Official Infamous Second Son Thread of Bringing the Thunder

The reviews are in. Generally speaking, the gameplay/game design tends to be be praised, the simplistic, morality systems and story complained about. Happily for Infamous, its an action game, so the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. The length of the game the reviewers played is 15 hours (per side).

There is a day one patch (not factored into reviews) that adds what Sucker Punch claims are 5 hours of additional content. For the full details see Solid's post (fourth post in this thread).

Screenshots and Gifs stolen from Dualshockers (who stole them from the GAF).

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787961

http://www.dualshockers.com/2014/03/17/stunning-infamous-second-son-animated-gif-shows-the-games-world-plus-eight-spoiler-free-screenshots/

Gamespot - Second Son focuses on pure enjoyment. It communicates that through the excellent combat that forces you to concoct crazy tactics to overthrow the invading forces. It draws you in further through its incredible visuals that not only hint at the PlayStation 4's impressive power, but employ a sensible artistic touch that makes Seattle a place you want to explore. It uses a complementary score to underline dramatic moments, and the sound effects pop with flair. And yet, for all of the elements in which Second Son excels, the narrative fails to carry its share of the weight. Still, don't become mired in the negativity as Delsin so often does. Instead, just laugh at the cheesy dialogue and chortle at how extreme the morality system is. Second Son is a great game that knows exactly what it is, and sucks you in with its unfiltered fun. - 8

IGN - Open-world superhero action games are about freedom and empowerment, and in these regards, Second Son is really impressive. Seattle is a big, beautiful playground for you to stomp around in with a set of devilishly fun and powerful toys at your disposal. It plays great, and it looks even better, but its advancements also beg it to be held to a higher standard, one that its overall story and morality systems struggle to reach.8.5

Eurogamer - Overall, it's good clean fun - so it's a shame that Second Son suffers from a consistent failure of imagination in how it's put together. There's not been much of an attempt to shake up the mission scenarios or structure of the game, leaving you with a very rote open-world adventure. Follow the waypoint marker, chase the suspect, investigate the scene, wipe out the jackboots; hunt the collectables and tick the boxes. You've been here many times before. The collectables and side missions all contribute to reclaiming districts from the DUP, which organises them into chunks and structures the reward usefully, and they've been judiciously pruned - but this is good admin rather than great game design. - 7

Destructoid - Second Son is by far the best inFamous yet. If you're a fan of the series, then checking this one out is a no-brainer, and if you're not, consider jumping in with Delsin. You don't need any prior knowledge of the franchise to do so, and if you have any appreciation of open-world superhero games, you'll enjoy it. - 9

Kotaku - Second Son doesn't just do shinier versions of the things previous Infamous games did. It multiplies and extrapolates on those things, letting them intertwine in really satisfying ways. So you get some skills that have choice built in, like sniping that lets you automatically go for headshots (evil) or hobbling (good.) You're a hero—or anti-hero, if you so choose—who can change the nature of his super-ness on the fly. There's a brief sequence in the last third of Second Son where Delsin's powers glitch out. You're forced to run past folks getting beaten up and you can't help. It feels pretty horrible, at least if you're playing Delsin as a good guy. That feeling is testament to how much the game pulls you in. Second Son feels like a game made by a studio reaching the peak of its own powers, on a new console that it's helping come into its own. - Buy

Dualshockers (they are a fansite, but one I use often so its only fair to include them) - To me, “next-gen” means seeing and experiencing things that weren’t possible in the last gen. This is the first game I’ve played that has convinced me that it could ONLY be fully realized with a current gen console. Tech babble aside, this a great and extremely fun game to play and replay. It isn’t 100% perfect but any gripes I had were overshadowed by how brilliantly designed the game as a whole was. inFAMOUS: Second Son is easily the best game I’ve played on the PlayStation 4 and the best example out there of how amazing the current gen can and will be. - 9.5

Polygon - I struggled with feeling let down that Second Son isn't a brilliant shift for action games. My small disappointments come mostly as a result of undeveloped potential. It had a chance to be a superhero game about more serious issues as well as a showcase for the power of the new generation of consoles. Instead, Second Son is more of the Infamous I already loved last generation, prettier, with more powers and better writing. But Second Son still kept me excited to discover each new power set and happy to shoot fireballs at fascist thugs long into the night. Maybe it's not so bad to just let go of responsibility and blow stuff up once in a while. - 8.5

Reserved for space.

