Infamous Second Son Review
Developer Sucker Punch
Publisher Sony
Platform PS4
Release Date Out Now.
Second Son is the third title in the acclaimed Infamous series and although it has drifted from its comic book roots it has lost none of its ability to make you feel like a real super hero in a true open world game. Sucker Punch have certainly made the most of the PS4’s new power to create a gorgeous looking game.
Troy Baker delivers yet another excellent performance as Delsin the young hero of second son. Delsin is not a traditional likable hero in the way Cole was in fact it took a while to figure him out, but he is a very well thought out and more importantly well-developed character.
Delsin is a small town kid with big ideas about changing the world but like most youngsters he spends most of his time talking big and not following up. Swapping fighting government injustices for petty nuisances. He has spent his life living in the shadow of his older brother (a straight down the line police officer) but this offers a brilliant dynamic between the two that is confrontational but also both warm and funny.
The game opens with a chance encounter for Delsin with an escaped prisoner Hank. Hank is a Bio terrorist with a powerful smoke power. Here we find out Delsin in a conduit so can absorb powers from others. This smoke power is transferred to Delsin and from here you begin your journey from annoying smart mouth teenager to super hero. Of course you still have choice, do you use your powers for good or evil. Will you gain the respect and admiration of the populous or do you think respect is earned through fear.
Although the game starts out in a small country town it is set in the city of Seattle, this is a very different Seattle from the one we know today. The city is on lock down controlled by the Department of Unified Protection who police the streets and skies with armored patrols, manned military check points and un-manned drones. Cameras litter every street corner all under the guise of “protecting” the city from Bio terrorists.
The Department of Unified Protection is led by your now arch nemeses who ironically is a Bio Terrorist too. Brooke Augustine is incredibly powerful so before you face her you need to gain a lot more power than your initial smoke power. These are absorbed throughout your journey and the missions allow you to gain powers and then practice using them so you can gradually learn how to utilize each different ability. This approach forces you to constantly rethink how you approach different missions so the gameplay never gets stale.
Choice plays a big factor throughout the game in how Delsin evolves. Karma is probably the biggest factor in how the world perceives you but it also influences the powers you obtain as certain abilities are only unlockable through choosing the evil path. I don’t really think there is a huge difference in the strength of the good powers when compared to the evil powers but I did feel stronger playing as an evil character (but this was perhaps because I cared less about causing destruction to the city and its innocent inhabitants compared to when I played the good role).
As the game progresses the story stays strong but the use of characters can get a little patchy, new people will pop in for a few missions and just when you think they will add a lot to the story they vanish again. This repeats more than it should and is a lost opportunity to turn this from a very solid open world game into a very strong story driven epic adventure.
Overall: Second Son is a spectacular looking game, it plays incredibly well and the story is very enjoyable and keeps you wanting to push on through to the end. Take your time, there is a lot to explore and unlock throughout the game that offers very good value for money and is probably the PS4’s first real top tier exclusive title but more importantly is is a lot of fun to play.
Score 4.5/5
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