inFamous

Overview

inFamous is an open world action-adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions, creators of the Sly Cooper series. The game was released on May 26, 2009 in North America, and May 29, 2009 in Europe. inFamous has the player assume the role of Cole MacGrath, a bike messenger who gains electrical superpowers after a mysterious explosion.

Gameplay

Cole's greatest strength and weakness comes from the source of his electrical powers. Cole's inability to generate his own energy to fuel his powers forces him to rely on the city's unreliable power grid, making players constantly manipulate the city's energy in order to use it for themselves. When Cole is in an area with power, he is able to constantly recharge his supply through the use of pay phones, lamp posts and other sources of electricity. Sucker Punch's Nate Fox claimed that players must be wary of rolling brownouts that will randomly occur throughout the city, which prevents players from recharging Cole's powers. In reality, the game contains no such feature. However, certain regions of the city are separated from the power grid, and Cole must venture into them to return the electricity to the area. When Cole is in a powerless region of the city, his vision becomes blurred and he can only charge his powers from car batteries (which only give a small boost) or roof-mounted generators.

All of Cole's powers revolve around electrical based attacks. Featured attacks include the ability to shoot electricity out of his hands, call upon lightning from the sky, a shock wave that can push enemies and objects, and the ability to create a grenade-like ball of lightning.

Cole is unable to use guns or drive cars because the electricity in his body would ignite the ammunition or gas, causing them to explode. In addition, Cole has a decided weakness to water; his current flows into any standing water, such that full body submersion would instantly electrocute him. Showers of water cause pain as well, so it is mentioned in the backstory that Cole is now forced to sponge bathe.

Cole also has more esoteric uses of his ability, such as his "post-cognition" power, which allows Cole to read the residual electrical energy in the brain of a recently deceased person, in order to learn the cause of their death. Cole can also ride along electrified power lines and train tracks, which allows Cole to travel around Empire City more easily.

inFamous players to make moral decisions, as well. Cole can choose whether to help or hurt the civilians of Empire City, and his actions will not only affect how citizens react to him, but also affect which of the two endings the player can see. If Cole is kind to the citizens of Empire City, they will adore him and help him out whenever possible. But if players choose to attack civilians, the citizens will resent Cole and cower in fear. The player's karma status will have a visual effect on Cole's electricity based powers. For example, players with Good Karma will have blue lightning bolts, whereas players with Evil Karma will have red lightning bolts. Good Karma powers are more centered around catching bad guys alive and not harming civilians whereas the Evil Karma powers are more explosive and dangerous. Filling the positive Karma meter will gain Cole the title of Hero, while filling the negative Karma meter will label him, perhaps more appropriately, Infamous.

inFamous does not auto-pause if the DualShock 3 controller battery dies, a problem fixed in the sequel.

Characters

Cole MacGrath

The hero or villain of inFamous. Cole is a simple bike messenger who is assigned to deliver a package, which unfortunately is more than he bargained for. The package explodes destroying a few city blocks, killing civilians and granting Cole with electricity based powers. The player can choose to have Cole be the hero and bring peace to Empire City, or become the villain and plunge it further into chaos.

Zeke Dunbar

Cole's best friend who lives on a rooftop. Zeke becomes jealous of Cole's newfound powers, but despite his jealousy, Zeke is willing to maintain his friendship with Cole and assist him in any way possible.

Trish Daily

Cole's ex-girlfriend. Trish is a doctor who is attempting to help the wounded civilians trapped within Empire City's quarantine zone. Trish asks Cole to perform various tasks such as freeing bases and procuring supplies. Despite his help, Trish still holds Cole responsible for the death of her sister.

Moya Jones

An FBI Agent who assigns Cole the task of restoring power to different areas of the city. Moya is desperately searching for John who has been trapped in the quarantine.

John White

is Moya's husband, he was trapped in Empire City while investigating a case for the NSA when the quarantine started. He left numerous encoded messages on satellite receivers, called Dead Drops.