I have been playing Infamous 1 and 2, and am falling in love all over again. Both games are phenomenal. Infamous 1 has a fantastic story that really takes off when you get to the second island, and manages to produce a series of absolutely thrilling last 15 or so missions. Infamous 2's missions are rather tame, but the combat is godly. So many options, and the game is quite the looker too. No wonder Second Son looks so much better, Sucker Punch had already started producing impressive visuals with Infamous 2.

Wow. Sucker Punch is releasing free Single Player DLC for this game that will provide an additional 5 hours of gameplay.

On top of that there will be performance updates on the Day 1 patch as well.

Full 1.01 Patch Notes:

Cole's Legacy Content Pack

• FREE with pre-order
• Explore the events immediately following inFAMOUS 2
• Work with an investigative reporter to understand the source of conduit powers
• 4 story missions, approximately 1 hour of gameplay

inFAMOUS Paper Trail Storyline

• FREE bonus missions and exclusive web content
• Innovative online and in-game story arc co-developed by Sucker Punch and 42 Entertainment
• Manga and murder, follow the trail of origami doves to discover the full story behind the D.U.P.'s occupation of Seattle.
• 19 story missions and corresponding web-based investigations, approximately 5 hours of unique gameplay.

Difficulty Balance

• Normal difficulty has been slightly increased to challenge the player’s mastery of their powers
• Expert difficulty has been fine-tuned to ensure it is the best experience for skilled gamers
• Karma progression extended to support longer playtime

Boss Fights

• The boss fights have been re-tuned for difficulty and fun
• More dynamic boss behaviors and attacks

Pedestrians and DUPs

• Engine performance tweaks to allow for more life and activity in the city
• Increased pedestrian and traffic density and variety
• Increased pedestrian-related karmic opportunities
• Post-story enemy activity and D.U.P. raids

Technical Improvements

• Graphics and performance improvements
• Fixes for a small number of infrequent blocking bugs
• PSN integration to support Paper Trail DLC

I liked how Infamous 2 had lots of superpowered and giant sized enemies to fight and I loved how some of the buildings (okay, the warehouses) could be so thoroughly destroyed.

Have you tried Festival of Blood? It lacks the moral choice aspect of the main games and is of course quite a bit shorter, but it has everything else.

I've successfully stayed in blackout mode when it comes to gameplay so I'm going to learn what Delsin's additional powers are as I play.

Can't wait. McTroll didn't like the main character it seems... and a lack of side quests might have hurt the GS score.

yeah, Festival of Blood was great. I loved the flying power. Especially when you fully upgrade it.

I am tempted to go to Walmart and pick up this game at midnight. BUT I hear you only get the Legacy missions if you pre-order the game, and I dont think Walmart does preorders.

I'll be picking up my copy from Gamestop tomorrow before heading into a long shift at work. Chances are, I won't be able to sit down and play it until I return home, but the game itself does look stunning and full of potential. This will be the first game in the series I'll be delving into. :)

I recently ordered my copy on PSN (using the spend $60 get $10 back PSN deal) so I will have it at midnight, but I go to work very early in the morning so I'll just wait until after work.

SO hyped for this, ^^ Shame Tom doesn't like the character... but it's all about opinions, personally I love the arrogant tool archetype *Enter Dante <3*

@IncisionX: If their is one thing Tom should be an undisputed expert on, it's unlikable characters.

@CarnageHeart: I knew only about the two powers that were talked about pre release but after non chalantly reading Eurogamers review, I now know the third (they spoiled all four without warning but I scrolled down before reading the last). I will say at least, without context the third doesn't make much sense to me so I'm not bummed about being spoiled, I'm actually intrigued at how it works.

Other than that, I've seen no trailers and avoided most screens so I'm very excited to see this game on my tv tomorrow.

@Randolph: hahhaaha.

I still remember watching his Infamous 2 review in which he complained about playing the game in black and white because he kept getting hit by enemy fire. The problem was that the footage he showed was when he was on top of a car with unlimited Electricity so he could've simply pressed R2 to heal himself.

lol here it is. My god the youtube ratings are brutal. Worse than the new Farah Abhrams music video. What's funny is that I defended his review at the time. The game does have some questionable design decisions (headshots are no longer one hit kills), but he did a poor job explaining his point of view. The video review also showcased that he didn't exactly know how to play the game.

@S0lidSnake: Video review footage isn't really indicative of his skill. Most video footage they gather, from what I understand, isn't captured by the reviewer. It's usually someone else on staff -- probably one of their video producers -- playing it solely for grabbing gameplay footage.

Holy cow. The game looks absolutely gorgeous. The IQ is insane. The beginning just looked so smooth and perfect.

