Platform: PS4
Release Date: March 25, 2014
inFamous: Second Son surprisingly has little to do with the other two inFamous games but that doesn’t make it unworthy of the name.
Electrified superhero (or anti-hero) Cole McGrath from the prior two inFamous games didn’t leave much room for himself to star in a sequel. With a new protagonist and whole new set of hardware, inFamous: Second Son feels like a reboot with a series that didn’t overstay its welcome in the first place. This puts Second Son in an odd place. but it matters not; Second Son is a great entry in the series.
It even takes a lot of the iconic inFamous staples and improves them in various ways. Cole McGrath was an electrical monkey; jumping around and climbing buildings in New Marais like the urban jungle that it is. Delsin Rowe, the new protagonist, rarely uses his hands to scale the many buildings that litter the skyline.
Instead, he dashes vertically at a great speed, allowing him to rooftop hop in a matter of seconds. Surfing from horizon to horizon in a burst of speed is one of the purest forms of the joy the game can exhibit. Traversal is effortless but equally as effective and flashy.
This is an inFamous game, meaning superpowers dictate this flashy form of travel. The four different powers are available to sucked out of the world and, even though you can’t switch to them whenever you want, their inherent diversity changes up the flow. Each behaves differently with their own set of strengths. It can feel as though each power is a loadout, changing up possible playstyles as you switch from element to element.
I took all of these screens via the awesome photo mode. Every game needs this.
Superpowers not only dictate movement, but also the combat. Four powers pack four slightly different arsenals. Outside of the look, each has a slightly different arsenal while keeping a constant set of controls. Favorites can be powered up via Blast Shards, which expand the skill tree and allow a welcome bit of variation. Gaining new powers and leveling up the ones you have is paced brilliantly, which keeps the forward momentum going at all times during the story.
The actual narrative elements of said story don’t hold themselves together at all time though. Cole is old news by now, which leaves the keys to newcomer Delsin Rowe. Delsin’s journey from punk to superpowered punk jumps off when his relatives get wrapped up in a situation that requires an expansion of his newly discovered superpowers. This brings him and his brother Reggie to Seattle get powered up and take on Augustine, the woman behind his problems.
The opposition is stacked with concrete.
Video games have seen this story many times and, sadly, it doesn’t evolve much past that basic initial premise. Twists and turns barely amount to anything substantial and the moment-to-moment narrative usually revolves around Delsin’s need for new powers. The journey is usually more important than the ending, but Second Son can’t even make said journey consistently appealing.
All is not lost though. Banter between Delsin and Reggie is playful and sarcastic with a kind of natural chemistry that is hard to come across in most games. Delsin lean too heavily on eye-rolling asshole at times, but his brotherly relationship with Reggie comes together well by the end and entertains throughout. The quality of the acting and facial capture makes the narrative engaging no matter who is on the screen, even if their words are hollow.
The good ol’ ground pound.
At least on some level since the tertiary characters are incredibly difficult to recall once they’ve fled into Seattle’s streets. There aren’t many other faces to remember outside of the antagonist and the three side characters. Interesting backstories fill in each of the four other characters, but they fail to have more dimensions than the comic book style they are presented in. A few of them are only in a handful of missions, barely getting the essential face time needed to know their names. It’s a shame too since each has such potential to be memorable but they only end up being narrative flings.
This is even considering the karmic choices, something that inFamous has always done in the most contrived way possible. Evil choices grant you a unique skill tree as does being a goody two-shoes, which is where this system falls apart. Fiddling around the middle of each side doesn’t give Delsin any good powers so once you stick with a side, you’ll never be incentivized to switch. Some scenarios play out differently depending on where your choices lie but since the game locks powers to karmic extremes, you’ll always pick one side no matter what. Locking powers behind choices in this way makes the whole system feel forced as its core.
Suckin’ up neon looks gorgeous.
But that core looks incredibly impressive. Second Son shines in a way that the platform, in its early days, hasn’t shown much of yet. The lighting from the sun and the many neon lights that pepper Seattle showcase some of the most realistic lighting on the PS4. More subtle visual effects like rain and puddles are great, but don’t hold a candle to the way the effects are handled. Delsin’s powers were probably conceived because of how amazing each element looks as it is sucked into his fingertips. Explosions and other effects are stunning every time and make for a game that consistently looks absolutely gorgeous. Sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy the view.
The soundtrack keeps up with high quality bar set by the visuals. While more ambient noises are sorely needed to give the city more life, the soundtrack feels unique. Most of the scores sound as though it were composed by Delsin himself, which lets the catchy rhythms feel like a perfect match for the slightly hipster-esque town of Seattle.
The PS4 is lucky to get one of its great games so soon after launch; we usually have to wait a year for that. inFamous: Second Son celebrates what it means to be an inFamous game while tweaking some of the game’s mechanics to form a more refined experience. Traversal has never been such a rush and the powers have never been so inventive, making it easy to welcome Second Son into the inevitable “Which inFamous is the best?” discussions. With a series with two other fantastic entries, that’s quite an accomplishment.
Good Karma:
+Stunning visuals, animation, effects, and fitting soundtrack
+Playing with the unique powers is a blast
+Traversal is speedy and exhilarating
Bad Karma:
-Repetitive side missions
-Weak story
-Karma system is dated
Charge Attack 