In a time of all flash, this game delivers the goods - in an under the radar kind of way
This really excited me since I am a huge fan of open choice and comic books in general. The game art and cutscenes have that "sketch" feeling to them and really hit home what Sucker Punch was trying to do with the game.
Gameplay (9.1/10): The gameplay for inFamous is relatively straight forward: you use the left analog to move, the right to look/aim and the buttons are assigned to various commands. It is a sandbox free-roam game which I have not liked a lot in the past, but it really works in this game. Because of the nature of the game and the environment you are in, there are a few inherent problems: first is the precision of the controls... because you can do so much in the game, sometimes getting Cole to do what you want him to is a chore. Especially when trying to avoid enemies (in hard) and make some precision jumps or descends. Technical details, but when you are trying to do very precise things this can be a HUGE hassle. Now, when you consider all that you can do and really control in the game... it is reasonable to see why this occurs. For example, Cole latches onto EVERYTHING... and I mean everything. That leads to even when you don't want him to grab things he will. If this happens, his "O" and he'll drop. Minor flaws like this are nothing major, but will make you wonder if there was a better way to do it.
Graphics (9.1/10): The graphics were good, but nothing ground breaking or truly outstanding. A lot of people complained about the "see through" portion of the game and character, but I never experienced this. I don't know if I was not doing the same moves or what... but it was nothing that really took away from the game. The cut-scenes too did not utilize the usual CG and movies we are used to. That again is not bad... but previous gen games could probably create most of these graphics and movies. The graphics were up to par, but I give it a 9.1 for execution of the methods and tones used... not benchmarking against the most cutting edge graphic games out there. I feel the graphics helped set a stage for the overall tone and story of the game, and they did a great job doing that.
Sound (8.8/10): In my opinion, this is where the game was really hurt. While the voice acting and the music wasn't bad during cutscenes and story advancement, the overall music and sound effects seemed mediocre at best when compared to some of the other games I have recently played. Did they hinder the game overall... no, they did not. I just want you all to know it did not create that synergy music and sound can really cause. When broadcasted on my Bose surround, it sounded flat and weak... unless the whole board was blowing up, you really don't get the feeling of being engrossed in the game by the sound. I would say that mediocre is a fair assessment for this game. It didn't hurt, but I expected more from the game overall.
Replay Value (9.5/10): Here is the beauty of this game... you HAVE to play through it twice. You get different story elements when you finish the game as a Hero than when you finish as inFamous. On top of that, you have a lot of time to run around and unlock the various trophies and elements of gameplay throughout the game (even after you are finished). There is no multi-player for the game, and I kind of like that. In an age where every game that does not have online play is written off, this game did so because it wouldn't have fit... naturally. Could they have forced it and made it work... yes, probably. However, they went with a simple approach used in the "old days" where games were played on consoled alone based on gameplay and story. I like this and wish a few other companies would take notes from the success and overall execution of this game.
Conclusion: When you get to the end of the game, you are going to be left beside yourself. There are so many twists and turns in the game, when you finish it you will not be disappointed unless you are a bitter person who hates life in general. However, you may get some sort of enjoyment out of the evil finish if this is your cup of tea. I found the story to be one of the best free-standing installments (in recent memory), and also trying to fit in the time to unlock the other trophies and evil story. This is going to keep you engrossed for a long time if you are looking to get 100% completion (2, maybe 3 overall play throughs). inFamous has delivered a quality product where the pros overshadow the cons and the result is a really, really enjoyable product. I would say that to date this would get my vote for Game of the Year. It is just that good. However, it will face some stiff competition come August and September... great first game for Sucker Punch, and I'll be tracking some of their upcoming projects just because of my overall enjoyment of this game.