Infamous (Sony Playstation 3, 2009)

The sandbox games have almost become there own genre in today's market. From the most famous Grand Theft Auto to Assassins Creed and Red Dead redemption, running around doing various side tasks and finding hidden items is almost as important as the main story.
Infamous although not as widely known as some of the above titles leaves its mark. Infamous does two things that the rest of the sandbox games tend to leave out. A moral system (becoming a hero or a villain)and a level up system to your powers.
For me these two aspects changed the game play enough from the other sandbox titles to make it its own game and have the ability to stand out. Another game that is somewhat similar, but lacks in every way compared is Prototype. Infamous did what Prototype wanted to, make a fun experience for the collector and the regular gamer.

What made this game only good compared to excellent for me was the story. You are Cole MacGrath, a courier that is caught in the middle of a "terrorist" blast on a local metropolis. A epidemic breaks out and the city is quarantined, during this time you find out you have control over electricity. It can heal you and allow you super human abilities that you develop over the entire game. Because there was a moral system they let you make a few critical choices during the game, but upon replaying the game you find out that regardless of what you choose you end up in the relative same place. *SPOILER ALERT* For example, when Trish (your old girlfriend) is captured by the villain you are put in a position to either save a few random civilians lives or Trish. If you save Trish you get bad guy karma because you sacrificed the many for one and you find out that she was not even the one you saved and dies with the other people. Or you save the civilians and she is not with them and dies.

Also their is little to no character development other than during quick still screen explanations of some present and past events. They try and have a comic relief from all the death and destruction of Cole's friend Zeke, but he really just feels like a bother most of the time and his jokes are made for 12 year old boys.

Overall this game was well worth the time. I ended up spending about 20 hours total because I searched for every "blast shard" to level up Cole's electric meter and did all the side quests.

I would recommend this game if you have not played it already. Like I said earlier its like playing a live action comic book. Fun and enjoyable while you play, but you won't find yourself putting this in your top ten favorites list.

infAMOUS is an open-world "sandbox" game based in Empire City, a fictional location that somewhat-resembles New York. In the game, you play as Cole, a bike courrier who happens to deliever a package that would forever change Empire City. His package contains a weapon known as the ray sphere which goes off and nearly destroys the entire city. Through this blast Cole gains electrical superpowers. The rest of the game's plot revolves around Cole's quest to restore the city and save the it from three gangs which control the city.
inFAMOUS is a very unique game. Not only is the plot a refreshing breath from the normal near-perfect world of most open world superhero games, but it also has a Karma system, which allows you to play the game out as a hero or a villian. As you progress through the game, you will be presented with choices which affect your Karma. Each of these has a good choice and a bad one, and before every one of these choices, Cole verbally weighs the pros and cons of both the good and evil choice. Also, your actions while simply playing the game help influence your Karma. For example, healing pedestrians will make you more good, while shooting them with lightning will make you more evil. This Karma meter works very well and adds reason to play through the game at least twice. Also, the game does a good job of reinforcing the weight of your choices; your appearance, the color of your lighting, the way people act when they see you, and the very city around you changes depending on whether or not you are good or evil. This makes your choices feel much more important, which is a good thing.
As far as gameplay goes, inFAMOUS does a tremendous job. The game plays like a third-person shooter, with Cole being able to use lightning bolts, shock grenades, and, even more cool things which I won't spoil for you here to dispell enemies. There is a melee system which is okay, but the main component is defanately Cole's ranged arsenal. Traveling around the city is surprisingly fast and easy, thanks to Cole's incredible climbing abilities.
inFAMOUS is a great game. It is one of the best games I have played in a long time. It's gameplay is nearly flawless, the story is compelling, the characters are intriguing, and, most importantly, it is incredibly fun. I reccomend inFAMOUS to anyone, even at its original $59.99 price. However, at $19.99 it is a steal. Also, it should be noted that PlayStation is currently giving the game away for free as part of the Welcome Back Program on PlayStation Network. EVERYONE should download this game for free. If you miss the deal, most people should go ahead and buy the game, even if it is not free.

