Game Reviews Volume 2

InFamous: First Light (PS4)

Sucker Punch's InFamous series has been one of the defining examplesas to why the Playstation is such an amazing system to own. From yourfirst outing as Cole McGrath in Empire City, to his finale in NewMarais and most recently in the shoes of Delsin Rowe in Seattle. It'sa series that has consistently delivered in gameplay and story aswell as providing a new standard for superhero games. So how does theseries first spin-off fare against it's big brothers?

Set five years after the events of InFamous 2, the DUP headed byBrooke Augustine is rounding up conduits and placing them indetention centres to keep the public safe from harm. Abigail Walker,who those of you who played Second Son will know as Fetch, isplanning a robbery with her brother that will allow them to escape toCanada and keep her conduit powers out of reach of the DUP.

However when Fetch's brother is kidnapped by Russians she partnerswith a local drug kingpin Shane to help her free him. But as the DUPbegin to take hold of Seattle things prove to be a little moredifficult for our neon powered anti-heroine than she first imagined.

First Light provides us with an in-depth look at Second Son's mostinteresting character, the ex-junkie who is on the run from the DUPand acts as a vigilante against drug crime in Seattle. Set two yearsbefore Second Son, it allows us to have a greater understanding ofthe ordeal that Fetch went through before meeting Delsin, as well asallowing us to see Brooke Augustine in a completely different lightfollowing the revelations made about her character in Second Son.

It's a short tale, one that won't last you anymore than 5 hours on astraight play through the main missions. But it allows the story tobe delivered in a much more concentrated dose compared to theprevious InFamous games and their bloated run times.

First Light plays identically to Second Son, although instead ofbeing able to control multiple different superpowers you are nowlimited only to neon. This is no problem as it was easily thesuperior superpower out of all of the ones on offer last time. Tocompensate for this there is an expanded skill three full of newer,more powerful skills to learn.

Other than this the game remains almost exactly the same as SecondSon. An open world Seattle to explore, collectibles to find, sidemissions to complete and territories to control.

The game is much more fluid than Second Son thanks to Fetch'srelative mastery of her power compared to when Delsin adopts it fromher. Within a very short time you'll be able to string togetherenough moves to have you soaring over the rooftops of Seattle withgrace and ease. The flow of movement becomes engrained in your handsand much like Fetch you begin to embody her powers through thecontroller, rather than feel like you're playing a game.

The flipside to this however is that the game is very very easy. Theprevious InFamous games have never been a walk in the park, they havealways been relatively challenging games at times. Putting you inoverwhelming situations where improvisation and good combat tacticsare key, First Light however never seems to put you against too manyenemies at a time and when it does you're so powerful that they mayas well give up before they have even started.

This lack of challenge is somewhat underwhelming. It does make for amuch less frustrating game in comparison to previous entries, but italso makes for a much less rewarding game as a result.

Graphically First Light is identical to Second Son...which means it'sabsolutely fantastic. One of the best looking PS4 exclusives aroundwith a large detailed open world that runs at a smooth, consistentframe rate. The sound design again is very good, much of thesoundtrack comes from previous Sucker Punch games such as the Slyseries and previous InFamous game, but they work in First Lightrather well. It gives it a very different tone compared to SecondSon, despite it being a standalone expansion to that game.

Voice talent is again on top form headed by the fantastic LauraBailey and Christine Dunford reprising their roles as Fetch andBrooke respectively. Proving yet again in this troubled battle of thesexes in entertainment that you can craft an engaging story with veryfew male cast members, all of whom are relegated to secondarycharacters.

To finish up, First Light is another solid entry in the InFamousseries. A short but sweet view through the eyes of one of the seriesbest characters and an excellent prequel to Second Son. It'll leaveyou only wanting more from the InFamous universe.

InFamous:First Light – 8/10

+Shorter,More Personal InFamous Story

+Smooth,Flowing Gameplay

+GorgeousVisuals

+Fetch

-NotMuch Else To Do Besides Story