This review contains spoilers
Only special types of games create a lasting impression on our youth. With a vast array of games to look back on, it’s easy to recall which ones were special. What’s even greater is revisiting these classics and finding that your affections weren’t misplaced. Many of those games earned that space in your memory and deserve to remain there. The inverse of this is also true. Some games that have garnered much praise have aged poorly. One of them being inFAMOUS. I remember charging through this game fondly. I beat it at least twice and made sure to find every collectible the game had to offer. Coming back to it 13 years later to discover monotonous settings, themes, and gameplay does not evoke the sense of nostalgia that I was expecting.
Initially, navigating Empire City was fun and interesting. You’re getting used to how Cole interacts with the world as the game drip-feeds you more lightning-based powers. The problem is that what you see in the beginning is what you get for the entire duration of the game. The dark and gloomy weather combined with rundown streets are designed to convey the oppressive atmosphere but it’s so ugly that it feels suffocating as a player to engage with. The enemy encounters never get more interesting because the design philosophy is just “more enemies” or “a handful of enemies and a bigger enemy.” The powers you gain along the way are supposed to facilitate change in the challenges presented but the daunting nature of constantly being shot by absurdly accurate enemies actively discourages you from wanting to participate in it. This combined with a half-baked narrative makes for an overall unpleasant experience.
You meet your core cast of friends and mysterious allies almost immediately but the game does not introduce you to the antagonist until much later in the story. You’re constantly facing the oppressive forces of the Reapers, Duskmen, and the First Sons but none of them are more than roadblocks as you push your way through them to get to the next objective. By the time you do meet the story’s villain, you’re ready to bolt your way to the finish line but by then you’ve been inundated with plagues of enemies constantly discharging fire upon you. This can be thinned out by doing the side quests offered in the game, but those quests are just as repetitive and unrefined as the primary gameplay. Bogged down by fetch quests, poorly designed stealth following quests, and elimination quests, you’re only hope of completing the game is to ignore it all and focus strictly on story missions. This resolves in one of two ways depending on a heavily imbalanced karma system that demands the player to commit to choices that are completely devoid of nuance.
Like many other games that came out during its time, inFAMOUS offers choices that are said to impact the storyline. These choices start off small where you have to decide whether you are going to share resources with the starving and desperate populace, or you can scare them away and horde them all to yourself. This choice serves nothing more than to generate karmic points towards either good or evil. The game informs you of which choice leans which way prior to you committing to it and provides nothing else for you. This is the case for basically every choice beyond that. They also usually boil down to scenarios where you either harm yourself or harm others. Towards the end of the game, the main antagonist gives you a choice to either save Cole’s love interest or a bunch of doctors. This is possibly the most frustrating choice in the game. It’s not a bad point of decision for what kind of character you want Cole to be, but because the love interest dies no matter what, the decision is immediately undermined. If you choose to save Trish, it’s revealed that the villain lied to you to prove a point and if you choose to save the doctors then you get a brief scene where Cole mourns his loss. Either way, it only skews your karma in one direction or the other. The game’s final decision is the only one that truly matters.
The game starts with you working as a courier delivering an object in your bag. Then there’s an explosion and you’re left in the epicenter with the power to control electricity. You later learn the object was an item called the Ray Sphere and it’s the source of your powers. In the game’s final chapters, you are given the choice to either destroy it or activate it again to enhance your powers further. This is the only decision that has a major influence on actual gameplay and the story’s ending. If you destroy it you gain a few points of good karma but if you activate it again you are locked into the evil ending and are realigned to full evil regardless of your karmic alignment prior to making that decision. You also gain some experience points and a power buff. From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense. Why would a hero committed to saving and helping people be willing to kill thousands of people to gain more power? The problem is the imbalance between the two decisions. Throughout the narrative, you’re encouraged to be a hero and do the right thing, the game practically shoves you in that direction by virtue of giving you good karma for simply not draining people of their energy to replenish your own. But were you to make it to the three evil ranks and choose to destroy the ray sphere you still remain evil. You have no true incentive to commit to one or the other when you can choose to go one way at the very end. After this decision, you are faced with the game’s conclusion.
Whether you are good or evil, you have to face Kessler (the main antagonist) at the end of the game. He’s been taunting you for all of the third act and now it’s finally time to end it. This battle takes place neatly where it all began and the setting is nicely designed to allow you to make full use of all of your abilities. These abilities have been the bread and butter of the entire game. Having shock grenades and rockets is a great way to make combat fun and engaging. This battle is one of the few instances where combat is actually enjoyable and engaging despite all of the powers you gain throughout the narrative. The boss has different moves that challenge your ability to maneuver and attack. Once you beat him, you are shown the big reveal that Kessler is actually you from the future where you were faced with an adversary that you chose to run away from. Shoehorning time travel into this already, weak story was the final nail in the coffin. This also depicts Cole taking actions that you, as the player, have no influence over which strips you of agency over whether Cole is truly good or evil. I wouldn’t call this a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. But the game’s active hostility towards the player whether it be from oppressive environments, overwhelming amounts of enemies easily overtaking you, or a weak story filled with meaningless decisions, I can easily call this a mediocre game that doesn't live up to the fond memories I had for it as a young adult.