I was surprised at the heavy emphasis on the story at the beginning. It's not bad either. Deslin is funny and kind of a jackass, but Troy Baker makes him very likeable. I was very impressed with the serious or should I say genuine tone of the cutscenes. They play it straight after being kinda cartooney in the last two games, and they pretty much nail it.

Not a lot of gameplay so far, but shooting smoke bullets leaves a satisfying impact on enemies. I also like how quickly we are getting powers so there is no fucking about despite this being a reboot of sorts.

Overall, it's been all about the presentation so far and everything from the gorgeous graphics to the impressive writing/acting has been top notch. This is Sucker Punch graduating and joining the big boys like Naughty Dog.

The game looks stunning.

If you pre-order the game at Gamestop, you'll get the Limited Edition. Not sure if that's what you are planning on doing in the end though, but it's a suggestion! :P

Jim Sterling's Escapist Review if anyone is interested.

"Bottom Line: The best in the series to date, inFAMOUS: Second Son tells an amazing story and gives players a ton of relishable power to play with. It's held back by some outdated and formulaic ideas, but overall it'll keep players happy."

I didnt preorder the game and got the limited edition. The first shipment is likely all limited editions.

I love that sulphur mod for those flame shots, which causes the enemy to cough when you score headshots, leaving them open for takedowns. Beautiful effect, too.

Bought it for the graphics, not disappointed. Amazingly beautiful game with tons of detail...I just sat there with a smile on my face as I watched the skin on that old lady's face around her nose and chin wrinkle as she talked. Had I been paying attention to what she was saying instead of the real time skin wrinkling I might know her name. And raindrops hitting puddles *tear** it's so *voice breaks* ...beautiful.

Pretty familiar gameplay. Typical open world design. The enemies react nicely to being hit and overall combat feels more visceral than what I remember of previous games.

Powers feel more spectacular and the game is giving them to you at a faster pace to match the inclusion of multiple powers this time around. They figured no point in waiting...want to turn yourself into a meteor? 20 minutes in.

Yeah probably the best looking console game I've played... Bodes well for future games.

lol her name is Betty and that was quite an emotional scene. You missed out on all the drama, graphics whore! :P

Or was her name Becky? Whatever, i have always been a graphics whore.

What do you think about earning no XP from killing enemies? It seems all the upgrades are tied to blast shards which means there is no incentive to get into random enemy altercations around. Why am I even taking out the cameras and enemy patrols then? Whats the point of getting 100% in each sector?

@S0lidSnake: What do you think about earning no XP from killing enemies? It seems all the upgrades are tied to blast shards which means there is no incentive to get into random enemy altercations around. Why am I even taking out the cameras and enemy patrols then? Whats the point of getting 100% in each sector?

Some of the unlocks are behind karma walls. And you can get karma by subduing baddies or completing the radiant events. But mainly I just do them because I'm enjoying the powers.

100% is to unlock the area mission and a waypoint. I did one area mission and it gave me something...I can't remember what...a vest and something else.

I usually stick to the story quests in open world games. Side stuff generally doesn't do anything for me, though I'm doing it here to get shards since these particular collectible doo-dads actually have a use (imagine that, Ubisoft!). But I have also been doing the tagging and the audio files...the former because I miss JGR/JSR and the latter because it's story related...I think they both add some character to the game, which is more than I can say for typical open world side-missions. Secret agent thing was kinda meh, but there was so much carnage actually running him down after I found him.

Pretty much exactly what I was expecting, and wow, the game is so damn good looking.

@Ish_basic: Yeah, they unlock fast travel and new jackets. Cant figure out how to equip it though.

I'll get to it at some point. I only have several hours in for the 2nd one. Loved the first game

Just go into your options screen where you power up and hit L2/R2 until you get to the screen where there's a picture of delsin...use the left and right digital pad buttons to page through the vests. They don't seem to do anything other than change the look, unfortunately.

also, the car headlights reflect off the rain-slicked road...I mean, I can it in the screenshots, but it's cool to see it in real life :D

Very addicting game. Downloaded it earlier today after breakfast. I think I've already sunk 5+ hours into today alone. Great way to spend a day off after nine days straight of work. Really like the new powers, Delsin reminds me of DMC3's Young Dante, (which is a good thing, I really like him) and the game is drop dead gorgeous. This game was way overdue, now we just need Driveclub and PS4 will really be getting some steam.

They really do need to start bundling this game with every system sold at no extra cost. They'd have to eat a loss sure, but it just does such a damn fine job showcasing the system.

