Super courier

by ERIK LEIJON

Congratulations resourceful game developers, for finally hammering out a foolproof formula for creating a competent open-world action game. inFAMOUS (PS3/SCE, Sucker Punch) is more adventurous than your mere carbon copy game, considering the protagonist is a fledgling superhero capable of shooting electricity from his arms, but the game also feels safe. The developers have done their homework, keeping the main and auxiliary missions flowing and building a compact and vertical world.

The game begins with the protagonist, a courier named Cole, accidentally detonating the Ray Sphere upon opening a mysterious package. The explosion takes out six blocks of Empire City, although Cole awakens with newfound superpowers such as the aforementioned electrified hands and the ability to survive harrowing rooftop jumps. The government has quarantined the still standing portions of the metropolis, leaving Empire City’s normal and freak populations to fight over limited resources.

The main hook of inFAMOUS concerns the choices presented to Cole throughout the game, which determine whether the unlikely superhero becomes the cat-in-tree-saving type of good guy or the egomaniacal anti-hero.

The choices presented are extremely black and white, including Cole’s unsubtle soliloquies. “If I do this, I’ll hurt myself, but people will respect me. If I do this, I’ll kill a lot of innocent civilians,” is as deep as his inner-narrative gets, but in reality, the difference between being a good guy or bad guy is mostly just a different colour scheme. You’ll dabble playing for both sides, but it’s hard to adopt an entirely good or evil persona.

The developers know an open-world game is only as good as the locale, and Empire City is a gorgeous, deep urban jungle that looks not unlike New York City post-Cloverfield attack. It’s not perfect, since the city lacks distinct landmarks to differentiate each block, but travelling around between missions—normally by grinding down the railroad tracks—is so quick, it makes getting from A to B extremely fun.

The lack of debilitating foibles is really what makes inFAMOUS so effortlessly playable, even when the enemies become redundant, the storyline takes a backseat to action and the camera succumbs to occasional hiccups. inFAMOUS feels as though the developers began with Crackdown’s superhero open-world idea and chiselled it down to an extremely smooth, polished nub.

The reluctant superhero makes for an interesting lead character, as Cole must not only deal with newfound notoriety, but also learn about all the new powers bestowed upon him. The abundance of visually drab sewer missions provide Cole with the opportunity to discover new powers, and the excitement from learning new ways to inflict death and destruction on friends and foes alike is the only time one really gets invested in Cole’s predicament.

Otherwise inFAMOUS doesn’t feel much different from your typical open-world action game. Still, a sandbox game as tight and refined as this can still be extremely rewarding and enjoyable, even if the developers shied away from taking a great leap into the unknown.

Beautiful barf

If anyone has ever felt that the only thing holding back the Kirby games from perfection was vomit, then waste no time checking out the free Web-browser game Spewer (PC/Newgrounds). It’s a platform puzzle game where regurgitation is the key to getting a small blob-like character to the end of each stage. Blowing chunks can be used to propel the blob even further in the air, or create a pool for it to swim in—all while a creepy mad scientist looks on.

The game is a lot cuter looking than the thought of staring at piles of puke might suggest. Check out newgrounds.com/portal/view/494129.