Despite protagonist Delsin Rowe's best efforts to play the role of rebellious, sulky and, at times, anarchic anti-hero, Second Son is almost as conformist a game as you can imagine. There are enemies to fight, side-missions to conquer, a not-all-she-seems antagonist to best and an open-world to explore. Sprinkle moral decisions and superpowers on top for good measure and you have inFamous: Second Son.
There's nothing new about Second Son, then. We've seen it all before. Despite that it's without question the best Infamous game so far, a shining example of how skilled execution can be an acceptable replacement for a lack of originality.
Sleepless in Seattle.
Even the story has been told before. Delsin is a Conduit (read: superpowered mutant), struggling to come to terms with his newly discovered abilities in a world that treats his kind with fear-fuelled suspicion and hate. Following a prologue event that draws our beanie-wearing leading man into the heart of Conduit vs. Human tensions, it's up to him to use his powers for good or evil - does he try to show humans that Conduits are allies that needn't be feared, or does he use them to punish those that have subjected his brethren to imprisonment and segregation? It's all very X-Men.
Depending on how you decide to influence Delsin's outlook on the world, the narrative changes course at key junctures to more accurately mirror your personality. Seeing as Delsin lacks much in the way of charm or genuinely engaging character traits, it's by succumbing to the devil on his shoulder and touting the drum of evil that results in the most entertaining plot. If you don't like the character to begin with, you may as well play him as an ass.
Within that 'play' is where Second Son excels. The superpowers at your fingertips allow you to not only defeat enemies with psychedelic servings of admittedly-liberating violence, but they transform the city from soulless concrete jungle to enticing child's playground thanks to the extravagant traversal possibilities they unlock.
'Neon' abilities allow Delsin to morph into a cloud of vibrant pink energy and run through the city at inflated speed, including up the sides of buildings and over obstacles such as fences, benches and cars. 'Smoke' is less gaudy, the pinks replaced by fiery oranges and dusky blacks, and it doesn't allow you to shoot up the vertical flats of buildings, but it does give you the option of entering air vents at ground level and magically appearing through a companion vent on the roof.
Delsin can 'chain' together combos. Geddit?
Without the option of hijacking/commandeering vehicles, these powers are essential to navigating Seattle quickly and with a sense of flair. A period of practice is essential to make best use of them, and not until you've upgraded them via Delsin's skill tree do they reveal their true potential, but by-and-large you'll be careening up and over even the biggest structures with a flamboyance just not offered by Second Son's open-world peers.
As a loose combat guide, Smoke excels at shorter range and Neon at distance. Both power sets offer melee and gun-like options, but Neon's sniper-like laser bolts and Smoke's flaming chain (akin to something from God of War or Castlevania: Lords of Shadow) are their respective key attacks.
It's impossible for you to equip both Neon and Smoke at the same time, so you'll need to come to a decision fairly early on as to which you prefer and which you're going to concentrate your upgrade points on. By the end of the game, though, so long as you're tackling enough of the extra-curricular side missions and hunting collectibles, you'll easily have enough points to fully upgrade everything - although there are good/evil abilities open only to those with the relevant morality status.
There are other powers to unlock in addition to Neon and Smoke, one of which being essential to complete a mission that leads into the finale, but you don't gain them until many hours into the game. Such a delay is frustrating, because the third of Delsin's powers opens up a number of legitimately fresh tactical approaches - by the time you've gained it you'll likely be so expert with Neon and Smoke that it'll feel like a chore to learn a whole new skill set so close to the end.
Even more bizarrely, you're given yet another power right at the very end and can only use it once the core plot is completed and you're given the option of going back and completing any non-essential missions you didn't tackle first time around.
Still, Neon and Smoke is more than enough to satisfy and it wouldn't be any way detrimental if these were the only powers to exist in the entire game. Not until about halfway through the game, once the whole city has been unlocked, does combat pose genuine challenge. By this point you'll be comfortable with wielding such an overwhelming skill set, resulting in some impromptu skirmishes difficult enough to force you to get creative to succeed. Second Son is at its best when it's being stubbornly difficult in this way, making the latter moments undeniably superior to those earlier ones.
Delsin and Fetch: Conduit partners in crime.
Furthermore, it's during these bigger battles that Second Son's stunning visual quality is given room to breathe and brag. Even during the most bombastic and intense of action sequences, there's not a hint of frame-rate dip and fidelity never drops below anything other than - to use technical terminology - 'gorgeous'.
