Promising comic brought to life, only dragged by uneven pacing.
Creating good pacing is easier said than done. The masters make it look effortless. When you play something like Resident Evil 4 or Metal Gear Solid 3, it's easy to get into and easier to get lost ... the good kind of lost, where one glance at the clock shows hours passing by without fatigue or boredom setting in. Game mechanics vary as you go along, the story and characters sweep you away, and the difficulty ramps up and down to create an ebb and flow as you progress.
Some games start out with a bang, only to fade down the stretch (*cough* GTA4 *cough*). inFamous is the opposite, starting with a long slog before it gets to the brilliant bits. inFamous gets so many things right, it's a shame the pacing is the one thing that holds the game back. It takes way too long to ramp up the story and combat mechanics, instead leaving players to fiddle around for the first two-thirds of the game (8-10 hours on my playthrough) with repetitive side-missions, mildly interesting story missions, and simplistic combat.
It's unfortunate the slow build-up may turn off players who don't have the patience to stick it out for the brilliant final third of the game. Sure, the basic moves are fun and the graceful platforming and animation make one heck of a first impression. But the flavorless city and monotonous early-to-mid-game enemies don't do the player any favors. Moral choices don't add much to the experience either, getting distilled down to a binary choice between feeling like a stupidly evil demon or holier-than-thou saint. Character development is also a bit off, with a stilted romance and awkward best buddy central to the plot, both of which never quite resonate. A side-plot told through audio logs is a bit more engaging with great voice-acting and a solid storyline that gradually builds as you progress.
Once you get to the final third of inFamous, however, the brilliance finally pays off with a series of thrilling story-driven missions and a dazzling array of combat moves and powers to experiment with. New enemies also rise to the occassion, giving you ample opportunities to unleash destruction all across the city against a variety of gigantic baddies and satisfying boss sequences. The platforming also pushes you to greater and greater heights, with incredible sequences involving a massive prison, a trash-filled labyrinth, a skeletal bridge, and a towering pillar into the upper atmosphere. The slow-cooking story also finally builds up steam and you'll be racing toward the end and rewarded with a genuinely surprising and affecting ending.
All in all, inFamous is an impressive first installment of what should be a spectacular PS3 franchise. If Sucker Punch can ramp up the pacing and flesh out their characters in inFamous 2, they'll have one of the best comic-book game franchises on their hands.
