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A shockingly great sandbox-style superhero adventure.

From TV shows to motion picture reboots to videogames, superheroes and comic book properties are super hot right now. With inFamous, Sucker Punch Productions, best known for their enjoyable Sly Cooper franchise on the PlayStation 2, has taken on a rather large scale project combining a reluctant superhero, a gritty comic book-worthy plot, and a sandbox-style open world environment. For their first PlayStation 3 title, they obviously had their work cut out for them, but fear not... inFamous is the real deal, and it stands out as one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences this year.

To succeed, inFamous would require some semblance of a realistic comic-esque storyline, and Sucker Punch has hit all the proper bullet points; Regular guy who suddenly develops super powers, modern NYC-like city environment, bad dudes, some sort of impending disaster, and a gimmick or twist. inFamous has them all:

As an evolving mystery unfolds, Cole must learn how to grasp his newfound super powers as he searches for the real culprits behind the blast in an attempt to rescue Empire City from complete anarchy."

As a result of the incident, Cole is transformed into a high-powered, human taser of sorts. He can siphon and store up an electric charge, and either unleash it in a number of unique and devastating ways, or utilize them for defensive purposes. Because of his electro-charged, volatile state, Cole cannot drive in a vehicle or swim, and is prone to making things explode by proxy. As with all superheroes, it takes a little while for him to fine-tune his powers, and he does so throughout his quest.

All of these seemingly small choices affect the Karma Meter and how your powers and the game progresses. That being said, it's very easy to be evil and just destroy everything in sight with little regard to the city or its inhabitants. Evil actions eventually lead to more wildly destructive powers, whereas good behavior spawns abilities which are designed to be more accurate and cause less splash damage. When it comes to the good/evil side missions and even the simple "do you do this or that?" choices, being good always seems to lead you down a slightly more difficult path. There is an advantage to being good in that the more of a hero you become, the more the inhabitants of Empire City grow to love you. They'll adoringly cheer you on, take photos, and if attacked, even help you fight back. On the contrary, if you start to become evil, they will often turn their anger on you and go as far as chucking rocks and getting in your way. It's pretty dynamic little touch and it goes a long way in making the city feel more alive. In the end, there is no right way to play, and regardless of your inclination, the overall plot itself doesn't change much. However, if you want to really get the absolute most out of inFamous (or if you're a PlayStation Trophy collector), it will require a second play through from the opposite perspective.

Sucker Punch obviously learned a lot from their Sly Cooper days in regards to gameplay. Besides the charming visuals and cartoon-like theme, Sly Cooper was a pleasure to play, and the same could be said for inFamous. If you're thinking the game "looks like Grand Theft Auto IV with super powers" or "plays like a modern world Assassin's Creed", don't, because it's very, very different than both. Yes, inFamous is set in a large, open-world city with bustling streets, gangs, and an assortment of missions to take on, and that's where it ends. Empire City (which is broken into 3 islands) is Cole's playground, and thanks to his urban explorer and parkour skills, he can make use of every single nook, cranny and rooftop and literally climb everything and anything. The game takes on a very smooth, 3D platformer style of gameplay reminiscent of Sly Cooper. By jumping repeatedly while pushing towards any solid object, Cole can climb poles, trees, towers, light poles, buildings, bridges, etc. no matter how small or tall. He can also glide for short periods of time, shimmy across ledges, slide along wires or rails, ride on/attach to subway trains, defensively roll and take cover. The way Cole transitions from one piece of the environment to another is really impressive, as it's just so effortless and easy to control. Considering the vertical nature of the city, Cole's speedy movements, and the sometimes tricky jumps and platforming bits, that's definitely a good thing. Since Cole "sticks" to objects and edges, he very rarely falls or misses a foothold while traversing the cityscape. If anything, it takes more effort to not accidently grab pieces of the environment.