I'm only a few hours in (yesterday was busy for me and today will be busy as well) but I am loving Infamous. Delsin is a really fun character and he and his brother play off each other really well. I've still just got the smoke power, but the steady stream of unlocks is addictive as hell. Taking the form of smoke (which means you don't have to worry about bullets for a few seconds) surging through obstacles and towards enemies, materializing, smacking a guy down with a fiery chain, then resuming smoke form and surging towards the next enemy is really satisfying.

I'm going the evil route so I have put a lot of blood on the wall. In Infamous I enjoy being good more than evil, so me playing evil first is eating my vegetables before having the cake though I confess not having to worry about civilians during big battles is nice.

I'm kind of taking my time during the playthrough. I'm not exactly trying to do everything in the game (generations ago I used to be that type of gamer, but I don't have the time anymore) but I do tend to tackle side activities in Infamous games mostly because blast shards are really useful.

Oh.My.God. This game looks jaw dropping at night. I literally said OMG out loud when I first saw the beautifully lit streets. This game is so pretty I actually want to have sex with it. And to make matters worse, the neon powers are an absolute blast. Sex. They completely change the way you play the game by taking the headshots out of the equation (unless you’re playing evil) and the neon run makes navigating the city probably the most fun thing I’ve done in gaming in years. Be sure to collect blast shards before you get the neon powers because you’re gonna want the power that gets you unlimited neon run right off the bat.

Oh and If you thought the Orbital drop was cool, wait till you guys see the Neon superpower.

The only con I have so far is that the soundtrack was way too subdued during some of the missions. The city itself is fine, but the missions have these oddly chosen soundtracks that dont complement the epic stuff happening on screen. Oh and the missions aren’t all that so far. Mostly go ehre and shoot some people, but the combat is fun enough to keep it from getting boring. I just expected a bit more from the lead game designer of the Halo franchise. He’s definitely nailed the 30 seconds of fun bit, but the epic setpieces from the Halo games (and Infamous 1) are lacking here.

The story has also taken a backseat and like a good open world game, they’ve pretty much left you alone to have fun at your own pace. Deslin is hilarious. He’s a cocky Nathan Drake and has some really funny one liners. But the star of the show are the graphics. I keep getting wowed by the graphics like I did back when Uncharted 2 came out. If this is what launch window games look like on the PS4 then I cant even fathom what 2nd and 3rd gen games will look like. Division is EASILY possible on this system at 1080p. The future is bright my friends and the possibilities are endless. This game has killed the cynical asshole inside me. At least until E3…

Shame the papertrail website isn't working yet. Can't progress past the first papertrail mission yet because of it. Seems like it'd be really interesting.

And yes, endless sprint with neon is insanely fun. Best way to traverse an open world ever. Loving that neon bubble combo where you shoot guys out of the air to get an instant subdue.

I just got the game and I have been watching cutscene upon cutscene. I am severely disappointed by the huge movie heavy intro. Its absolutely ridiculous.

So we have the nuker, the sniper, and now the backstabber/aerial fusillade...I'm being intentionally vague...really fantastic lead up to first seeing this power in action and then acquiring it. Don't want to spoil...third power does not disappoint.

yeah.

Those wings look so cool. I wish you could glide using them. Two dashes max is kind of a tease. Festival of Blood let you fly around for almost a minute once you fully upgraded it. The missiles and sneaking up on people to subdue them is awesome. Its Evil powers look extremely powerful as well. Cant wait to try start evil run.

@Pedro Opening is cutscene heavy but once you get to Seattle, there are barely any cutscenes for the rest of the game.

I'm in love with this game. I was initially skeptical about Delsin. I expected him to be some snobby punk/bad boy type but he ends up being charming and sort of innocent. I'd place him in the same category as Nathan Drake. Him and his brother Reggie have lots of great moments together that put a smile on my face.

The powers are amazing and they continue to surprise. Obviously not going to spoil anything but the three I have got to mess around with so far are just a blast. Hopefully we get at least one more. The combat really forces you to move around the environment and think on your feet especially considering you have fewer energy sources to sponge off of than Cole did with his electrical powers. I'm also a fan of the fact that you must find the proper energy source in order to change powers. Creates some extra tension.

I really like the changes they made to territory in this game. Before you just did one mission to return that area back to normal but now you have a variety of stuff to do to lower the overall percentage which adds great variety. Really impressed with this change.

Visually the game is HOLY CRAP. I love dem jean jacket physics! The powers just look incredible and absorbing smoke, neon and other such powers never gets old. The rain, the lighting, everything just looks incredible. I do have one gripe with the visuals... no day/night cycle. It automatically changes depending on the mission, was hoping it wouldn't be this way.

