inFAMOUS Second Son

The inFAMOUS series is one that has become very near and dear to many PlayStation fans' hearts, myself included.

It was an exclusive series that emerged last generation on the PS3 and quickly rose through the ranks as some of Sony's best and must-own titles. The first two inFAMOUS games focused on protagonist, Cole McGrath (or antagonist depending on how you played it) and his newfound electric powers. It very much had that comic book spirit and it was, at its core, a superhero videogame experience. Other than the stellar Arkham series' entries, inFAMOUS was the game to beat in terms of super human gameplay.

The story of the first two games was fantastic, setting up a lot of myth in the world and featuring some pretty epic moments including time travel that damn near blew my mind. By the end of the second game it was clear that Sucker Punch, the developers behind the series (and Sony's other prized franchise, Sly Cooper) were going big and not holding back.

Then Sony announced the PS4 and inFAMOUS Second Son was quickly revealed as one of the console's biggest, early exclusives. The Sucker Punch team had a gargantuan task on their hands: create a game that's inviting to newcomers, shows off the next generation of consoles, and progresses their overall story.

Damn did they pull it off well.

ALL of the following photos are from MY play through
using the game's awesome "photo mode". Seriously. These
are all IN GAME, REAL TIME, and MINE.

One of the strongest aspects of the series has always been its smooth, iconic, and nearly flawless gameplay. Cole's powers were awesome, intuitive, upgradeable, and most importantly, fun. With the introduction of the new protagonist/antagonist (more on that later), Delsin Rowe, I was really nervous that the gameplay I knew and loved might be getting a transition and I wondered if Sucker Punch could strike lightning twice.

Nope.

They struck lightning three freakin' times, almost four. I don't often start off my reviews with the strongest aspect of the topic, but I can't help myself when it comes to Second Son. The gameplay is some of the best I have ever experienced. Instead of electricity powers, Delsin is a conduit sponge, meaning that he soaks up the powers of other conduits by touching them. Think Rogue from X-men, but he keeps the powers once he has them. Early in the game he gets smoke, then neon, then video, then concrete powers. Now...you may be thinking: "Those all sound stupid. What can you do with neon or video?" And this is where the true genius of the developers shines.



The guys below are going to have a real hard time
waking up tomorrow. Because they'll be dead.

Each power is more or less similar to each other with each one having a specific balance it aims for. Smoke is pretty versatile and powerful, but the travelling aspects are slower. Neon is precise and slower while shooting, but the travelling capabilities are iconic. Video is fast and ruthless, focuses on stealth somewhat, and also features some neat travelling tricks. Concrete, the weakest of the bunch, is brute force that damages enemies but leaves you rather slow. Each of these is incredibly fun in their own right and they all have their own specific skill branch with particular abilities for whether you are playing good or evil. If I had to pick one as my favorite it would probably be neon because it is just so damn pretty to watch. But really they all have their strengths. And as I mentioned before, these are all incredibly intuitive. The flow of the game is borderline musical and after a short time I was mesmerizing my roommates (and myself for that matter) with symphonies of destruction and chords of flight, notes of smashing, beats of shooting, rhythms of plummeting, and general songs of badassedry. The control mapping to the DualShock 4 is perfect and you soon forget that you even have a controller in your hands. Second Son's strongest aspect is that it is fun as hell play. Plain and simple, this game makes you feel powerful and lets everyone who is watching your screen know that you kick-ass at the game.

Again, this is an actual screenshot from my play through. I'll give you some time to pick your jaw
up off the floor. On a side note: Neon running is probably one of the coolest things in a video game
ever. Certainly destined to be one of my more cherished gaming memories.

But in this day and age, in the post The Last of Us era, we all know that it takes more than great gameplay to make a truly fantastic game. It takes a well designed, written, and performed story that connects us to the characters. In that regard Second Son is still impressive, albeit a little less so than it's gameplay. Unfortunately the story doesn't expand on the mystery of the world that much or connect back to the original games hardly at all. This game is set years after the first and the DUP (a government agency) is hunting/rounding up conduits, people with special powers, and taking them to a high security facility. Delsin and his brother Reggie end up getting involved once Delsin accidently absorbs someone's power and they must travel to Seattle to rectify the issue. Unlike previous games, Second Son features motion captured voice actors in some truly gorgeous and well-performed scenes. All of the characters are unique, have a good back story, and are worthwhile. Some get the short end of the stick in terms of "screen time" but that's a rather small complaint in my opinion. This is about Delsin and his emergence as one of the more powerful conduits ever. This is his origin story. Delsin is voiced by none other than Troy Baker (who was really busy last year in Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us, among others). He is immediately likable and fits the "protagonist" sleeve well. The chemistry he has with his brother is fun and it makes them seem a lot more human, thus getting us to connect with them. Some critics have called the story shallow, but I disagree. I think in terms of an origin story it is well done without getting overly complicated, all while adjusting us to this new, post-inFAMOUS 1 and 2 world.

