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DJ PagesINFAMOUS
inFamous -
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Full Review
Infamous is one of those typical superhero games/stories that starts with a bang. Literally. An explosion erupts from the minute you press start on the menu engulfing you in a blast of electrical energy and turning you, Cole, from an ordinary guy into a supercharged electrical superhero.
The city is quarantined and everyone, including the ferocious gangs that have overrun the local districts, are stuck with no way in or out. Cue the start of a brilliant adventure.
Giving anything away in the story would be a spoiler so I'll stick to just saying that the story, no matter what path you choose, doesn't differentiate that heavily from the main plotline and it's safe to say there are a few nice surprises thrown in that I wasn't expecting. The only gripe I can find with the story is it doesn't last very long. If you shoot through the story and ignore the side missions, it'll last about 12 hours or so. Which isn't bad but this game almost demands that you play through twice. Once as a villain or hero and again as the other side.
This point leads nicely onto the karma bar. The choices you make dictate how people perceive you so while shooting innocent pedestrians in the back may seem like a grand day out, keep at it and the people in the street will start throwing rocks at you and boo you at every corner. On the other hand, if you save people and use your magical healing power, people will take pictures and wave at you.
Personally I felt the evil and good choices in the story were well done and the mindset of Cole, who sounds like Solid Snake for some odd reason, weighs up the pros and cons of each situation with startling realism where on some missions if you seem like you're doing the right thing, sometimes you're doing the complete opposite. This attention to choices is evident from the off and makes for a very compelling play that definitely warrants a second play-through (not just for the trophies) but also to see what difference the opposite action achieves.
I never pay particular attention to graphics but after the likes of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2, it's safe to say the graphics aren't as spectacular as those games but still holds its own. However, the odd pop-in does occur, especially when you're grinding along train tracks or gliding across buildings at a fast rate.
The gameplay to inFamous is astonishing. Despite the graphical quirks and the small bugs scattered in the game, the game itself is just pure old fashioned fun. It takes the best parts of a variety of games including Grand Theft Auto's open-world, Fallout 3's good/bad scale and Uncharted's superior jumping and throws them all into a blender to achieve an amazing feat. With such an emphasis on scaling walls, its refreshing to know that as a superhero, falling 700 metres from the tallest building will not only not damage you, it can also be changed into a special shockwave move that literally explodes everything around you.
The moves unlocked through the various substations that need recharging, are spread out nicely and keep the pace of the game alive. Once a new move is unlocked, it takes a little while to get used to using the move in combat but as soon as you get to grips with it, another move unlocks. This makes for a very satisfying experience in comparison to so many games that gift you all the special moves within the first 20 minutes of the story and then leave you to your own devices.
The sound effects are top notch and although the voice acting of the supporting cast could be better it's overall a pleasant experience. There isn't much music within the game which is a bit of a disappointment as I would have liked to hear something, even a mellow symphony, underneath the action when I was scaling walls finding those blast shards. The trophies are also extremely fun to achieve and instead of a ridiculous "finish the story in under 10 hours without being dying once" chore of a trophy, the game instead has relatively easy to achieve trophies that make for a much more satisfying experience.
Overall I would highly recommend anyone who ever wished they were a superhero when they were little or wished that someone would make a decent superhero game to try out this fantastic PS3 exclusive. This is a must-buy for everyone and if I had to choose between an inFamous 2 and a new Grand Theft Auto, I know where my money would be. Roll on inFamous 2!
Conclusion Scores
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Story -
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Gameplay -
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Sound -
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Lasting Appeal -
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