A Rightful Heir-The Second Son

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Easily one of the best games I've played within recent memory Infamous Second Son takes a step in the oh so right direction. Infamous Second Son is an angsty thrill ride akin to that of the re-imagining of the Devil May Cry series. Everything about this game succeeds in presenting something fresh to Sucker Punch's Infamous franchise. Warning potential spoilers ahead, I'll try to keep them to a minimum but no guarantees.

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Story: Easily one of the best aspects about this game. The story is your classic tale of a hero or villain as the presumptuous Delsin Rowe. I can't help but feel that the story matched exactly what the game mechanics wanted to say and it was just enough to keep interest but not long enough to bore you. Pacing was solid however a hinted romance never developed which personally left me feeling just a tad bit deflated. I'm a sucker for a decently crafted romance especially when its appropriate. That being said there are a lot of pleasantly relatable issues if you're a teen, actually especially if you're a teen. Almost to a fault, this story is both angsty and rebellious. Those of hardcore gamers can also relate heavily to the backstory of side-character Eugene. For both a well crafted story and likeable characters, story gets a 9/10.

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Gameplay: If there were a water conduit power, this game would probably pull it off magnificently. Everything flows exceptionally well in this game. Command inputs are smooth, skill tree is well designed and equally as well tied into the story. There's almost a Jedi vs Sith sort of feel to the powers, growing not only by player input but also by story choices. This makes for a deep system that ties right back into re-playability, which this game already had plenty of. There are some small immersion breaking bugs regarding subduing enemies and exploding vehicles but that can be overlooked in my opinion. There are some problems with wall climbing that Sucker Punch failed to really iron out. Climbing buildings with Smoke powers can be really annoying since the contact points don't always work. Comparing wall climbing between games like Assassin's Creed, it's clear Sucker Punch has some work in that department. Despite its minor flaws the majority of the action is silky smooth with great depth so Gameplay also receive a 9/10.

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Graphics. It isn't as good as I would have wanted it to be. However, the facial animations are so well done that it's hard to say that the studio failed at making a game with rich graphics. Majority speaking the game functions quite well; frames are smooth with plenty of detailed textures. Backgrounds and settings are well designed with equally as fantastic and rich character designs. There are no official cut-scenes in the traditional sense. Everything that is seen as a cutscene could easily be done within the gameplay parameters. Since cutscenes also share the same graphical attention as their in game counterparts there's not a break in immersion allowing for action and movie segments of the game to flow well together. Some games have a tough time with transitioning between in game facial animations and those of the movies. However, I'd say Sucker Punch has done a good job bridging that gap. Overall graphical work receives 8/10.

Sound: Robust and powerful, sound FX are quite well done in this game. Accompanying soundtrack could use some work. A few musical selections could have been mulled over some more. Sometimes I found myself wondering if this was really the right musical selection for the mood. But, every other sound effect I found myself very pleased with their decisions. Sound Receives a solid 8/10.

With an overall score of 8.5/10 or 34/40 Infamous: Second Son is a must play for PS4 owners. Those who haven't picked up a copy should definitely do so via PSN or from the link below.