This guy is about to have no face due to the large, red, video claw
on Delsin's hand.

Notice I said that Delsin fits into the "protagonist" sleeve. The game also lets you play as an evil villain (same as the first two in the series), and this is where I found its biggest faults. Delsin just doesn't wear evil that well, or at least not the black-and-white evil that the developers designed into the game. The "karma system" as its called remains unchanged from last generation and its pretty sad to see that no liberties were taken to try and complicate the system, making choices have different definitions and consequences, similar to the Mass Effect series. As much as I enjoyed my second play through on evil, a lot of Delsin's action stuck out like a sore, illogical thumb.

Much like the karma system, other last gen tendencies carry over to this game as well. The side quests, often the things that define open world games like this, are repetitive and there are only about eight different ones. The open world itself is a gorgeous, faithful, and impressive recreation of Seattle. It may not be as big as some would have hoped, but I'll be damned if it isn't refreshing. Finally an open world game that isn't in a New York City clone!

Seriously the game is just too gorgeous. Such a good way to show off your PS4's capabilities

Often my videogame reviews are longer than this because I try to talk about everything. But I don't feel as if I have to with inFAMOUS Second Son. It's already selling like hotcakes and I think a lot of players are, at the very least, giving it a chance. Which is EXACLTY what I would suggest to any readers out there who have a PS4 or will soon be buying one. Give Second Son a chance and I can almost personally guarantee you will enjoy yourself.

It's a current-gen game packaged with next-gen gameplay and visuals. It didn't revolutionize the franchise the way many were hoping it would but personally I was never hoping it would. I wanted some good ol' inFAMOUS action and in that regard Second Son delivers in spades.

Four spades to be exact.

CONS:

• Rather short for an inFAMOUS game. After two play throughs I probably put in about 40 hours including the DLC
• Current-gen aspects need updating. Varied side quests, improved, less black-and-white karma system, and a bigger world are all things that the PS4 is more than capable of. So why weren't they addressed?
• I found the AI to be generally pretty smart, but also annoying at times. The stronger enemies typically throw up concrete shields every two seconds and it got on my nerves
• The concrete power, which is built up for the entire story, is pretty lackluster once you get it
• The most glaring issue of the game is that the evil side of the story is way out of whack. Ok...maybe its not that bad, but it just doesn't work nearly as well as previous iterations' evil story
• It's a game that once you beat it, there isn't all that much to do
• You "reset" when you fall into water. Really guys? Hasn't the gaming community as a whole decided that that's not ok?
• I was a bit disappointed that the story didn't connect back to the original one all that much

PROS:

• Some of the best gameplay I've ever experienced and its in a superhero game?! I tend to give the developers some breaks in the story aspects when the game plays as fluently and gorgeously as it does
• All of the powers are unique in their own regard and may I just say that they are @#$%*^! AWESOME! Smoke is tons of fun while in combat, video is fun in combat and traversing the world, and neon is truly something special. Running up walls, on the side of walls, and just across generally everything is jaw-dropping every single time
• The spray painting side quests in the game are gimmicky as all hell, requiring you to hold the controller sideways, press down and hold the trigger, and move it based on the stencil as if you are spraying the wall. But they are so much fun. Not to mention the results are often funny, inventive pieces of art that you leave all over Seattle
• Great mapping of the DualShock 4's buttons and natural, fun use of its new bells and whistles
• The game is gorgeous. The power effects are the highlights (with neon being the single most beautiful thing I've seen this next gen so far) but the city itself is gorgeous all the time
• Speaking of the city, while on the small side, Seattle was a genius choice to shake up the genre's usual choice of New York City clones. It a gorgeous city in the real world and the game does a great job of recreating many of its iconic buildings
• As an origin story, Second Son is a strong one and I would argue against claims that it is shallow. There is a ton of potential for the series to grow from here thanks to the story and where it leaves off
• Photo mode for the win. Such an awesome addition
• The "Paper Trail" DLC is incredibly inventive, requiring you to log in on fake websites, do research, solve puzzles online, and play missions on your console. Definitely a "next-gen" form of DLC
• Great performances by the actors that really help you to connect to the characters
• A worthwhile addition to the franchise that probably just scratches the surface of what the developers have in store for future sequels. From this point forward the possibilities are really endless

Rath's Review Score: 9/10

 

 

If you'd like to see some of that glorious gameplay that I was talking about, feel free to click here featuring a look at smoke, neon, video, and concrete. Enjoy!