Infamous

Sucker Punch, 2 series, 2 successes

Set up in 1997, Sucker Punch scored its first success with Sly Raccoon. Inspired to a great extent by Arsène Lupin, the cartoon look garnered great popularity for this platformer. Two more episodes followed: Sly 2 - Band of Thieves (2004) and Sly 3 (2005), both exclusive to PlayStation 2. The series totalled 3 million sales at the time.

After a period without a release, SuckerPunch returned with Infamous, exclusive to PS3. The game appeared out of nowhere and was very well received by the industry press and gaming public.

This electrically charged title came out exclusively on PS3 in May 2009 and was inspired by the world of comics. Neither a flying alien, nor a billionaire equipped with high tech gadgetry however. Here you incarnate a bike courier caught in the middle of an urban catastrophe.

Content: the town is yours for better or for worse

A mysterious explosion has just struck at the heart of Empire City. One single survivor, Cole MacGrath. Barely capable of putting one foot in front of the other, the courier, caught in the explosion while delivering a supposedly harmless package, will soon be back on his feet. On waking up, he discovers he has acquired strange electricity-based super powers!

Now a veritable walking battery, Cole is taken prisoner by the city and put into quarantine by the authorities. In his quest for freedom, he has no choice but to put his powers at the disposal of the FBI to find an agent who has disappeared. Part of Cole's mission is is to save a city affected by an epidemic and free it from the terror of the gangs who have sprung up since the disaster.
  

The comic book style drawings give the game a certain cachet.

An apocalyptic scenario sets a sombre tone as Infamous aims to be as immersive as possible and centred on action.

In Empire City - made up of 3 islands - Cole climbs buildings (New-York style skyscrapers), visits the old town, protects the prison against enemy attacks and tracks evil baddies in the shantytowns.

Cole has electrical super powers.

As of his first mission, our superhero is confronted with a dilemma. Will he make a good choice or a bad one. As with Mass Effect - though in less depth - your decisions or rather your karma influences your environment and has an impact on your appearance, your powers and additional missions.

When Cole's choices take his karma in the direction of evil, stigmata appear on his skin and his relationships and conversations with the other protagonists in the adventure become more tense. The inhabitants of the city throw stones and stick up posters with messages that will chill the blood of the youngest gamers! The city is also affected and the streets become less safe and the sky darkens.

The harder they come...!

Gameplay: learn to use your powers

Like any self-respecting hero, Cole lacks any impact at the beginning. He quickly makes up ground once the adventure begins however. He climbs buildings with the sort of agility that would shame Spiderman. His powers allow him to neutralise enemies from a distance of several metres, surf on metro tracks and electric cables or fly through the air.

In hand to hand combat, though effective, the routines are rather repetitive. Fighting is generally from a distance, allowing you to use sniper tactics and throw very destructive grenades.
 

Shots to the head can be quite effective.

Graphics: an obvious deficit

Here's the thing, while Infamous isn't ugly, it is somewhat dated when it comes to the graphics. There's a lot of aliasing and jumpiness during major battles.

Check out the long distance combats.

The Havok engine serves its purpose very well. It's very easy to cause destruction of your environment (signs, barriers, bins) and cars can be sent flying with ease. It is however a shame that the buildings aren't affected by Cole's actions. The city is big but you soon get a feeling of déjà-vu as the adventure progresses. The enemies are also very limited and the lack of any real boss is noticeable.

In spite of (or perhaps because of) the contribution of Amon Tobin, the audio is very limited and only the sound effects of explosions, lightning and the people who speak to Cole can be heard.

Infamous presentation video: