inFAMOUS Second Son
inFAMOUS Second Son review for the PS4
inFamous Second Son for the PS4 is about a young sarcastic would be superhero named Delsin Rowe. The likeability of his personality may be debated and vary according to individual preferences. The character is slightly underdeveloped and his supporting cast is thin. The banter between himself, a liberal bohemian youth against his more conservative cop older brother, Reggie is amusing at times and not without its charm.
Other characters which appear shortly are Abigail “Fetch” Walker, Eugene, Hank, and the stone cold (pun intended) antagonist Brooke Augustine. These characters could have been developed more and played a larger role in the story. Fetch is an interesting character and will see life in a later game, “infamous First Light.”
The story is adequate however, as a game in this genre is really about the powers and the open world system. On both accounts, Second Son delivers. You have four power trees to develop; smoke, neon, video, and concrete. They are similar but look different on screen and have some minor differences. The powers are fun and do make you feel as if you are able to dominate the open world city of Seatle, which is beautifully done and a testament to the next gen console. Smoke is the first power you get and is delightfully explosive. Neon is fast and precise, allowing you to run up skyscrapers and make short work of Seatle streets. Video allows you to call angels or demons to do your bidding and concrete is hard hitting and strong, as to be expected.
You have the option to be good or evil, and powers will have some different options for whichever path you choose. This does motivate you to play the game again as the other path to see what you missed. When making the choice to be good or evil, there is no middle ground. You are rewarded for being the extreme in each path. The more good or evil you are, the more powers you can aquire.
Side missions are light and repetitive, nothing to write home about. They become a tedious chore after doing a few. The enemies are also similar and repetitive. Blowing away the D.U.P. is fun but will become tiresome after awhile. Checkpoints and mobile command units are a great way to test your powers and present you ample opportunity to make good use of your arsenal. Boss encounters are also fun and not too difficult as to be frustrating.
The open world is fun to navigate through but in the beginning, before you have access to all the powers, it is not as fluid to climb tall buildings or structures. Oftentimes you find yourself not being able to make a jump and falling only to climb the same structure again. It’s not that big of a deal but it is frustrating at times. Once you gin other powers this is no longer a problem as you are able to make it through the city in a super powered fashion.
The game is short but fulfilling, and does deliver the feel of being a superhero dominating in a normal world. Overall, I would rank this game 7 out of 10.