inFAMOUS redux
Well, I already commented on the game, though I have minor ammendments to add having played through the "evil" path.
Overall? Still good. But... It could have been better. It didn't feel as fleshed out and properly done as the good path.
In Act 1, it's discovered one of the local gangs, the Reapers, are under the mind-controlling effects of some sludge that they're spreading in the water supply. Cole gets splashed in his first encounter with the stuff and sees/hears things for a while after. By the end of the Act, it's revealed that this stuff is being produced by another super powered person, Sasha, who leads the gang and has ties with the big-bad of the game.
So what?
Well... on the up side for the story, this actually gives some reason for Cole to become evil. As he descends in morality, his visual appearance looks paler and more... gunky. It's not said outright, but there's some implication that the sludge is having a corrupting effect on him. The evil side missions are pretty much all conducted with Sasha whispering in his ear. For several of them, you even get to work with some of her Reaper conduits.
On the down side, there's not really much other payoff with Sasha. Defeated in the end of Act 1, whispering from afar in the evil missions, and... that's it. All her talk of love and such, and you don't meet her again - that seems a little weak. Plus, even after running missions for her later, you return to Reaper territory and the random mobs there remain hostile. It'd be nice if they were friendly, even if you had to move one of the other gangs into the area to provide enemies.
Most of the "cut scenes" play out very similarly on either path, though there is a different tone to things. The bad guy is still taken on and things are still set up for the conflict in the sequel. The evil path gets you some extra blast shards and bonus XP along the way, but I find that's sort of balanced by the fact that healing injured people rewards more XP than draining them, and that seems to add up over the course of the game.
So good, and an interesting perspective to see, but it'd be a lot more worth playing through a second time if there were more differences in some way.
And the end credits song rocks. The lyrics are a little scattered and difficult to make out, but it's got a catchy, memorable beat and feel to it.
Overall? Still good. But... It could have been better. It didn't feel as fleshed out and properly done as the good path.
In Act 1, it's discovered one of the local gangs, the Reapers, are under the mind-controlling effects of some sludge that they're spreading in the water supply. Cole gets splashed in his first encounter with the stuff and sees/hears things for a while after. By the end of the Act, it's revealed that this stuff is being produced by another super powered person, Sasha, who leads the gang and has ties with the big-bad of the game.
So what?
Well... on the up side for the story, this actually gives some reason for Cole to become evil. As he descends in morality, his visual appearance looks paler and more... gunky. It's not said outright, but there's some implication that the sludge is having a corrupting effect on him. The evil side missions are pretty much all conducted with Sasha whispering in his ear. For several of them, you even get to work with some of her Reaper conduits.
On the down side, there's not really much other payoff with Sasha. Defeated in the end of Act 1, whispering from afar in the evil missions, and... that's it. All her talk of love and such, and you don't meet her again - that seems a little weak. Plus, even after running missions for her later, you return to Reaper territory and the random mobs there remain hostile. It'd be nice if they were friendly, even if you had to move one of the other gangs into the area to provide enemies.
Most of the "cut scenes" play out very similarly on either path, though there is a different tone to things. The bad guy is still taken on and things are still set up for the conflict in the sequel. The evil path gets you some extra blast shards and bonus XP along the way, but I find that's sort of balanced by the fact that healing injured people rewards more XP than draining them, and that seems to add up over the course of the game.
So good, and an interesting perspective to see, but it'd be a lot more worth playing through a second time if there were more differences in some way.
And the end credits song rocks. The lyrics are a little scattered and difficult to make out, but it's got a catchy, memorable beat and feel to it.
It would be nice if morality -meant- something in games beyond a character skin and power colors.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if everything meant more. ;) As I often seem to be trying to explain to , consequence is difficult to make in games. For each branch of impact, you need a different set of dialogue, or cut scenes, or AI behavior, or choice-specific quests... It makes a game more realistic (or exaggerated in some cases), but the more choices - moral or otherwise - that are given manifest impact in the game, the fewer people can be expected to see each one. And there's a point at which the development time stops being worth it. Just be glad we're in an age where developers are trying. The morality-heavy systems popular in such games may be on the rough side, but it's better than nothing - and hopefully a step to better yet.
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