This game is so fun to play, you don't want to stop. The fact that good or bad deeds influence the direction of the storyline and what happens in the game is just awesome and adds real replay value to the game. I gave this a Good rating because toward the end of the game, the side missions become a bit monotonous and predictable. Also, the controls/camera angles can be frustrating at times. The great thing about the main character being able to grab/stick to just about anything, can be a downfall at the same time, when you just want to move or drop from buildings fast. The game does a great job of making you feel like a real superhero/villain. Great gameplay, pretty decent story will keep you playing for hours, which is another plus - this isn't an 8 hour game. This is one of the best PS3 games that gives you bang for your buck.

What an enjoyable game.
It's a free-roam superhero game meets Grand Theft Auto meets a platform jumper.

The free roam superhero part of the game is done quite well with you gaining experience points as you take down enemies around the city. You'll find that you can choose one of two paths along the way, and the game demonstrates those choices with a KARMA MOMENT. You choose to start a riot to help take down enemies or to handle a battle yourself. As you go along, you'll be able to convert your XP to upgrade your powers, and upon reaching certain levels or completing certain missions, you'll learn new powers. This works well to get you comfortable with how to activate your current powers before you have to learn a new key combination. It can get overwhelming when you get further into the game and "Dust Men" come at you from all directions....

Like Grand Theft Auto, there are story and side missions that you activate by walking to a certain point on the map. You can set waypoints to help guide your way, and mission icons and your waypoints are shown on a round localized map in the lower right-hand of the screen. You'll swear that Rockstar North programmed the game. If you fail at a mission, you're put right back into the mission, and thus far I don't see that the game tallies your failed mission attempts or your deaths, so you don't have that stat looming large over your head. There are "hidden packages" to find, but unlike GTA, inFamous gives you the ability to know when a hidden item is close. It's not always easy to find them, but you know where to search. Enemies are shown with triangles and squares to indicate if they are above/below or at the same level as you. GTA fans will find this quite useful.

Like earlier GTA games, you cannot enter buildings, and unfortunately, you can't steal someone's wheels, but who needs automotive transportation when you can ride on powerlines and train rails?!?

As a platform jumper, you have ledges to cling to, gutters to climb, and a wide range of other surfaces. The game is forgiving so that you just have to get CLOSE to making a jump most times, and even if you are short, you grab the edge and can pull yourself up. Takes a bit getting used to, before long you'll be making flying leaps onto moving trains.

You'll find many hours of enjoyability in the game as you learn your path and try to figure out what the Ray Sphere really is.....

You won't regret plugging this bad boy into your console.

First-off, I note that I generally am not a big fan of the Sandbox games. GTA series bored me after 10 hours of playing. Though Assassin's Creed kept me interested enough to play through, the repetition made it a chore towards the end.

Infamous got a little repetitive, but never enough to make the game a chore. Maybe I'm still a kid at heart, but I just found rail-sliding and gliding across the city roof-tops fun even if without a purpose.

Pros:

1. Fun!! Especially once you get the rail-slide and gliding abilities!!
2. Good Story, and worth a second play-through (one good, one evil)
3. Never frustrating - great intuitive gameplay mechanics. Fighting, wall climbing, gliding, jumping, and landing are all easy intuitive enough to pick-up and play out of the box.

Cons:

1. A little too repetitive in the side missions, and enemy types. (Though that is really my complaint with all "sandbox" and free-roam games.)
2. Mediocre next-gen graphics. Good, but no where near Assassin's creed, but about as good as GTA 4.
3. Evil/Good affects some missions, and your powers, but whether you are a Tyrant or a Hero should have affected the story more, which for the most part remains unchanged whether you are hero or villain.

All-in-all this was very good and fun game....just short of 5/5, because the lack of variety in the mission/enemies.