A decade-old game, InFamous stands out surprisingly well for its age. The game was given free to most that bought a PlayStation 3 in 2012 as part of their welcome back program.
The review will have a storyline, gameplay, graphics & SFX, and finally, a personal thoughts section. Without further ado:
Table of Contents
Storyline
The game begins with our protagonist Cole MacGrath, just an average bike messenger boy, delivering a package in his hometown, the fictional Empire City.
A mysterious man calls Cole and offers him 500$ to open the box. Though hesitant at first, Cole opens the box, which triggers an explosion that is the game’s start.
Afterward, Cole recovers for 4 days and discovers upon waking up that he has newfound electricity-based powers. He also learns that after the explosion, a new epidemic plague has broken out, the city is in quarantine and various mafia gangs have assumed control over the 3 islands that make Empire City.
Cole, while trying to survive with his best friend Zeke, is soon dubbed a terrorist, and is blamed for the explosion, as well as having powers.
This ruins Cole’s relationship with Trish, his girlfriend, and an angry Cole, alongside Zeke, tries to escape the city through the barricades the police have set up.
After an unsuccessful escape attempt, Cole is recruited by Moya Jones, an FBI agent that tells him that the package that he was delivering him had the Ray Sphere, a bioterrorism weapon that absorbs the energy of all living beings in a huge radius, and transfers then to the host, thus giving him powers.
She offers him a deal. Help her find her husband, John, who disappeared during the explosion with the Ray Sphere, and retrieve the Ray Sphere. In return, Moya will clear Cole’s name and help him escape town. Cole reluctantly agrees.
The rest of the story is through the missions that you will be given. It should be noted though, that while the base story and ending are the same, many smaller details will change based on your decisions and the game’s Karma System. You can do the heroic actions or the evil ones, thus growing your reputation either way.
The game has a deep storyline that is continued in comics (even the game’s storyline is illustrated in a comic style way), as well as its sequel; InFamous 2. I will say one thing, the story is full of twists and complications, betrayals, etc. One thing is for sure, you will sympathize a lot with Cole.
Gameplay
Having electric powers, the gameplay revolves entirely around them.
Generally, you are in an open-world scenario with inaccessible due to story areas, accessible areas that don’t have any electricity that is infested with bad guys and Cole is weakened due to the lack of a source of power, and areas with electricity that either Cole has liberated or hasn’t.
You can liberate areas by doing side quests. Liberated areas have almost no enemies inside.
You begin with just your basic attack, which is a thunderbolt that you can shoot from your hand. You also have the power to create a huge shockwave if you fall from a high place.
As you restore electricity to the city, you gain more powers, like throwing electric grenades to healing people or absorbing them for energy.
Most attacks use up points of energy. You have a specific amount that you can increase by finding specific objects throughout the city.
You can also recharge your energy by absorbing the electricity from a nearby source, or by grinding on rails that are charged with electricity (like train rails).
By completing quests, comboing enemies and discovering and executing new combos, you gain experience which you can use to improve your attacks.
The game also has the aforementioned Karma System. By doing the choices in the main story missions (and some side quests) and by various action (healing or killing civilians for example), you gain Karma points towards that direction.
There are 6 levels of Karma, 3 for each alignment. The 3 hero levels are Guardian, Champion, and Hero, while the evil ones are Thug, Outlaw and Infamous.
Your Karma affects how people treat you and your upgrades. Evil upgrades tend to be more catastrophic and powerful, while Good ones err on the utility side.
Your Karma also affects the color of your powers. You shoot light blue lightning as a good character and red as evil.
Karma can change from one side to the other provided that you do the sufficient amount of actions toward the side you’re aiming.
There is only one case where you can’t change your Karma ever, but that spoils the story, so I’ll leave it to you.
The path you choose won’t affect gameplay drastically, but if you want to be good, you have to be more careful when fighting in crowded areas, and if you are bad, citizens might start throwing debris at you.
There’s also no post-game story or objectives, other than the classic 100% everything.
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Visuals
The graphics in this game are anything but dated. If you just see/play the game, without any prior knowledge, you could never guess it’s from 2009. The effects and attacks are also very well made, and every area is rural and dark, passing the story’s tone and theme excellently.
Personal Thoughts
The game had very positive reviews, all well deserved. Even today, the gameplay and the story are something unique that everyone should try out.
The game even has some form of replayability, as you’ll definitely want to play the game a second time to see how it is to be good instead of evil or vice versa, and what changes it brings to the story.
Besides, it’s the only way if you want to 100% the game.
The game was criticized for the repetitiveness of the enemies, as most enemies as you advance seem to only gain more HP.
I think it’s an excellent game that anyone who has a PlayStation 3 should try.
That’s why it has so many sequels and media after all.
Final Verdict
Storyline: 8.2
Gameplay: 7.8
Visuals: 7.0
General Rating: 7.7
Have you played InFamous? Which was your favorite part? Leave a comment down below.
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