What would you do with superhuman powers? Sucker Punch’s latest title, inFamous, poses the question; Spidy’s “with great power comes great responsibility” spiel literally dogging you throughout the game. 

A humble bike messenger, Cole is at the epicentre of a blast that devastates Empire City. When he comes to he realises that he was carrying the explosive package that killed thousands and destroyed large swathes of the city. He wasn’t left unchanged either, as he now has the ability to absorb and control electricity.

Would you kill your enemies with unrestrained glee, with little thought to collateral damage, if you could shoot lightening bolts from your hands? Or seek to merely restrain your foes, saving bystanders from any fallout? 

With a title like inFamous it is a bit of a no brainier to our minds. We crossed over to the dark side from Cole’s first cut scene monologue outlining his moral dilemma. Hmmm… take the government’s food aid for yourself or dish it out fairly among the people? That was an easy one. These moral choices are central to the game, with the type of experience (XP) and special powers you gain dependant upon them.

Open world

The game feels as if it was designed from scratch with one overriding objective in mind. FUN.

Cole moves through the open world of Empire City, with its three interconnected islands, in sweeping fashion. He can leap from the tallest buildings with little fear of injury, crawl up just about any structure and stride along power cables effortlessly.

Rather than making the controls to Cole\'s catlike agility a complicated ordeal, Sucker Punch, in a stroke of genius, ensured that Cole automatically grips onto objects when jumping. Essentially you are left to worry about where you’re going rather than how you’re going to get there.

As you advance in the game you also unlock the potential to skate on railway tracks and hover/fly using your ability to manipulate electricity. The entire quarantined world of Empire City is consequently yours to explore with every nook, cranny and sewer accessible.

Action

Even without its solid storyline or the freedom of movement Cole enjoys, inFamous would be a great game. It is literally filled with action from start to finish.

Missions in the game are varied and ubiquitous. You do everything from restoring power to the city to freeing people kidnapped by the street gangs, and investigating the cause of the blast.

The combat throughout these missions is engrossing. Gaining experience unlocks more of Cole’s powers like sticky grenades or lightening storms, allowing you to approach confrontations whichever way you like.

Your moral choices throughout, while doing little to change the outcome of the story, determine what powers/ upgrades become open to Cole. Gaining good or evil XP means, for instance, the difference between powers to restrain you enemies or split grenades that kill anything in their path. Besides the obvious red or blue current that Cole gives off, these power differences are the most obvious result of your choices.

Issues

Despite our glowing review of inFamous, there are some issue which let it down ever so slightly.

Cole’s predisposition to grip onto the first thing in reach can make collecting items in awkward places trying. Jumping to a specific ledge or windowsill may take numerous attempts. The bottom line, however, is that this little issue is a fair trade-off for something that opens the world up to Cole.

The game’s graphics are also a let down. As a PS3 exclusive we really expected a more visually stunning game. Empire City and some characters lack detail at times, detracting from the whole experience.

However these issues dim in comparison to what the game offers. With an intriguing storyline, truly open world and enthralling combat inFamous is well worth a good and an evil play through.