@darthorange: I actually played both of the first games and even messed around with the level editor a bunch in the second. I liked them both for different reasons and agree that the second game is probably the pinnacle of the series in terms of mechanics. I didn't really get too deep into how Second Son actually plays because this blog was more of a chance to express my surprise at just how much I enjoyed it after I found First Light really off-putting.
Second Son definitely feels smaller and shorter than Infamous 2 but I attribute that to Sucker Punch having to launch this thing early in the cycle on brand new hardware. I cannot stress enough how impressive this game is for something released so early in the console cycle. This is probably why it's main campaign is somewhat short and why there aren't that many different activities in the long run. Still what is offered is fun enough and easy to get into on the spot. I appreciate the clean design in letting you know exactly what you have left to collect or do in any one area.
A lot of Second Son's strengths are also it's weaknesses. The variety of different powers take away the focus from any individual one, and leaves them all feeling lacking in different ways. The smoke abilities are the most comprehensive of all and the ones the team probably spent the most time developing. What I noticed is that each power seems to correspond to a weapon loadout. Smoke being pistol and shotgun, while others being sniper, assault rifle and 3 round burst respectively as you unlock them. It's an interesting dynamic but would have worked better if you could switch between them on the spot.
I thought the traversal was done really well in that each ability, sans the last, offers unique ways for getting around. As I mentioned before I really enjoyed smoke a lot and used that power almost exclusively until I got to the second island, ignoring neon completely. Something about going into a vent and popping out at the top somehow never got old, and man, did I mention the game looks good?
It's not a perfect game when compared to the existing series but I think it's a good direction to go off into. Obviously having a few different flashy abilities was a better way to show off the PS4 rather than concentrating on just one, but it also offered some much needed variety to how you approached situations as compared to the previous two games where you'd sort of settle into a steady rhythm halfway through. Infamous was always good as making traversal equally fun as the combat and Second Son expands on that idea even further. I'm not sure where they go from here but I would definitely love to play another one of these games in the future.
@nightriff: Definitely! I was pretty bummed out by the DLC. Everything about it just didn't really do anything for me at all. But if you like climbing around, getting new powers and making some karma choices along the way then Second Son does all that stuff really well. It's all very polished.
@doctordonkey: If you hate traversal so much I honestly don't know why you keep coming back to Infamous as climbing around has been roughly 60% of the game since the very first one and it doesn't look like anything changing. Without the climbing around all this game would be is a third person shooter with some flashy powers, and I dunno how many people would really want that.
@trafalgarlaw: I would recommend you play Second Son first and then if you crave more dig into First Light, it's not very long. I played them backwards because it was free and I didn't own Second Son at the time and it's mostly confusing from both the story and gameplay angle. The game also feels very stripped down in the DLC which makes sense but doesn't make the best first impression.
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