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Infamous Second Son
The only two games for which I have PlayStation 3 platinum trophies are Sucker Punch's super-powered Infamous and Infamous 2. You might imagine that I was interested to get my hands on the first PlayStation 4 entry in the series, Infamous: Second Son.
In the short demo I played, new protagonist Delsin Rowe has just arrived to Seattle. In order to enter the city, he needs to get past Department of Unified Protection (DUP) guards.
The world of Infamous: Second Son is one of paranoia, and everyone coming into the city must be tested for conduit powers (activated by players putting their finger on the DualShock 4 touchpad). Unfortunately for Delsin, he not only trips the sensors, but he's identified as a "prime conduit" (which isn't yet explained).
Because of this, DUP guards shoot first and ask questions later. This gave us a chance to take combat through its paces.
The most important takeaway is that Second Son feels right. The controls have been changed, though. Jump and melee attacks remain on the same buttons (square and X respectively). Firing smoke bolts moves to R2, but Delsin can fire from the hip (aim mode is still in for more precise targeting, though). The smoke blast can also be charged for a more devastating effect, and I was able to take down guard towers with ease.
You do not need to be in aim mode in order to blast enemies.This keeps Delsin more mobile, and in combination with his dash, he can easily burst into a fight and retreat back when things get too hot. There are hints of a karma system in the demo, and Delsin can choose to subdue or execute some enemies. Sucker Punch wouldn't divulge more than that, though.
At the end of the Gamescom trailer, we saw Delsin seemingly absorb a new ability. We got to take another of his powersets out for a test drive. The neon abilities weren't fully unlocked for us, but we did see how absorbing that element impacts traversal.
By holding the dash button (circle) Delsin will move in a straight line at high speeds. He isn't bound by gravity, and can quickly run up walls or away from a fight.
After playing around with that for a bit, we switched back to smoke to test out the different traversal types. Both have versions of Cole's static thrusters from Infamous 1 and 2, but the smoke ability also gives Delsin quick exits when near a vent. He can zip through them from ground level to the rooftops in seconds.
As we pushed ahead to our final battle, we encountered DUP guards with some super powers of the their own. This felt familiar, as fighting other conduits often posed some of the more interesting moments of open world encounters in the previous two titles.
Finally, we destroyed a large DUP vehicle while under assault from dozens of guards. The demo ended with an enormously powerful explosion caused by Delsin rocketing into the air and slamming back down to earth. At the apex of his jump, his character shines through as he gives the camera a too-clever grin.
Infamous is slated for a February 2014 release. For more, be sure to read our coverage from the June 2013 issue.
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