The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
Infamous is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective where the player controls Cole and primarily interacts with the world of Empire City through Cole's newly gained electricity-based powers; these are used for movement, offense and defense in combat, and either for better or worse in dealing with the citizens of Empire City. In order for Cole to use his powers, he must have stored electrical power, represented by a node meter on the player's heads up display (HUD). The player can recharge Cole by draining electricity from powered sources or from living beings; recharging also restores Cole's health.The game features 16 different electrical powers, ranging from simple bolts that do not consume Cole's energy to wide-field lightning storms that drain most of Cole's energy. The player can use such powers, giving the player options in certain situations. For example, the player may fire at a generator near foes to cause it to explode and cripple his opponents, then restrain them or make enemies attack each other.
Due to being vivified electricity, Cole is unable to use vehicles and touch water. Cole easily climbs buildings and other structures and can fall from a great height without taking damage. Many powers are acquired over the course of the game; once acquired, the player can use experience points, awarded for specific actions, stunts, and missions, to increase the power's effectiveness. The growth of these powers is affected by Cole's current Karma level.
Story
InFamous is set in Empire City, a fictional coastal metropolis connected to the American mainland by a single bridge. The city, inspired by New York City, is spread across three islands, each with its own borough, elevated train system, and power grid. Each island is connected to the others by a network of bridges and tunnels. The boroughs are the Neon District, the city's entertainment and business center decorated by grand Art Deco monuments; the Warren, a run-down residential neighborhood and international shipping hub; and the Historic District, the seat of the city government dominated by old Neo-Gothic and Beaux-Arts skyscrapers.
The game opens with a mysterious explosion that decimates several blocks of the Historic District, followed by a viral epidemic that forces the federal government to quarantine the city. A subsequent rise in violent crime overwhelms the city's police force, resulting in societal collapse.
Development
Infamous was developed by Sucker Punch Productions, with a team of 60 people working for about three years. Though they could have opted to request the necessary funds from Sony to increase the team size and finish the game in two years, producer Brian Fleming noted that Sucker Punch's iteration-based development approach worked better with a smaller team size.
Infamous came during the end of the development for Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves as the team began to look towards their next game. After spending the last six years on the same stealth game genre with the Sly Cooper games, they wanted to make something that was more "brazen and loud." However, as fans of the "comic book" motif, they decided to develop it in the direction of a superhero game, working with the idea of an origin story that would allow the player to experience the growth of the character. Fleming stated that with the slower development time, they knew they needed to develop the game for the PlayStation 3 and that the work needed to complement their previous game, akin to how Shigeru Miyamoto's The Legend of Zelda series contrasted his earlier Mario series. They also sought a project that would allow them to become familiar with the new PlayStation 3 hardware but had enough commonalities to allow them to bring their previous work on the Sly Cooper series forward.
Reception
Infamous received generally positive reviews according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Greg Miller of IGN considered the title to be "one of the best PlayStation 3 games to date". Core to the game's success, according to reviewers, were the basic mechanics of the game. Giant Bomb's Brad Shoemaker considered that Sucker Punch had "nailed the basic gameplay elements", tying all the various aspects of the game together.
The mixture of Cole's powers with the Karma elements of the game were also praised. The powers and Karma system were seen to bring difficult choices to how the player approach battles. Both sides of the Karma system were considered to be fun to play. The mission structure was considered a strong asset of the game.
