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I never had a problem with the concept of inFAMOUS as a game. Shooting lightning at enemies, climbing up walls "urban exploration" style, open-world gameplay — in terms of gameplay appeal, inFAMOUS was a winner. However, for a little while, I was kind of skeptical about inFAMOUS’ ability to deliver as a comic book superhero game. I never questioned the validity of the idea, but I remained a bit skeptical about exactly how faithful to comic book superhero concepts inFAMOUS would end up being. I love video games as a medium, but when it comes to superheroes, they’ve rarely ever captured the essence of licensed superheroes, let alone lend enough confidence that they’d deliver full-fledged original ones.
Imagine my surprise when I found myself nearly immediately sucked in by Sucker Punch’s electric adventure.
I haven’t read or collected comic books in nearly a decade — since I was twelve or thirteen years old. Yet, inFAMOUS pulled me into the game by opening an enormous gate right back to my childhood nostalgia and everything I ever loved about comic books. The reason why dawned on me within a few hours of gameplay: Sucker Punch gets it. Cole McGrath, his story, the gameplay, the setting — these certainly weren’t a bunch of video game developers stepping outside of their element. They understood how to make a superhero and exerted that understanding throughout inFAMOUS.
But what exactly does Sucker Punch get so right in terms of comic book style?
Cole McGrath: Cole is your typical ordinary guy-becomes-superhero. He’s a young guy stuck in a dead-end job with nothing to show for it when he suddenly gains powers and becomes charged with a powerful responsibility: become a hero or an icon of fear. He’s not particularly extraordinary as a person, which enables him to embody a sort of "everyman" persona. His powers make him special and a force to be reckoned with, but he’s not invincible. He’s got plenty of weaknesses and his enemies exploit them.
Perhaps most importantly, Cole isn’t "consumed" by morality, nor is he a jerk or trying too hard to be liked. He’s just himself and he’s faced with plenty of dilemmas. Cole brings an anti-hero edge to everything he does, even when on the "good" path. He can find some kind of rationalization for thinking of evil behavior, which even further fleshes out his everyman quality and emphasizes that he’s constantly at a crossroads. Cole is never "locked into" being a hero or a villain — he always gives himself the option to help himself or others, which adds even more brevity to whatever decision he finally makes.
Choices That Matter: Cole never merely gets a "save the cat or walk away" type of mission. He’s charged with pressing matters, like whether to give starving people food or keep it all to himself. In some cases, Cole will decide whether someone lives or dies. Even in combat, the player must decide on Cole’s behalf whether to merely take down enemies (good decision) or kill them (evil decision). Cole is always faced with matters of great importance, which gives inFAMOUS a "making of a great superhero" feel to it.
Badass Powers That Do Awesome Stuff: Cole can do plenty more than zap people with bolts from his hand. He can throw lightning grenades, grind power cables, throw focused electric blasts at enemies ("The Megawatt Hammer") and he can even summon lightning directly from the sky to destroy his enemies. Cole feels powerful and is always impressive in action.
Powers That Help Or Hurt: Want to help a citizen? Heal them. Want to hurt citizens? Knock them down and Bio Leech their energy. Cole’s powers even have non-story ordinary gameplay applications, making sure that the player retains their "hero" or "villain" persona at all times.
Powers That Level Up Over Time: Giving Cole powers that level up over time times his evolution as a hero or anti-hero with the player’s skills, making players care more about Cole and again adds to the "making of a great superhero" feel.
Interesting Supporting Cast And Villains: inFAMOUS’ universe has plenty of characters in it that stand out. Zeke is Cole’s conspiracy-focused best friend, who becomes much more fleshed out than that before the end of the game. Moya is a mysterious woman Cole speaks to over the radio, who’s charged him with finding the location of a missing federal agent known as John. Sasha is a villain who pumps out mind-controlling sewage. Alden is an elderly psychic villain who controls an entire army of junk-obsessed homeless gangsters. There’s even a guy who illegally broadcasts messages of hate against Cole on Empire City television. Cole is far from the only interesting character in the world of inFAMOUS and inFAMOUS is a better game for it.
Graphic Novel Cutscenes: inFAMOUS’ story is told more than effectively through graphic novel cutscenes that have plenty of grit and personality to them. These cutscenes feel like they easily could’ve been cut out of a real graphic novel — which is perhaps the most important point. inFAMOUS feels like a graphic novel concept being realized in a video game, not merely a gimmick being used to further a story. The use of motion in some of the cutscenes gives inFAMOUS a "graphic novel in motion" feel to them as well.
Great Story With Plenty Of Twists: Cole’s mission to hunt down and destroy the Ray Sphere that gave him his powers is far from predictable. Just when you think you know what’s going in inFAMOUS, the game changes it up. No twist is particularly predictable, which keeps the story fresh and intriguing throughout the game. Also, the game’s story has a great slow burn pacing to an epic conclusion at the end, which will have inFAMOUS fans like myself eagerly awaiting the sequel.
Sucker Punch executed the core concept of inFAMOUS very well. They brought an original superhero to life in a video game with faithful graphic novel flair. Most importantly, they didn’t stop at coming up with a superhero story — they incorporated the concept into gameplay aspects as well. Sucker Punch’s ability to successfully intertwine the two makes inFAMOUS a compelling and unique game. There’s no doubt that whenever inFAMOUS #2 arrives, it will be nothing short of superheroic on all fronts.