beat the clock race. Even the escort missions--often the kiss of death in games--are pretty fun. I loved it when I had to escort captured prisoners to jail, giving them the occasional jolt to keep them moving. What's nice if you lose the odd prisoner you just don't get as much XP; the mission doesn't fail because you weren't perfect.

The game allows you to become a hero or an anti-hero, depending on your choices. This is handled decently, presenting itself in two forms. The first is the civilian population, who often get caught in the crossfire. If you want to stay pure, you can't indiscriminately rain death on the city streets during a fight. Fortunately, civilians do run off and you can heal the ones that take some damage, so your ability to fight isn't totally handcuffed. Also, I like the fact that you can cause the odd bit of collateral damage without fully committing to the evil side.

In any case, sometimes the citizens are actually useful. If your good Karma is high enough, they'll toss rocks at your enemies. When you're dealing with a dozen of the bastards, this can make a difference. Of course, if they're pissed at you, you'll become the target of the rocks.

At other times, the game will pause and clearly present you with an ethical decision. Cole will muse about the ramifications of the two paths, then it's your call. For example, you might complete a quest and a grateful citizen rewards you with a single Blast Shard, but you see his stash wide open behind him and contemplate frying him and just grabbing the lot. This method works fine for the most part, but some decisions are pretty obvious and do little to challenge the player. There were also a few occasions were my Karma shifted but it wasn't clear why.

As much as I like InFamous, all is not perfection. The graphics aren't the most impressive you'll see on the PlayStation 3, though they aren't bad by any means. The enemies have unearthly accuracy with their weapons, and that can be a real annoyance. I've been hit by foes who are so far away they don't appear on my radar. I've experienced one or two odd glitches, including one that prevented me from completing an optional mission. However, for the most part the game performs pretty well. One load at the beginning, and then it's clear sailing.

The game tells a pretty good story, and has decent voice acting. There are some pretty deranged characters to contend with, like Sasha, another super-powered being who let the voices in her head call the shots long ago. I do have one slight issue with a late game twist. It's difficult to discuss without spoiling, so keeping it vague: you are given a choice that produces the same result either way, but the game has to cheat in order to make that outcome happen. Still, I am tempted to let it go because it gives the ending of the game more emotional weight.

Speaking of which, the game is nicely set up for a sequel, but fortunately it has a proper ending and not one of those "ambiguous" (read: incomplete) endings that made Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 end with a thud. I am really excited at the prospect of a sequel, and hope InFamous catches on so we can spend months discussing plot clues while Sucker Punch works on the follow-up.

There are those who complain about the glut of open world games, but I am not one of them. InFamous may not be entirely original, but it does what it does well and it feels like the developers were determined to put their own spin on things. The result is something I played through obsessively and hope to see more of. Please tell me there will be sequels and DLC, preferably both.

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