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PAX 08: Eyes-On inFAMOUS
Chain Lightning AND Open World? Am I Drooling Too Much?
by Sean
As I made my way through the Sony booth at PAX on Friday, hoping to get some hands-on time with LittleBigPlanet, I walked past the beginning of a video demo of inFAMOUS, a new IP from Sucker Punch Studios and Sony. Since there were just under 50,000 people waiting in line to try LBP (trust me, I counted), I figured I'd check out stop and see what exactly was in the offering. And I must say, I was very impressed with what I saw.
Set in the post-apocalyptic open-world metropolis of Empire City, inFAMOUS has you take on the role of Cole, a former bike messenger who has developed super powers. Discovering just what happened to Empire City (we know that there was some sort of explosion) to make it into a despair-filled wasteland is Cole's ulitmate mission in the game. In his life as a messenger, Cole was prone to climb buildings, swing from rooftops, and generally act like some sort of spider-man. All of these abilities remain with the character, but are enhanced by the powers given by the blas; namely the power to draw electricty from Empire City and shoot lightning from his fingertips.
With great power comes great responsibility, and as such, Cole's new abilities are no different. He has the power to electrify anything and anyone in his path (provided he is in an area of the city that still has electricity), but that power can be used to help as well as harm. During the demo video, Cole came across an innocent citizen of Empire City who was on the verge of death. Cole used his hands to administer a hand-to-chest human defibrillator and brought the unappreciative woman back to life. Sure, she didn't thank him, but Cole did get a boost to his "karmic status".
During the course of the game, Cole will encounter many foes, including the evil "Reapers" gang, as well as enemies who were also given powers from the blast. It is up to you as a player to determine if Cole will triumph over evil or sink to their level.
There is no official release date, but the booth feller (what is the male equivalent of "booth babe") told us to expect it Spring of 2009, only for the PS3. We'll bring you more information on inFAMOUS as we get it.
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Comments
i have been watching some videos on this and the game is looking very good. Thanks for the info bro
The human defib thing is only cool if you can also do a little old fashioned psychotherapy ala Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream on the people in this world too.
she didn't thank him?!?
why is post-apocalyptic society so rude???
@MeLLoW: that is absolutely correct. The game changes based on your karmic status.
This whole "righteous path" vs "villainous path" is nothing new to video games. (KOTOR, Fable, Bioshock, etc.) I wonder what the first game to turn that mechanic on its head is going to be?
@loltim: Fable II!