Archive for category inFamous

Obviously, going cross platform enables a game to sell to a larger user base. Why has Sucker Punch, an independent studio, chosen to stick with PlayStation exclusive development? Joystiq explains:

While the exec notes without reservation that the studio is in this business to make money, he adds that you “have to be careful about being greedy.” He adds that the pursuit of dollars has to be weighed against other things, like enjoying what you do for a living, publisher relations and game quality.

So partly because of the simplicity of focusing on one hardware platform, and partly because of improved publisher relations, but also, a big part of their choice is plain personal preference. They enjoy working with the PS3 and they are probably PlayStation fans on their own time as gamers, not just as developers.

Notice that they did NOT spew venom and bash the 360 or the PC, or fabricate technical reasons to rationalize their preference (we are too small a developer, the other technology is difficult to use, we have a hatred of their architecture, etc).

BTW, there are plenty of very respectful 360-exclusive developers as well. Remedy is a high-quality developer that’s been very respectful on these topics. Epic, the studio behind the 360 mega-exclusive Gears of War, has extensively and graciously complimented the PS3 and competing titles like Resistance.

(These are Darrin’s impressions. See Henning’s impressions here)

Pros

• Pick Up and Play
• Lots to Do: There are only a few main storyline missions to choose at any one time, but there are tons of entertaining side missions scattered all over the city that all provide the player with various benefits. Most of the missions have some tangible consequence beyond just unlocking the next mission and next story-bit, which holds the player’s interest.
• Great (but few) boss fights
• Exploration and Acrobatics: It’s fun to scramble up buildings, grind across power lines, ride trains around the city, and just explore the city. As a player, it’s effortless to execute all the movements and acrobatics which keeps the core movement mechanics breezy and allows the player to focus on other things.
• Narrative: The story is light-hearted fun. It’s at the good end of basic comic-book fare, but it’s easy to get into, and it’s very well delivered. Most of the story events have some noticeable impact on the play environment which makes them feel more real. For example, you might activate the train lines in a certain section of the city, or get a major bridge fixed, or choose a poster of your character that will be plastered all over town,
• Electricity Theme: The game really takes the electricity theme and runs with it. There are so many different ways that your different electrical powers interact with the environment and it’s a a joy to discover and explore them all while you work on the different game objectives.
• Good/Evil Morality: This is a very simple left/right binary choice. It’s a basic gameplay device, but it’s a pleasant addition and it gives the more serious fans a reason to play the game a second time.
• Challenge: From playing through most of the game on hard, most of the missions are fairly easy, but very fun and even relaxing. In the later parts of the game, the difficulty scales up, and the game gets satisfyingly challenging but never frustrating. The game is very generous with frequent continue points.

Cons

• Zeke: You have a best friend in the game called Zeke who is absolutely annoying. Most of the villain characters are entertaining, but this guy is the Jar Jar Binks of the game. I try to fry this idiot whenever I see him, but apparently he is immune.
• No Big New Game Design Concepts: This game excels at tying the different game mechanics together, giving the player some flexbility, and make everything polished and fun. But all the individual elements are fairly standard among action games.
• Minor Glitches: Nothing bad. I’ve slipped through the floor once and noticed some NPCs get temporarily stuck, and I’ve also seen some non-intrusive pop-in, but overall these are very minor.

Bottom Line

This game easily exceeded my expectations. I was expecting a good game, but this is great. This is easily one of the top open-world action game contenders and even one of the top single player experiences of recent years.

Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: I don’t generally like single player games. I find the experience of sitting by myself, playing against a machine, to be yawn inducing in the extreme. I’m really more of a social gamer. And another thing: I don’t like GTA or other open-world games. I was never pulled in by the idea of a free roaming world, nor the whole premise of GTA’s world. As a matter of fact, the only open world I do like is Burnout: Paradise.

So one side of me was surprised when the other side dragged it into a store yesterday and picked up inFAMOUS and sneaked it out under my hoody (just kidding). I had tried the demo, not really expecting much, but I got hooked. So now I have the game.

The demo really spoils the game in some ways, because in the demo you start off with powers that you don’t immediately have in the real game. Which is a bummer because the element of surprise and wonder is removed from you if you’ve played the demo and tried all the cool moves. But that’s a knock against the demo, not against the game. Anyway, the cool moves is what makes actually playing the game so much fun. I’m not giving anything away by saying that you have a force blast, because you get it right away. It’s lots of fun to blast cars out of the way. The other moves are all similarly fun and exciting to execute. I love leaping off tall buildings.

The game itself introduces you to the world pretty quickly, and the story is fun. Zeke is Cole’s best friend, and can be be annoying, but all in all, he’s cool. I like the place he calls home. The way the story is told graphic-novel style is great too, and I heard that while the beginning and end of the game have a lot of story, the middle is lacking. After having experienced at least part of the beginning, I’m sorry to hear that. For once I’m actually vested in a story! My gaming friends will attest to how little I care about the story in other games. For example, playing Sacred 2 the other night, I was just wishing the narrator would shut up. In inFAMOUS, by contrast, I was hoping for more!

The graphics are really great when it comes to your electrical powers. In other ways, it could use a little improvement. The biggest problem is the modeling of Cole’s girlfriend. Her eyes look like the Emperor’s from Empire Strikes Back. What’s up with that? The world is rendered nicely enough. There’s some pop-in, but it really only annoys if you let it.

All in all, so far I’m very pleased with one of my only single player game purchases ever. It might even make me a convert!

PS: This Penny Arcade comic about the game is SO true. (Thanks Todd!)