inFAMOUS: Second Son – First Impressions

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inFAMOUS: Second Son” is the third installment in the “inFAMOUS” franchise and is the first PS4 exclusive title that has been released since the two launch day games, “Knack” and “Killzone: Shadowfall“. While both showed off the amazing capabilities of the PS4 graphically, neither really struck me as “system sellers”. Sony is hoping that with the release of “inFAMOUS: Second Son” the PS4 will finally have a game that people will shell out 400 dollars just for the system alone, in order to play a single game. In my short time with the game, (6 hours in game play time)  “inFAMOUS: Second Son” definitely has the credentials to be that game from what I have seen so far. Without delving too much into the plot and even certain game mechanics because I am trying to save certain things for my full review which will be out soon, I am here to try to sell you on why this game is a must buy.

inFAMOUS: Second Son” is a game created by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Like I stated before it is a PS4 exclusive and therefore you Xbox/PC/Wii U Players are out of luck. Before I get into the stuff I’d like to cover in this impressions article I would like to point out something that could confuse people if they pick this game up and things don’t match how I describe them. There are two different ways to play this game. Without spoiling much, I can tell you that there are choices in the game that effect the way you are viewed. A good and an evil path. I picked the evil path. Each path can alter the way a player goes about doing certain things and some interactions that occur within the actual game. So keep in mind you may encounter different things that are stated here.

The game follows the actions of Delsin Rowe, a human turned conduit, as he tries to “steal” another conduits power in order to save the Akomish tribe who are all on the brink of death after getting pierced by cement by another coduit. Whether or not Delsin is related to the Akomish tribe was unclear to me as I have yet to finish the game and nothing was blatantly present to where I could come to the conclusion that the Akmomish tribe and Delsin were in fact related. Delsin then travels to Seattle, Washington where the main story takes place. Delsin and his brother, Reggie, then try to hunt down Augustine, the conduit who attacked the Akomish people because they would not reveal information to her regarding another conduit. Augustine is the director of the D.U.P, or Department of Unified Protection, a organization that tries to keep the peace by hunting down escaped conduits and monitoring each section of Seattle. That is the 12+ hour plot in a nutshell. There is obviously a lot more to the story that I don’t even know yet because I have yet to finish the game, but I can assure you if you have played the other two “inFAMOUS” games, the story telling in this game is far superior.

There are 4 things that as soon as I experienced it in the game I knew this was a special game. First, is the visuals. They are gorgeous. From the buildings in the background to the details on Delsin’s jacket, everything looks extremely realistic and you can tell Sucker Punch put a lot of time into the small things in this game. Also, the cutscenes are spectacular and they even throw in some comic like cutscenes that I know a lot of people will enjoy. The second, is the combat. I am currently playing on expert, the highest difficulty rating, and I can tell you from experience that you cannot run in like a madman trying to kill everything and elect to live. Sucker Punch balanced out Delsin’s powers perfectly. Although, there is a flaw in the system. In order to upgrade your abilities you need to collect blast shards. These are collectible throughout the game that are very easy to come by. Well if you are an avid explorer like I am and skip the main quest for a while, you tend to accumulate enough “levels” and shards to the point where you can have some pretty strong abilities that make the game significantly easier. Other than that, the rest of the combat system is pretty flawless. Thirdly, is the characters and how Sucker Punch gave them actual life. By that I mean the dialogue isn’t poorly scripted and the actors who voice the characters give off real emotion and you can feel it. This makes characters and the game so much more enjoyable and memorable as you can really immerse yourself in the world. The motion of the characters mouth to the dialogue is almost spot on, as well. Not the best, but it certainly isn’t bad. Finally, the improved overall story telling. The first two “inFAMOUS” games were great games, but they lacked a strong story. If someone asked me to walk them through the first two games, I wouldn’t be able to tell them. For the sheer fact that the story was lackluster. “inFAMOUS: Second Son” improves the story telling by the aforementioned building of strong characters and by just a better over all plot that in some aspects is relatable to the people who play the game.

Without those four elements that I just previously mentioned I don’t think I would be enjoying this game as much as I have been. Sucker Punch has really learned from the past two games in the series and they’ve created a game worth remembering. This is coming from a guy that hasn’t even finished the game and is more of an MMORPG player then anything else. In the 6 hours I’ve spent playing this game I have enjoyed every minute of it. If you’re still on the fence about buying this game or want to know more about it simply because you can’t afford it or you don’t have a PS4 to play it, wait for my full review or the game in the upcoming days when I will break down the entire plot, combat system, side quests, and even compare it to other games like “Titanfall“. If you have any question about the game or anything in general feel free to leave a comment and I’ll hopefully be able to answer your question(s). I hope you guys enjoy or are enjoying “inFAMOUS: Second Son” as much as I am. -Mike