The story and side missions are clearly marked on the always-visible GPS and the map, and it's never a mystery of what needs to be done next. The varied missions range in difficulty and length, and while sometimes challenging, they aren't usually overly frustrating thanks to the generous checkpoints and supply of electric sources to recharge health/powers. Sucker Punch also saw fit to include some unique boss type fights to mix it up as well. There are some repetitive side missions here and there with very similar goals, though they are mostly optional. Additionally the game has a few extra quests to partake in, such as finding blast shards which provide Cole with more "battery life", and locating satellite dead-drops which help unravel the story with audio recordings. It's very rare to be able to say this, but the collection quests in inFamous are actually kinda fun. By clicking the R3 stick, Cole sends out an electro-magnetic pulse which marks the locations of items on his GPS, and for a brief second on the screen, even during a mission. Although these items are never hidden, they are sometimes hard to reach and collecting them never feels like a chore.

To just rush through the main story, it would probably take the average, focused player around 14+ hours. Almost double that if the various side-quests are included, and even more for Trophy collectors. So there are definitely plenty of hours of gameplay to go around.

For an open-world, sandbox-style game with large streaming environments, inFamous is a really great looking game, especially with the amount of freedom allowed within the game world and the frequent bouts of on-screen chaos. The aesthetic is very gritty and comic book-like, and the art style is top notch. As we've seen in Sly Cooper, Sucker Punch knows how to animate, and inFamous shows off the same attention to detail. The animation of Cole, the inhabitants of Empire City and the various enemies is abnormally good for this type of game. The transitions between all of Cole's motions, from running and jumping, to attacking and climbing, are really impressive.

Each and every building and structure in the city needed to be constructed with materials and details that make them climbable, and none of the architecture comes across as tacked on. Considering the size of the city, and quantity and height of the structures, that I have to say, is amazing (and probably time consuming in terms of development). What's also amazing is that the game requires no hard drive install, and has extremely brief loading times even when first starting up the game. The texture work and lighting is also surprisingly good considering the game's scale, and most of the special effects generated by Cole's powers are definitely eye candy. The important mid-chapter story scenes are told in gorgeous and stylish animated digital comic clips.

There is some pop-in of structures and textures in the distance and it's nothing we haven't seen before in an open-world environment. The same could be said with the unlocked framerate which varies from 60fps down to the 30s, and infrequently a bit lower depending on the action. Due to the lack of anti-aliasing, expect to see some jagged edges and shimmering here and there, usually in the distance. With the games gritty look, it's not really all that terrible, and I suspect most people will forget about it after putting in a few minutes of play time. Overall, the engine does an admirable job in keeping up with everything the game tosses at it, though a more consistent framerate would have been nice.

The audio in inFamous is incredible, especially when piped via HDMI to a capable 5.1 receiver. The dynamic and interesting score slowly builds when something noteworthy is about to happen and fades when ambient effects are more important. The positional surround sound effects are nicely done, and as always, very helpful in determining the location of those more sneaky enemies. Since everything is voiced, there's definitely a large amount of narration and voicework throughout the game and the acting is quite good. Cole's gruff voice pretty much fits his character, and his buddy Zeke provides a little comic relief at the right moments when you meet up with him.

In terms of complaints, there really isn't much of anything in inFamous to dislike. There are some visual issues, and there are points where the city and the missions start to feel a little repetitive, although again, it's nothing abnormal for this genre. Even on the easiest difficulty, the enemies are sometimes a little overly accurate and all-seeing, and can pick you off from places where you can't even see them. It's an issue you have to learn to adapt to or it can definitely be frustrating later on. Even with these annoyances, inFamous is just very enjoyable to play even if you've completed the game or aren't tackling a mission.

I'd say that even those who would not normally care for comic/superhero or sandbox-style games would find something to like in inFamous. The game has more than enough content and is enough of a challenge to keep most PS3 gamers busy for a while. inFamous is an impressive first PlayStation 3 project from Sucker Punch and certainly a worthy new IP to build on in the future. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of Cole some day; of course we wouldn't mind some Sly Cooper in the meanwhile.