*REVIEW* inFAMOUS: Second Son

If you were waiting for an awesome game to justify a PlayStation 4, it has arrived. inFAMOUS Second Son, the third game in the inFAMOUS series from Sucker Punch Studios, is an amazing coming of age story with beautiful graphics, awesome game play and witty nods to Seattle life that makes you want to play twice so you don’t miss a beat.

The Story:

Second Son takes place in 2016, 7 years after its predecessor. In reaction to the destruction from the conduit Cole’s death, the government created the Department of Unified Protection, set to hunt down and capture all conduits, refereed to by the D.U.P. as bio-terrorists. Delson Rowe, a graffiti artist-delequent, is your typical troubled young adult who’s life is altered completely after he witnesses a car accident on his Akomish tribe’s land. An armoured vehicle carrying conduits has flipped over and Delsin and his brother run to help the injured. Two conduits escape and while trying to pull the third from the wreckage, Delsin absorbs his smoke powers. The D.U.P. quickly descend on the accident site, ready to recapture the escapees. Augustine, the leader of the D.U.P. and a conduit herself, uses her concrete powers to impale Delsin’s friends and family while she interrogates them. Delsin take it upon himself to go to Seattle, absorb Augustine’s powers and save his tribe from the concrete shards embedded in their skin.

Gameplay:

inFAMOUS Second Son is an open world action game. In a nutshell, the parkour and platforming elements are very similar to games we have scene before like the Batman Arkham and Assassin’s Creed series. It is the special skill sets that come from the super powers that make this game unique. There are four super powers to be absorbed by Delsin in the game; smoke, neon, video and concrete. SuckerPunch really went outside the box in creating the root of each power, not relying on the elements or natural forms of which we are used to from other super hero properties. Each power has its own unique twist on travel, melee battle, defence and projectile ammunition that make you think twice in choosing your weapon before entering battle.
The leveling-up process of searching for power shards and filling up a power tree is another tried and true system that never felt taxing. The shards were readily enough available and easy enough to obtain that adding to Delsin’s powers wasn’t a long process. The limited or near lack of in game tutorials was refreshing since this the third part in the series. The small quicktime events with text explanation showing the newly absorbed power was just enough information to learn the skill you just obtained before using it in game.

Good or Evil?:

Like the two previous titles, your choices do have an effect on the outcome of the game. Choose to play for good karma by acting heroic and taking the high rode in certain situations or play for evil karma by being destructive and vindictive in your actions. Your options in the power tree will change based on how you play and the game ending is different, so choose wisely.

Graphics:

It is quite obvious when you boot up this game for the first time that there is no way it could have been feasible on a PlayStation 3. The complex particle effects and scenery lighting paired up with the fast paced speed of battle give a glimpse at how strong the PS4 rendering ability is and where this might lead us in visuals for titles released in the future.

Characters:

Delsin’s character is a great coming of age story, leaning to live in the shadow of siblings and finding your place in the world. The performance by Troy Baker was excellent and really sold that angsty young adult. On the contrary, Augustine seemed flat and unemotional and I wasn’t a fan. I believe the intension was to make Augustine seem like a reserved yet stern antagonist, but the delivery removed any intimidation that I should have felt from her being Delsin’s nemesis.

Controls:

inFAMOUS Second Son is the first time I have used some of the new features of the DualSock 4 controller. Pressing the touchpad to absorb powers from the environment and swiping to open doors and lift machinery felt comfortable and natural. I really enjoyed the graffiti moments, turning the controller sideways and spray painting on the walls of Seattle. The artwork was creative and witty and showed great humour from the Sucker Punch creative team.

Hidden Gems:

There are tons of easer eggs to discover as you are zipping your way around Seattle. Bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden that call Seattle home can be heard in Reggie’s car, Delsin creates graffiti that references Starbucks Coffee and there is signage that throws back to old sitcoms like Frasier. It all shows a real love for the city that the Sucker Punch Studio resides in.