Story

inFamous follows the story of Cole MacGrath, a bike messenger and resident of the fictional Empire City. At the start of the game, a package that Cole is assigned to deliver causes a huge explosion that rips apart six city blocks, leaving behind a crater and somehow leaving Cole as the only survivor of the immediate blast. The explosion grants Cole with several electricity-based powers.

As a result of his exhaustion, Cole falls into unconsciousness, only to wake up two weeks later to find that Empire City has fallen into complete chaos. Without the police, gangs have taken over areas of the city and a plague has infected many of the residents causing the city to be quarantined by the government.

A video signal jacker who refers to himself as "the Voice of Survival," periodically hacks into public broadcasts and sends out his own pirate messages about survival information for Empire City civilians, reveals that Cole was the cause of the explosion, thus setting the population of Empire City (even his girlfriend, Trish) against him. Cole must come to terms with his powers, decide whether to help those in need or serve his own self interests, and face off against larger threats that have manifested in the city due to the explosion and its aftermath.

According to inFamous producer Nate Fox, the team wanted to have Cole be "a kind of an everyman," so that they could then "get into the headspace of what it would be like to be a real human being who has been granted these exceptional abilities." While Cole is the only playable character, he is joined by two friends; Zeke, a fellow bike messenger, conspiracy theorist and survivalist who becomes jealous of Cole's powers, and Trish, Cole's ex-girlfriend and medical student who resents him due to her sister being killed in the blast but still helps in treating the injured, a "Lois Lane with syringes" as stated by Sucker Punch.

Powers

Throughout the game Cole is able to spend experience points to upgrade numerous powers that are acquired during the game. Most of the powers are the same for the good and bad archetype paths but have slight differences. For example both archetypes can use shock grenades, but the good archetype grenades increase enemy knockdown time while the evil ones split into multiple clusters which increases their blast radius.

Lightning Bolt - Fires a single bolt of electricity at an enemy. This ability does not consume energy from Cole's battery cores.

Good Upgrades

• Righteous Blow - Cost: 800 XP. Restores some energy for each successful strike on a human target.
• Righteous Shot - Cost: 2900 XP. Headshots cause electricity to spread to nearby enemies and objects.
• Righteous Strike - Cost: 12000 XP. Restores significantly more energy for each successful strike. A successful headshot restores health.

Evil Upgrades

• Sadistic Blow - Cost: 400 XP. Affected enemies have a chance of exploding before dying.
• Sadistic Shot - Cost: 2900 XP. Increases the size of the explosion.
• Sadistic Strike - Cost: 12000 XP. Headshots automatically trigger the explosion.

Electromagnetic Shockwave - can be used to push enemies to the ground and off buildings. As well as push objects and reflect enemy rockets.

Good Upgrades

• Reverse Magnetism - Cost: 800 XP. Affected human targets are suspended in air.
• Increased Force - Cost: 1800 XP. Shockwaves do more damage.
• Increased Range - Cost: 2800 XP. Shockwaves travel further.

Evil Upgrades

• Electrocution - Cost: 800 XP. All human targets are electrified.
• Increased Force and Range - Cost: 1800 XP. Shockwaves travel further and do more damage.
• Car Exploding - Cost: 3300 XP. Affected vehicles explode on contact.

Shock Grenade - Shock grenades are balls of energy that are thrown into groups of enemies. They only stick to enemies.

Good Upgrades

• Knockdown Increase - Cost: 800 XP. Increases enemy knockdown time.
• Blast Radius and Damage increase - Cost: 1900 XP. Increases the blast radius and damage.
• Restraining - Cost: 5500 XP. Restrains knocked down enemies and increases damage.

Evil Upgrades

• Three Cluster Grenades - Cost: 1200 XP. Cluster of three Shock Grenades separate on impact.

