inFamous is as electrifying as its premise.
Once you actually play the game, however, you realize that there's much more here than you initially thought would be. It completely immerses you in its world and doesn't let go until the credits roll, and best part is that it accomplishes this at least twice before all is said and done.
You'll play as Cole McGrath, a messenger, who's sent to deliver a package to the middle of Empire City that ends up exploding and taking out several city blocks in the process. That's the bad news. The good news is that you not only survive, but you also obtain electrical super-powers that will grow throughout the game.
How you use these powers is entirely up to you, which is why I said it will suck you into its world twice. Infamous does a great job of making sure that you have the ability to choose either a good or evil path, and the storyline, your abilities, and the missions you play evolve in direct response to your choices. You will literally end up with an almost completely different game the second time around as long as you follow the opposite path.
These missions also have some great pacing in terms of both intensity and difficulty, and this, combined with the variety of mission types, helps keep the gameplay fresh. This pacing also extends to your abilities, allowing for a slow build of your arsenal and keeping you from being overwhelmed by the controls .
You'll find that you're grateful for this, as the controls themselves take some getting used to. In the beginning, everything is going to feel very loose and uncontrollable, but it won't take you long to realize just how spot-on these controls actually are. Keeping a looser feel allowed Suckerpunch to be more forgiving with all of the parkour Cole is going to perform. You can literally jump from a twenty-story building, glide down to an electric wire eighteen stories below you, and stick it. It certainly gives you a feeling of power and skill, and affords it an overall feeling of fluidity that many games can't accomplish.
What's great is that the controls tighten up just when they should: during combat. Aiming and firing pulls the camera in close with an over-the-shoulder third-person view, and allows you to fire while hanging off of walls, ledges, and just about any other scenario you can imagine. Things only get sloppy when you start firing off electrical grenades and they don't go quite where you'd expect them to, but that's understandable as grenades are never the most accurate of tools.
Combining all of these mechanics together is a lot of fun to watch, and awards you with a real sense of accomplishment. So when you jump from a tall building, glide through the air to right position, slam down into a group of enemies, and then slow things down for a couple of precision head shots, you're going to feel like you're on top of the world. The only real frustration is that Cole can sometimes stick to too many surfaces, so you might find yourself grabbing a ladder when you intended to jump on the wall, but it's a minor problem.
Infamous also sports some very high production values when it comes to its audio. Everything from the background music, to the voice acting, to the sound effects are very well done and will help keep you from getting lost in the middle of a mission. Cole will give off little clues such as "Maybe I need to get closer" or "I need to hit that with something more powerful" that help guide you through and tell what weapon to hit a particular enemy with. It's a nice touch that helps alleviate a lot of frustration.
Visually speaking, the title is somewhat of mixed bag. All of the cutscenes are done in a very unique comic book style that has some incredibly unique 3D effects, so there's absolutely no problems there. But the overall look of the game itself can feel a little bland at times. While you never run into any dips in the frame-rate any everything looks fluid, there are times that it just feels too gritty for own good. It's obvious that this was at least partially intentional, because it does a great job of making things look the way they should: a city that's been quarantined. At the same time, it reflects on some the character models and makes things difficult to see, especially when you're trying to hit your enemies, and not the civilians, in the game.
Don't make the mistake of thinking the game looks ugly, because it doesn't. None of fun is lost as a result; and it doesn't keep the city from being a living, breathing entity. You'll barely notice because you'll be too busy paying attention to everything else: cars drive up and down the streets, people try to get your attention for help (and some actually collapse right in front of you from infection), and subway trains rush past. You're also never completely safe, as even the areas you clear out will have lingering enemies waiting around corners, whether you're in the middle of a mission or not. It all adds a layer of realism that many games don't accomplish.
Overall, Infamous is an incredible open-world adventure that any PS3 owner should not overlook. It's a fantastic exclusive and one that both Suckerpunch and Sony can be proud of. When solid gameplay, replayability, and not one, but two fantastic storylines all come together in a manner such as this, you should never deny yourself the privilege of playing it.