An exceedingly fun, if not entirely mindless, action game every fourteen year old boy is going to cherish!
Our protagonist, if you can in fact call him that, is the aforementioned Alex Mercer. Oh yes, did I mention he has amnesia? Yes, he has amnesia. No, this game was not made by Square-Enix. As soon as you begin your jaunt through New York City as Mr. Mercer you immediately find that there is not much you cannot do. The town is under siege from a mysterious virus and the U.S. government has sent in the Marines and Blackwatch, a special operations unit who knows just how to get the job done; wink, wink, nod, nod.
Alright, I lied... the very first part of the game is an introductory level, but I do not want to spoil it for you. Why? Well, because it was fun. It was real fun. I cannot tell you why I loved it so much, but I did, even if I did not quite fully understand everything I was doing. Like a sick dog trying to clean himself, I had so much fun, even if I probably looked slightly foolish.
Now, as for the actual story: you have amnesia, you wear a hooded sweatshirt, you speak in a low voice, and you swear to take revenge on the comically named McMullen. Do you need any more? Good, 'cause the developers don't give you much. Yes, I know, I know, this is a petty complaint nowadays, but I need a good story. I'm nearly twenty-two years old and I thrive for the intellectual complexities of long, drawn out stories. Why do you think I loved Metal Gear Solid franchise?! But no, we don't get any of that. In fact, following the story is a test in its own right.
You see, as soon as you burst into the game you don't much care about those silly cut scenes which go into the story, you just want to horribly maim thousands of innocent New Yorkers. Yes, that is essentially what you will be doing. Oh, but Mr. Reviewer, I'll pull a GTA and be nice and not run over people while blitzed off of Stolichnaya. Nope, sorry kido, you can't. You can try, but you can't. Why? Cause even if you're walking, just innocently walking like a horribly depressed emo with way too much of his dads money so you buy a crappy hooded sweatshirt, you will accidently bump into somebody and pop them in the back of the head with a quick elbow. Why? No reason. Maybe they were eying you, who knows.
Why would you ever want to pass on violence, though, right?! Well, maybe I want to drive peacefully through the streets of New York City and wave to the oppressive Blackwatch soldiers. Speaking of which, something really bothers me about running around NYC killing American soldiers. I know, I know, I'm being too soft, but I just get that icky feeling. Sure, they aren't real, but it's the same reason I always let those hookers in GTA live... well, sometimes.
When I was finished playing this game, while I was not fully enthralled by the lackluster story, I must admit I was archaically pleased. Mindless, at times tedious amounts of blood is spewed on the screen as though it came from a factory - which I suppose the body is - and sprayed in your general direction. Sadly, this depressed me when I thought about it. Luckily, the fourteen year old boys who have not slept since it came out will disagreed, mostly because they don't actually think beyond the obvious.
I understand that this is simply a game, but I must admit that I am worried if my generation calls this entertainment. There is absolutely NO challenge to this game. It's not that the fights aren't necessarily hard - the hunters, a group of giant mutant monsters, are particularly annoying to fight. However, when it comes to Blackwatch you can just pick up a rifle and start blasting away. It's actually a lot easier since they pretty much die in one shot, with rare exceptions to the tanks and helicopters. No worries, you can pop your whip out to 1-shot the helicopters and your hammers-for-fists weapon out for a combo which will essentially 1-shot the tanks. Like I said, no challenge whatsoever. You don't even take fall damage!
So yes, this game is fun. However, there is no skill and there is no challenge. It's mindless in all ways and while it will appease those of us who can ignore that voice in the back of our heads saying this is slowly killing our morals, it will not appease those who want a story or a game which forces them to come up with a strategy. The best part of this game is even ruined by this. Assaulting hives and military bases is great, but the hives are a mess and the basses are destroyable by a single tank.
So now I must have all of the Infamous fans on my side and all the fourteen year old boys against me. OH NO! Actually, in all fairness, I hated Infamous so much I didn't even bother renting it, I played it at a friend's house for a few hours and nearly fell asleep. I guess I'm just getting bored of this mindless violence. I've seen it all before and, in all fairness, it was better. Sure, it can give me my violence fix, but so can MGS4, GTA, and Fallout 3, all the while providing my brain with the stimulation of a real story.
The one good thing about this game other than the violence is the graphics. Yes, I know, everyone has talked so badly about them. The truth is though that I actually thought they were perfect. The only thing I disliked was how plastic the world felt. In some strange way you feel more like the Hulk than you do a normal man. The buildings, while enormous, look inaccessible, but nonetheless cool. Nothing quite feels as good as when you go leaping from skyscraper to skyscraper, take down a few helicopters, and destroy the lives of thousands of innocent New Yorkers.
Don't worry, everyone is happy in the end!...except the dead, they're pissed.