Second Son's core trophies are assigned to the completion of missions that are unique to the good/evil morality paths, meaning you'll have to sit through two complete playthroughs if you're hoping to attain that elusive Platinum trophy - there's no way to embark on all of the trophy-relevant good/evil missions in a single campaign. Additionally, you'll also need to complete one of these playthroughs on the crushing 'expert' difficulty.
The majority of the other trophies are reserved for completing the myriad of side missions and finding enough of the collectibles, although a couple are assigned to performing sometimes ridiculous feats with your Conduit powers. Still, so long as you're willing to put in the required time, there are no trophies here beyond the reach of most patient players.
It's nothing we've not seen before, but inFamous: Second Son succeeds at virtually everything it sets out to achieve. If you're prepared to treat it like a big, dumb summer blockbuster then there's no reason you'll not get plenty of entertainment from this world that Sucker Punch has skilfully provided. Play it, enjoy it, don't think too much about it. Here's a game that's silly and fun for the sake of it. It's hard to complain about that.
Voice-actor extraordinaire Troy Baker does a commendable job as Delsin, but the rest of the cast is comparatively lifeless. Plenty of dialogue to be heard from civilians as you explore Seattle, but nothing as interesting as that found in the likes of Grand Theft Auto.
Very special indeed. From sun to rain, and from animations to the diversity of Seattle's districts, Second Son never looks anything other than appetising. Arguably the best the PS4 has to offer.
Once the gameplay gets into its groove and stops holding your hand there's little to complain about. Delsin's powers are God-like and you're given plenty of opportunity to put them to good use.
It's not the biggest open-world game you'll ever play, but there is replay value to be garnered by playing through twice to experience both the good and evil narrative paths. There are a large number of side missions to complete, but they start to bore before the credits roll.
Primarily designed to tempt you to play through a second time, Second Son's trophies are predictable. A few provide an actual test for your skills, but most will secure them by simply playing the game twice.
inFamous: Second Son's lack of risk taking highlights that this is very much a game aimed at the mainstream. Break down the individual elements on offer here and there's nothing we've not seen before. However, thanks to excellent execution on tried and tested ideas, Sucker Punch has managed to construct a game that is never anything less than exciting and engaging. It's very much like a rollercoaster - you know what to expect, but it's fun anyway.
March 22, 2014
Despite protagonist Delsin Rowe's best efforts to play the role of rebellious, sulky and, at times, anarchic anti-hero, Second Son is almost as conformist a game as you can imagine. There are enemies to fight, side-missions to conquer, a not-all-she-seems antagonist to best and an open-world to explore. Sprinkle moral decisions and superpowers on top for good measure and you have inFamous: Second Son.
There's nothing new about Second Son, then. We've seen it all before. Despite that it's without question the best Infamous game so far, a shining example of how skilled execution can be an acceptable replacement for a lack of originality.
Sleepless in Seattle.
Even the story has been told before. Delsin is a Conduit (read: superpowered mutant), struggling to come to terms with his newly discovered abilities in a world that treats his kind with fear-fuelled suspicion and hate. Following a prologue event that draws our beanie-wearing leading man into the heart of Conduit vs. Human tensions, it's up to him to use his powers for good or evil - does he try to show humans that Conduits are allies that needn't be feared, or does he use them to punish those that have subjected his brethren to imprisonment and segregation? It's all very X-Men.
Depending on how you decide to influence Delsin's outlook on the world, the narrative changes course at key junctures to more accurately mirror your personality. Seeing as Delsin lacks much in the way of charm or genuinely engaging character traits, it's by succumbing to the devil on his shoulder and touting the drum of evil that results in the most entertaining plot. If you don't like the character to begin with, you may as well play him as an ass.
Within that 'play' is where Second Son excels. The superpowers at your fingertips allow you to not only defeat enemies with psychedelic servings of admittedly-liberating violence, but they transform the city from soulless concrete jungle to enticing child's playground thanks to the extravagant traversal possibilities they unlock.
'Neon' abilities allow Delsin to morph into a cloud of vibrant pink energy and run through the city at inflated speed, including up the sides of buildings and over obstacles such as fences, benches and cars. 'Smoke' is less gaudy, the pinks replaced by fiery oranges and dusky blacks, and it doesn't allow you to shoot up the vertical flats of buildings, but it does give you the option of entering air vents at ground level and magically appearing through a companion vent on the roof.
Delsin can 'chain' together combos. Geddit?