Initially, navigating Empire City was fun and interesting. You’re getting used to how Cole interacts with the world as the game drip-feeds you more lightning-based powers. The problem is that what you see in the beginning is what you get for the entire duration of the game. The dark and gloomy weather combined with rundown streets are designed to convey the oppressive atmosphere but it’s so ugly that it feels suffocating as a player to engage with. The enemy encounters never get more interesting because the design philosophy is just “more enemies” or “a handful of enemies and a bigger enemy.” The powers you gain along the way are supposed to facilitate change in the challenges presented but the daunting nature of constantly being shot by absurdly accurate enemies actively discourages you from wanting to participate in it. This combined with a half-baked narrative makes for an overall unpleasant experience.
You meet your core cast of friends and mysterious allies almost immediately but the game does not introduce you to the antagonist until much later in the story. You’re constantly facing the oppressive forces of the Reapers, Duskmen, and the First Sons but none of them are more than roadblocks as you push your way through them to get to the next objective. By the time you do meet the story’s villain, you’re ready to bolt your way to the finish line but by then you’ve been inundated with plagues of enemies constantly discharging fire upon you. This can be thinned out by doing the side quests offered in the game, but those quests are just as repetitive and unrefined as the primary gameplay. Bogged down by fetch quests, poorly designed stealth following quests, and elimination quests, you’re only hope of completing the game is to ignore it all and focus strictly on story missions. This resolves in one of two ways depending on a heavily imbalanced karma system that demands the player to commit to choices that are completely devoid of nuance.
Like many other games that came out during its time, inFAMOUS offers choices that are said to impact the storyline. These choices start off small where you have to decide whether you are going to share resources with the starving and desperate populace, or you can scare them away and horde them all to yourself. This choice serves nothing more than to generate karmic points towards either good or evil. The game informs you of which choice leans which way prior to you committing to it and provides nothing else for you. This is the case for basically every choice beyond that. They also usually boil down to scenarios where you either harm yourself or harm others. Towards the end of the game, the main antagonist gives you a choice to either save Cole’s love interest or a bunch of doctors. This is possibly the most frustrating choice in the game. It’s not a bad point of decision for what kind of character you want Cole to be, but because the love interest dies no matter what, the decision is immediately undermined. If you choose to save Trish, it’s revealed that the villain lied to you to prove a point and if you choose to save the doctors then you get a brief scene where Cole mourns his loss. Either way, it only skews your karma in one direction or the other. The game’s final decision is the only one that truly matters.
The game starts with you working as a courier delivering an object in your bag. Then there’s an explosion and you’re left in the epicenter with the power to control electricity. You later learn the object was an item called the Ray Sphere and it’s the source of your powers. In the game’s final chapters, you are given the choice to either destroy it or activate it again to enhance your powers further. This is the only decision that has a major influence on actual gameplay and the story’s ending. If you destroy it you gain a few points of good karma but if you activate it again you are locked into the evil ending and are realigned to full evil regardless of your karmic alignment prior to making that decision. You also gain some experience points and a power buff. From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense. Why would a hero committed to saving and helping people be willing to kill thousands of people to gain more power? The problem is the imbalance between the two decisions. Throughout the narrative, you’re encouraged to be a hero and do the right thing, the game practically shoves you in that direction by virtue of giving you good karma for simply not draining people of their energy to replenish your own. But were you to make it to the three evil ranks and choose to destroy the ray sphere you still remain evil. You have no true incentive to commit to one or the other when you can choose to go one way at the very end. After this decision, you are faced with the game’s conclusion.
Whether you are good or evil, you have to face Kessler (the main antagonist) at the end of the game. He’s been taunting you for all of the third act and now it’s finally time to end it. This battle takes place neatly where it all began and the setting is nicely designed to allow you to make full use of all of your abilities. These abilities have been the bread and butter of the entire game. Having shock grenades and rockets is a great way to make combat fun and engaging. This battle is one of the few instances where combat is actually enjoyable and engaging despite all of the powers you gain throughout the narrative. The boss has different moves that challenge your ability to maneuver and attack. Once you beat him, you are shown the big reveal that Kessler is actually you from the future where you were faced with an adversary that you chose to run away from. Shoehorning time travel into this already, weak story was the final nail in the coffin. This also depicts Cole taking actions that you, as the player, have no influence over which strips you of agency over whether Cole is truly good or evil. I wouldn’t call this a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. But the game’s active hostility towards the player whether it be from oppressive environments, overwhelming amounts of enemies easily overtaking you, or a weak story filled with meaningless decisions, I can easily call this a mediocre game that doesn't live up to the fond memories I had for it as a young adult.