I have few complaints with the game overall. This really is the best Infamous game and possibly the best next gen game so far. I'm addicted to this damn game!

@S0lidSnake: I just got to the same part of the game, the night time look is just draw dropping. It's pretty clear the "massive downgrade" pics were from the day time section. I completely disagree with Gamespot's criticisms of the story and Delsin, the story is ok. Delsin is just as entertaining as young Dante via DMC3 was, and his interactions with his brother Reggie are great.

The neon powers are, quite literally, a game changer. This game is crack, I've been playing constantly yesterday and today, (was off two days in a row after slogging through nine straight) and have been having a blast. My only real complaint is when trying to traverse the environment in a way that is not super powered and fast, the actual climbing and traversal controls feel a bit loose and inaccurate. Like when trying to get to one of the blast shards atop a narrow area so I can drain it.

Exact opposite problem Assassin's Creed 4 has. In that game environmental traversal is great when moving slow/medium speed or climbing. When you move fast it falls apart. Here it's much better to be going as fast as possible at all times and avoid any climbing if you can.

Absolutely though, this is the best game on PS4 right now, and easily the most enjoyable game period between the two newest consoles.

The traversal feels a bit clumsier than in past Infamous games. Though I don't know how much of that is simply due to being used to having so many faster ways of scaling buildings between ventilation shafts and the neon dash.

SIgned up for that papertrail website (as it's finally working) so I could do the free quests that got patched into the game with 1.01.

There's a couple tests to take that earn you karma rewards in game when you link your account. Apparently I have an 83% chance of being a conduit and my power is smoke...in any case, just interested to get back into the paper trail missions as that first one was intriguing....and I want that power. Would be cool if at the end of these missions (which are supposedly going to spread out over six weeks) was a new power for Delsin.

They have gotten rid of the ledge drop functionality that used to be assigned to the circle button. That's why you guys are having issues with precise movements required to collect some blast shards.

I personally didn't have a problem with it because with the smoke powers I simply used the vents that took me all the way to the top. And then just used the Neon running power to climb up. Wont spoil the third power but suffice to say the lack of a dedicated drop button doesn't hurt with the third power either. The game has some of the most satisfying traversal ever.

It sucks that there is no day night cycle in this game because i would love to play in the night a bit more. I just got to the point in the story where it turns night again but i am pretty close to the end already. I just want to spend hours just running through the streets looking at the lighting. it is so pretty.

Finished the game, surprised to see it only has about 25 missions or something like that. Was a great experience and I cannot wait to jump back in and continue taking over territory and upgrading my powers. It's addicting as hell unlocking all of the powers in this game and everything is introduced at such a steady rate that you just want to push further to see what is right around the corner. Back to it. Keep the impressions coming guys, looking forward to reading more.

I have a question. I want to know where I am at in the story.

@S0lidSnake:

You're at the end buddy. Final mission. Let me know if you have any weird audio issues with it. I did lol.

Balls. The game is too short.

@S0lidSnake:

I'm sort of on the fence with it at the moment. I kind of want it to be longer but at the same time I am happy they didn't pad it out so much like other open world games. Better to end on a high note rather than drag it out I guess.

Not much of a spoiler below, doesn't spoil any plot points or the ending really. But just in case.

At least they cushion the blow with a new power.

I believe they moved that to square for this one. Try it out and let me know.

They did. Takes some getting used to, but it works.

I think the bigger problem is just the general architecture of the buildings. They don't feel quite as easily scalable as those in previous Infamous games. Though they definitely look more... natural, so that's probably why. Don't have that same "gamey" feel to them.

I didn't think the climbing was a problem at all. The traversal is a breeze in this game. All powers make it super easy for you to the top of the buildings in seconds. It's more of an annoyance in the beginning when you just have the smoke power and have to find the vents that will take you upto the roof in a second. Once you are on the roof, you should use the glide and the double dash to go from building to building.

The main problem is the lack of content in this game. All four side missions are copied and paste over and over again like 20 times. There is some variety in SP missions towards the end, but the main story is probably only 4-5 hours long. Huge drop from the packed 8-10 hour campaigns of the first two games.

I really hope they have some kind of free DLC planned that expands on the story... not the Paper Trail stuff already announced. I want something substantial.

@Randolph: @Randolph: The game is beautiful and Delsin is my favorite character of this gen so far. I agree that Sony should bundle this game and even pump more money into marketing.