inFamous for the Sony PS3 is a comicbook tale of a person becoming a superhero (or villain). The script and plot gets it really right in all the key ways – and only slightly wrong in two.
So, the right ways… Throughout the game, characters retain excellent, unique and inventive voices. Standouts are ex-girlfriend Trish's measured anger and sadomasochistic gang-leader Sasha.
The game also peppers the plot with excellent side-stories and developing narratives: riots, marches, gang fights, police responses, tape-drops, pirate TV broadcasts and more all serve to establish a coherent and consistent worldview.
Cut-scenes in comicbook style also add to the feel of the game – and generally deliver scene jumps really well – cutting the narrative at appropriate moments to deliver heightened tension and anticipation.
Finally, the plot and play mesh well together – with boss battles, increased enemy difficulty and new area unlocks coming appropriately in time with plot points and neither feels like it's forcing the other.
So, that's the good. Here's the bad:
Zeke. Hero Cole's best friend gets a major plot twist when *spoiler alert* drunk by potential power and seething with resentment against superpowered Cole, he opts to do something very bad. The problem? Until this point, Zeke had been a happy-go-lucky sidekick, cheering Cole's every move. The character desperately needed more dark shadowing before the twist in order to make it believable.
Alden. The main baddy's a brilliant creation – a decrepit old man turned techno-enhanced supervillain. But his reasoning for unleashing inFamous' chain of plot events is very shakey and renders the final section of boss battles fairly stock. But this is a minor quibble in comparison to Zeke's greater character betrayal.
Conclusion: Even Zeke's switcheroo doesn't spoil inFamous ultimately. It's a slickly-produced game that's great fun to play and where, for once, plot, script and characters largely fit the play style.
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