Infamous: Second Son review

SEMI SUPERS

Fighting the DUP is pretty good fun, though it can feel a little repetitive at times too. As well as the basic troops, the DUP use their own Conduit-powered troops, though these lesser-powered individuals aren’t natural-born Conduits like you. That said, they can use their abilities to bound between roofs, immobilise you with concrete, or use that material to armour themselves.

Combat flows nicely with ranged powers and melee combos fitting together smoothly, with the fighting quickly switching from rooftop level down to the street and back again. You have lots of health and you recover quickly, which can make you feel a little too invincible at times, especially given you can simply dash away and wait to heal up. We’d recommend the Expert difficulty level for confident gamers and series veterans.

Your powers also have limited use with a bar that runs down, and so need to be topped up from the environment around you. Smokestacks and burning cars do the job for your initial smoke powers, while Neon relies on you finding appropriate signs. This is a great idea as it makes the city a little more than simply a series of blocks to be navigated and fought over.

It’s tempting to compare Second Sun to Assassin’s Creed or even GTA, but here there’s a greater focus on fighting and shooting than either of those games. There’s little stealth involved and no vehicles to drive or weapons to wield except for your own abilities. That said, your broad selection of fighting moves certainly makes up for that. Surprisingly there’s no cover mechanic here – it’s more a case of getting stuck in than hanging back, so speed is very much your friend here.

The karma system does affect the way you fight. Stunned opponents can be subdued for good karma or executed for bad karma – simply press the button you want when close. If you build up a big enough ‘karma streak’ of one type or another you unlock a super move called a karma bomb that can really save you when you’re in trouble. The problem here is that it’s not forcing you to make an interesting decision, subduing or executing are essentially the same in terms of gameplay.

CONCLUSION

There are good set-piece missions, but much of the game consists of the same simple objective: go to this point on the map and wipe out its enemies. The open world element provides a fairly limited set of objectives too, which mainly involves destroying DUP command centres, fortifications, drones and cameras. Do enough of these and you kickstart a showdown battle for control of that district of Seattle, making the area safe and allowing fast travel back there at any time.

The game certainly looks next-generation, with some fantastic particle effects, detailed environments and a smooth frame rate. It even tries to make use of the DualShock 4 to some extent, using the built-in speaker for some sound effects and touchpad swipes for interacting with some objects. However, it doesn’t really feel like a next-gen game as there’s nothing here that you feel couldn’t have been done on the PlayStation 3, admittedly with less pretty presentation.

The plot is actually better than we’d expected from our preview. The banter between the brothers is certainly chuckle-worthy at times, and Delsin isn’t the whiny emo teenager we first thought he might be. In fact, he’s having a blast and it’s pretty infectious.

We enjoyed Infamous: Second Son, but it doesn’t really feel like a next-gen game. That accusation could also be laid at the feet of Titanfall, but at least that feels like something fresh, even if it’s not pushing any big technical boundaries. Four stars feels a little mean for such a polished and enjoyable title, but the new consoles need to start setting new standards. PS4 owners should welcome Second Son, but it’s not reason enough to head out and buy a new console.