• Five Cluster Grenades - Cost: 1900 XP. Cluster of five Shock Grenades separate on impact.
• Seven Cluster Grenades - Cost: 4600 XP. Cluster of seven Shock Grenades separate on impact.

Megawatt Hammer - A "rocket" that flies in a straight line and explodes on impact.

Good Upgrades

• Rocket Redirect - Cost: 800 XP. Allows the player to redirect the Megawatt Hammer by firing a Lightning Bolt at the target.
• Reverse Magnetism - Cost: 2500 XP. Temporarily suspends the affected enemy in the air.
• Blast Radius Increase- Cost: 5300 XP. Increases blast radius of Megawatt Hammer.

Evil upgrades

• Mini-Rockets - Cost: 800 XP. Adds a pair of mini-rockets that attach to their targets before exploding.
• Mini-Rockets - Cost:2500 XP. Adds four mini-rockets that attach to their targets before exploding.
• Mini-Rockets - Cost: 5300 XP. Adds six mini-rockets that attach to their targets before exploding.

Overload Burst - Fire a bolt that chains off conductive surfaces. This is only available to the player if they have Good Karma.

Good Upgrades

• Unlock - Requirement: Complete 5 Good Missions. The player can now use the ability.
• Double Damage - Requirement: Complete 10 Good Missions. Doubles the damage of Overload Burst.
• Damage Increase and Charge Time Decrease - Requirement: 15 Good Missions. Increases damage and reduces charge time.

Arc Lightning - Fires a continuous beam of energy that chains off conductive surfaces. This is only available to the player if they have Evil Karma.

Evil Upgrades

• Unlock - Requirement: Complete 5 Evil Missions. The player can now use the ability.
• Branching - Requirement: Complete 10 Evil Missions. Unlimited branching and increased damage.
• Explosions - Requirement: Complete 15 Evil Missions. Affected weakened enemies have a chance of exploding.

Thunder Drop - Holding down the square button in the air causes Cole to store up energy. When Cole lands that energy is released and creates a electric shockwave.

Neutral Upgrades

• Blast Radius Increase - Cost: 800 XP. Increases blast radius.
• Electrocution - Cost: 1300 XP. Affected humans are electrified.
• Damage Increase- Cost: 3200 XP. Increases Thunder Drop damage.

Reduce Damage - Damage received from attacks and explosions is decreased.

Neutral Upgrades

• Damage Reduction - Cost: 600 XP. Reduces damage received by 10%.
• Improved Damage Reduction - Cost: 1800 XP. Reduces damage received by 20%.
• Maximum Damage Reduction - Cost: 2600 XP. Reduces damage received by 30%.

Melee - Close combat moves that encompass punches, kicks and other acrobatic attacks.

Neutral Upgrades

• Damage Increase - Cost: 600 XP. Increases melee damage.
• Significant Damage Increase - Cost: 1000 XP. Significantly increases melee damage.
• Maximum Damage Increase - Cost: 1500 XP. Increases melee damage to maximum amount.

Electric Drain - Ability to drain electricity from various sources to heal and restore energy to Cole.

Neutral Upgrades

• Drain Speed Increase - cost: 800 XP. Increases the draining speed.
• Induction Yield - Cost: 1400 XP. Automatically recharges energy when Cole is grinding on rails.
• Karmic Overload - Cost: 2000 XP. When Cole reaches maximum Karma for either alignment. The player can trigger a Karmic Overload giving Cole limitless energy for a short period of time.

Polarity Wall - Creates a energy shield that can stop bullets.

Neutral Upgrades

• Recharge - Cost: 1600 XP. Converts blocked damage into energy.
• Size Increase - cost: 3000 XP. Increases the shield size.

Pulse Heal - Pulses of electricity that heals injured civilians. When used, it increases Cole's Good Karma.

• This power has no upgrades.

Arc Restraint - Electric wrist and ankle restraints that render targets immobile. When used on enemies, it increases Cole's Good Karma.

