INFAMOUS

Add one part Grand Theft Auto, a dash of Assassin’s Creed, a pinch of
Fable 2 and a hint of Knights of the Old Republic and the end result
would be inFAMOUS. While the gameplay is as derivative as it can
possibly get, inFAMOUS makes up for it with some stellar art
direction, jaw-dropping level design and some great music.

What makes Infamous stand out from the herd of open-world adventure
games is its presentation. The plot progresses in the form of graphic
novel sequences similar to Max Payne, and the world of Empire City is
refreshingly presented in as bleak a view as possible. Keeping with
its theme of being a superhero game (and deriving from classics such as
Knights of the Old Republic) the moral choices you make influence the
powers you have access to.

You, as the protagonist Cole, are a bike courier who has a package to deliver, which turns out to be, surprise, surprise, a bomb. You survive the subsequent explosion that takes down a part of the city and develop superpowers that allow you to harness electricity. To make matters even more interesting, Empire City is
under quarantine due to a plague, law enforcement does not exist and
the city has become a battle ground for three warring factions. All this
would have been too much for your average superhero, but of course, Cole is
anything but that.

The fine folk at Sucker Punch Studios, developers of the game, have
made Cole’s seemingly boring electric powers a joy to use. Apart from
zapping foes with a hundred gigawatts of pure electricity, you can
create electric shields, manipulate electric balls into exploding much
like grenades or even shoot jets of electricity to curb your fall
from the many heights of Empire City. How you can access your powers
depends on how you play. If you’ve decided to be helpful towards the
perturbed citizens of Empire City you will be rewarded with powers
that are more focused and precise; should you want to unleash a
hailstorm of hurt on the unsuspecting people, you would be rewarded
with powers that allow you to cause more destruction and chaos.

While this works in principle, it actually stifles the open-ended
nature of the game because to make full use of your powers you’d have
to be on either extreme, either really good or really evil. Any choice
in a direction contrary to where you stand and you’d actually have a
weaker character. Hence you’re given an illusion of choice rather than
the real deal.

This aside the game is a real humdinger. Cole can jump huge heights
and land on his feet, go barefoot skating on power lines and cause mayhem (or help the city’s inhabitants) in any way you choose. To accompany your adventures is some top-notch sound effects that give Empire City and Cole the feel they deserve without being too overbearing. If this wasn’t enough, the soundtrack boasts the likes of
artist Amon Tobin and composer Mel Wesson (of Batman Begins and
Pirates of the Caribbean fame).

What was really interesting about inFAMOUS is how the story is
never lost in the sea of choices you could make, the factions you
could choose to side with or the side-quests you could partake in,
unlike other open-world video games. It’s good to see that the
developers of such an ambitious title didn’t lose focus on what
appears to be one of the better narratives of the year.

All in all if you own a PS3 you owe it to yourself to play inFAMOUS.
Not because it’s a first-party exclusive or a game that’s seemingly
better than the other open-world adventures out there, but simply
because it’s a solid title that’s a lot of fun. And that is reason
enough.