Without the option of hijacking/commandeering vehicles, these powers are essential to navigating Seattle quickly and with a sense of flair. A period of practice is essential to make best use of them, and not until you've upgraded them via Delsin's skill tree do they reveal their true potential, but by-and-large you'll be careening up and over even the biggest structures with a flamboyance just not offered by Second Son's open-world peers.
As a loose combat guide, Smoke excels at shorter range and Neon at distance. Both power sets offer melee and gun-like options, but Neon's sniper-like laser bolts and Smoke's flaming chain (akin to something from God of War or Castlevania: Lords of Shadow) are their respective key attacks.
It's impossible for you to equip both Neon and Smoke at the same time, so you'll need to come to a decision fairly early on as to which you prefer and which you're going to concentrate your upgrade points on. By the end of the game, though, so long as you're tackling enough of the extra-curricular side missions and hunting collectibles, you'll easily have enough points to fully upgrade everything - although there are good/evil abilities open only to those with the relevant morality status.
There are other powers to unlock in addition to Neon and Smoke, one of which being essential to complete a mission that leads into the finale, but you don't gain them until many hours into the game. Such a delay is frustrating, because the third of Delsin's powers opens up a number of legitimately fresh tactical approaches - by the time you've gained it you'll likely be so expert with Neon and Smoke that it'll feel like a chore to learn a whole new skill set so close to the end.
Even more bizarrely, you're given yet another power right at the very end and can only use it once the core plot is completed and you're given the option of going back and completing any non-essential missions you didn't tackle first time around.
Still, Neon and Smoke is more than enough to satisfy and it wouldn't be any way detrimental if these were the only powers to exist in the entire game. Not until about halfway through the game, once the whole city has been unlocked, does combat pose genuine challenge. By this point you'll be comfortable with wielding such an overwhelming skill set, resulting in some impromptu skirmishes difficult enough to force you to get creative to succeed. Second Son is at its best when it's being stubbornly difficult in this way, making the latter moments undeniably superior to those earlier ones.
Delsin and Fetch: Conduit partners in crime.
Furthermore, it's during these bigger battles that Second Son's stunning visual quality is given room to breathe and brag. Even during the most bombastic and intense of action sequences, there's not a hint of frame-rate dip and fidelity never drops below anything other than - to use technical terminology - 'gorgeous'.
Second Son's core trophies are assigned to the completion of missions that are unique to the good/evil morality paths, meaning you'll have to sit through two complete playthroughs if you're hoping to attain that elusive Platinum trophy - there's no way to embark on all of the trophy-relevant good/evil missions in a single campaign. Additionally, you'll also need to complete one of these playthroughs on the crushing 'expert' difficulty.
The majority of the other trophies are reserved for completing the myriad of side missions and finding enough of the collectibles, although a couple are assigned to performing sometimes ridiculous feats with your Conduit powers. Still, so long as you're willing to put in the required time, there are no trophies here beyond the reach of most patient players.
It's nothing we've not seen before, but inFamous: Second Son succeeds at virtually everything it sets out to achieve. If you're prepared to treat it like a big, dumb summer blockbuster then there's no reason you'll not get plenty of entertainment from this world that Sucker Punch has skilfully provided. Play it, enjoy it, don't think too much about it. Here's a game that's silly and fun for the sake of it. It's hard to complain about that.
Voice-actor extraordinaire Troy Baker does a commendable job as Delsin, but the rest of the cast is comparatively lifeless. Plenty of dialogue to be heard from civilians as you explore Seattle, but nothing as interesting as that found in the likes of Grand Theft Auto.
Very special indeed. From sun to rain, and from animations to the diversity of Seattle's districts, Second Son never looks anything other than appetising. Arguably the best the PS4 has to offer.
Once the gameplay gets into its groove and stops holding your hand there's little to complain about. Delsin's powers are God-like and you're given plenty of opportunity to put them to good use.
It's not the biggest open-world game you'll ever play, but there is replay value to be garnered by playing through twice to experience both the good and evil narrative paths. There are a large number of side missions to complete, but they start to bore before the credits roll.
Primarily designed to tempt you to play through a second time, Second Son's trophies are predictable. A few provide an actual test for your skills, but most will secure them by simply playing the game twice.
inFamous: Second Son's lack of risk taking highlights that this is very much a game aimed at the mainstream. Break down the individual elements on offer here and there's nothing we've not seen before. However, thanks to excellent execution on tried and tested ideas, Sucker Punch has managed to construct a game that is never anything less than exciting and engaging. It's very much like a rollercoaster - you know what to expect, but it's fun anyway.