When used on innocent people, it increases his Evil karma. Cole can also earn Evil karma for "executing" criminals who have been Arc Restrained

• This power has no upgrades.

Bio-Leech - Drains the electrical energy from the nervous systems of downed enemies and civilians. It fills up Cole's battery cores and heals all damage at the expense of the victim's life. This act also increases Cole's Evil Karma.

• This power has no upgrades.

Precision - Gives the player zoom functionality and slows time, allows Cole to fire devastatingly powerful Precision Bolts that go much, much further than regular lightning bolts and hit much harder.

• This power has no upgrades.

Lightning Storm - Calls a huge lighting storm that the player can direct using the controller's SIXAXIS functionality.

This power has no upgrades.

Gigawatt Blades - Electric gauntlets with large blades. The Gigawatt Blades must be equipped by pressing right on the directional pad before using. Cole can only use the blades once before having to re-equip them. While this is a downside, almost all enemies will be killed after one attack. The blades were originally a pre-order bonus, but are now available as a DLC add-on in the PlayStation Store.

Neutral Upgrades

• Damage Increase - Cost: 800 XP. Increases damage of Gigawatt Blades.
• Significant Damage Increase - Cost: 1000 XP. Significantly increases damage of Gigawatt Blades.
• Maximum Damage Increase - Cost: 2000 XP. Maximizes damage of Gigawatt Blades.

Pre-order Bonuses / Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta

Customers who purchased inFamous within a certain time frame after launch received a voucher inside the game's case to participate in the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves multiplayer beta. The voucher was valid from June 3, 2009 till June 28, 2009.

Players will also receive a code to access the Gigawatt Blades power upon pick-up of the game if they pre-order from GameStop in the U.S. or buy the special edition in Europe or Australia. GameStop.com describes the power as being able to "annihilate any foe and transforms Cole's hands into instruments of sheer destruction, yet still gentle enough to allow for the occasional tickling."

Demo

inFamous developer Sucker Punch released a demo on May 21, 2009 for the PlayStation Network on the North American, European, and Hong Kong PlayStation Stores. The demo features two story missions and two side missions. Two missions feature Cole with Hero status, while the other two have Cole with Infamous status, therefore allowing the player to experience both sides of the karma spectrum. Players who downloaded the demo from the PlayStation Store received an added bonus of a Cole costume set for use in PlayStation Home.

Soundtrack

The music in inFamous is composed by Amon Tobin (who has previously worked on the score for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory ), Jim Dooley, JD Meyer and Mel Wesson. It was performed using a range of found objects, such as rubbish cans and bungee cords, alongside more conventional instruments used in unconventional ways.

The soundtrack featuring this music was released on the iTunes Store on May 21 2009, and includes the track Silent Melody by Working For A Nuclear Free City, which was commissioned specifically for the game's Power Trip trailer.

inFamous: Original Soundtrack from the Video Game track list:

1. Rabble Rouser - Amon Tobin
2. Stampton Bridge - Amon Tobin
3. Meet the Reapers - Amon Tobin, Jim Dooley
4. The First Sons - Jim Dooley
5. Alden Strikes - Amon Tobin Jim Dooley
6. The Escape - Jim Dooley, Mel Wesson
7. Dinner With Sasha - Jim Dooley
8. The Courier - Amon Tobin
9. Secrets Revealed - JD Meyer
10. Rampage - Jim Dooley
11. Tent City - JD Meyer
12. Hunt for the Ray Sphere - Amon Tobin
13. End of the Road - Jim Dooley
14. Anything for Trish - Amon Tobin
15. Stranded - Amon Tobin
16. Mysterious Signals - JD Meyer
17. The Truth - Jim Dooley, Mel Wesson
18. Genesis - Amon Tobin, Jim Dooley
19. Pleasant Empire - Jim Dooley
20. Silent Melody - Working for a Nuclear Free City

This should be obvious, but in case you were wondering, inFamous does not support custom soundtracks from the XMB.