The game is a relatively basic third person platforming shooter. At the beginning of the game you obtain electricity based powers that expand as you continue through the game. You have the ability to do things like shoot electricity from your hands, use electrical boosters to slow fall/glide, and even slide on power lines. I didn't have high hopes for this game, but I've really had a blast with it. I just finished my second playthrough and even obtained the Platinum trophy (my first!).
Loved
- Powers. I was a little bit surprised by how many different powers they came up with with electricity. They are: lightning bolt (like a gun), electric grenades, the megawatt hammer (like a rocket launcher), a force blast (like you'd see in Star Wars), static thrusters, an electric shield, and the ability to call down lightning itself. In addition, most of those powers are upgradable and even have different abilities depending on your moral alignment. My favorite was the upgrade for the megawatt hammer. Basically, you shoot a handful of them into the air, then shoot something with your default electricity attack. The next thing you see is all of your hammers swing back around and smash into your target. It's one of those powers that makes you giggle the first time you use it. The variety was just a lot more varied and interesting than I thought it would be.
- Story. Games like this seldomly grip you with their story, but the story here was actually quite decent. There were a handful of main characters that you came to have an interest in and the game even had a pretty satisfying end game twist. I also really like the dead drops scattered throughout the city that added some great backstory to the narrative.
- Replayability. While the moral choices in inFamous are certainly nothing to write home about (usually killing somebody or not killing them, etc), the fact that the powers are so different for the two alignments is quite laudable. I've finished both a good an evil playthrough, and I've really enjoyed the differences in powers between the two. Both of them have things that are a lot of fun and really effective. While the story of the game itself isn't that much different between the two, just the power differences alone give you a reason to play through the game a second time.
Hated
- Similarity. My one biggest gripe with inFamous is that while it does pretty much everything right, there really isn't a whole lot of innovation here. It sort of felt like it took all the best pieces of all of the best games and tossed them in together. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I will definitely give them props for the electrical powers idea, in general the game seemed pretty common place. I also think that is probably why I didn't play it right away; it looked like it would be like every other similar third person shooter.
- Morality. The moral choices presented in inFamous are not at all impressive. As I previously mentioned, they generally boiled down to helping somebody or not, killing somebody or not, and other similar things. I'd let that slide if it wasn't for the fact that your choices just don't have any affect on the game itself. The story is almost perfectly identical whether you make good choices or evil. Additionally, the game actually penalizes you for mixing good and evil, so don't even consider making a character that is neutral.
inFamous may not be the most original or innovative game of 2009, but it really is a lot of fun. I don't enjoy console shooters at all (I was unable to finish the first Uncharted), but I had a lot of fun with this one. It really is the sort of game that I think anybody with a gaming interest can just pick up and play and have fun with. If you have a PS3, it should be in your collection. That's really all there is to it.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment