inFamous

"Ever been called a terrorist?" This is just a taste of what it's like to think and act in Cole's shoes in Empire City. This game has plenty of moments that make you sit back and think about what just happened or could based upon your actions. It's easy to pick up, fun to play, and will leave a lasting impression when the credits finish rolling.

Story-A very compelling narrative about your actions in a drastic situation. Whether you are good or evil you will find near the end of the game being Cole McGrath is NOT about just blasting and shocking things. The games story is about 12-17 hours long depending on how you play and with enough replay value for those who want it. I've spent about 40ish hours with it and almost have the Platinum trophy so it has enough there to make you coming back for more. The story is told through clever comic book cut scenes and in game dialogues. It hosts a variety of voice actors who do a top notch job across the board. My only complaint is that whether good or evil Cole is hard to make out if he's being GOOD or EVIL from his voice tone. It's also a bit of a shame that in the comic book cut scenes you don't see a visual representation for how evil you have become. Without giving anything away though it will be the story that will really make you enjoy this game and is the reason why it earns the score it does.

Gameplay-This game plays of course very reminiscent of the Sly Cooper games back on PS2. What does that mean? Very fluid gameplay that leads to make your own fun. You'll be jumping, air gliding, climbing, grinding rails, zapping, and just all around having a "shockingly" good time. ;) The best part about the game play when you are doing quests or the main story arc is nothing ever feels forced or difficult to learn. It's just pick up and play things almost all gamers will automatically understand from previous games they've played. The game will automatically put you into a difficulty setting on your first time playing based on how you do on the tutorial portion of the game and if you aren't satisfied with the results just bump it up or down a notch to meet your gameplay style. The gameplay however does get bogged down by the tedium of repetitive quests. You will feel a real sense of deja vu from the 3 islands of Empire City as you'll be doing each side quest at LEAST 3 times if not more. The variety is there, and some of the side missions are fun, but the majority will be very uninspiring. It's one of those rare cases where unless you are a completionist you should just skip plenty of the side missions if you know it's a repeat of one you've done before.

Graphics-The game doesn't WOW like Uncharted 2, but comparing an open sand box to an adventure game is apples to oranges. inFAMOUS does look great, better than any sandbox game that comes to my mind. The games graphics are supported though by a great art style both in the in game and the comic cut scenes. The attention to detail is shown all throughout and when this game is compared to something like Prototype you will know who the real winner is graphically without a doubt. The one issue though this games graphics suffer from are pop in issues, but they aren't a game breaker by any means. Adding to the pop in note I should point out again if you compare this game to Prototype you will laugh at how small the amount of pop in is when stacked against Prototypes suffering amounts.

Sound-The voice acting is spot on. The sound effects are all very enticing to the ears. The only problem with this game sound is the lack of a real soundtrack. Every once in a while organic sounds come in that should be the moment for amplifying the theme of the moment in a mesmerzing tune, but instead you are left with maybe 10 seconds of odd noises that don't give the player any feeling. It's just all melodies, if you can even call them that, which you won't be whistling in the shower. This is strange to me since the early previews, developer interviews, and even the demo were talking about how the soundtrack in the game was going to be amazing, but feel far from that mark.

Fun- The most important factor to not inFAMOUS, but any game. Is it here? Yeah and in big amps. You'll come away with a great 12-15 hour romp through Empire City on your first play through, and with plenty to do and see you'll wonder where the time went. The only part I stress again that takes away from the fun is the deja vu in the side missions, but that aside you will have one of funnest experiences in a long while with inFAMOUS.

8.5/10. An amazing story packed with fluid gameplay will let you have an awesome romp in Empire City. However the lack of REAL music scores, more mission variety, and more development time could've made this game a MUST BUY instead of a MUST RENT. It's a shame what 2 more months really could have done and it's a bigger shame when the side quests you spent time on to create are the things I highly encourage people to stay away from due to deja vu...