Infamous: First Light |
6/10
James Davie |
DEV: Sucker Punch
PUB: Sony Computer Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: 27/08/2014
FORMAT: PS4
Fetch is an apt name for a female with superpowers, constantly on the run from the law, routinely performing menial tasks for a male villain. Off-cut excuses to tart her up with stereotypical and misogynistic verbal jabs are frequent, as if she was a piece of tender and succulent meat strung on a skewer, whose flavoursome sauce is constantly being licked off by the careless swine of an antagonist, wanting to be the almighty usurper of peace and tranquillity. After all, fetching is a primary task for gamers, as they presumably want to ‘fetch’ good times by ‘fetching’ whatever it is an NPC character wants them to ‘fetch’.
Back to the point, Infamous First Light is a sidestep to Second Son, starring Fetch- you know, that bosomed wench from Second Son who gives Delsin the run around and is a conduit possessing neon superpowers. Fetch starts out in the D.U.P facility, under interrogation from its leader Augustine, as she tries to seek answers pertaining to the origins of Fetch’s supernatural abilities. Augustine and the player take a trip down memory lane, where a bigger overarching picture is formed. Fetch’s brother goes missing and is held captive by Shane- a drug peddling Texan stereotype, who allies with Fetch at the beginning, only to betray her later on in what is an undeniably obvious twist you’ll just be sitting and yawning flippantly for. The story does have a decent send-off, but the rest of the narrative is so clichéd and bog-standard, it’ll be easy to switch off. The characters are bland, even Fetch doesn’t procure much sentimental value, as she begrudgingly accepts every mission Shane forces her to commit to. It’s only when she subversively betrays him later on that any personality drips from her violet hair dye.
Being a microcosm of Second Son is no bad thing, as the tautness should allow First Light to stand on its own two feet. Regrettably even though it’s still refreshing to speed and dash around Seattle again, there aren’t many diversions to keep you occupied, and those that exist are painfully easy, leaving the world feeling rather bland and unadventurous. The few diversions you can participate in are tagging, using the neon capabilities to create makeshift graffiti. Neon racing has you speeding and chasing for a runaway Lumin- (the currency to which you can purchase upgrades in the menu screen with), using smoky vortexes of neon to send you rocketing in forward momentum after the target. Surveillance drones are scattered throughout Seattle for you to destroy as well, as are gangster vehicles and D.U.P armoured trucks. So there isn’t much to sink your teeth into as you explore the state’s capital again, which is disappointing as there are certainly moments where First Light removes itself from the shadow of its bigger brother.
PUB: Sony Computer Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: 27/08/2014
FORMAT: PS4
Fetch is an apt name for a female with superpowers, constantly on the run from the law, routinely performing menial tasks for a male villain. Off-cut excuses to tart her up with stereotypical and misogynistic verbal jabs are frequent, as if she was a piece of tender and succulent meat strung on a skewer, whose flavoursome sauce is constantly being licked off by the careless swine of an antagonist, wanting to be the almighty usurper of peace and tranquillity. After all, fetching is a primary task for gamers, as they presumably want to ‘fetch’ good times by ‘fetching’ whatever it is an NPC character wants them to ‘fetch’.
Back to the point, Infamous First Light is a sidestep to Second Son, starring Fetch- you know, that bosomed wench from Second Son who gives Delsin the run around and is a conduit possessing neon superpowers. Fetch starts out in the D.U.P facility, under interrogation from its leader Augustine, as she tries to seek answers pertaining to the origins of Fetch’s supernatural abilities. Augustine and the player take a trip down memory lane, where a bigger overarching picture is formed. Fetch’s brother goes missing and is held captive by Shane- a drug peddling Texan stereotype, who allies with Fetch at the beginning, only to betray her later on in what is an undeniably obvious twist you’ll just be sitting and yawning flippantly for. The story does have a decent send-off, but the rest of the narrative is so clichéd and bog-standard, it’ll be easy to switch off. The characters are bland, even Fetch doesn’t procure much sentimental value, as she begrudgingly accepts every mission Shane forces her to commit to. It’s only when she subversively betrays him later on that any personality drips from her violet hair dye.
Being a microcosm of Second Son is no bad thing, as the tautness should allow First Light to stand on its own two feet. Regrettably even though it’s still refreshing to speed and dash around Seattle again, there aren’t many diversions to keep you occupied, and those that exist are painfully easy, leaving the world feeling rather bland and unadventurous. The few diversions you can participate in are tagging, using the neon capabilities to create makeshift graffiti. Neon racing has you speeding and chasing for a runaway Lumin- (the currency to which you can purchase upgrades in the menu screen with), using smoky vortexes of neon to send you rocketing in forward momentum after the target. Surveillance drones are scattered throughout Seattle for you to destroy as well, as are gangster vehicles and D.U.P armoured trucks. So there isn’t much to sink your teeth into as you explore the state’s capital again, which is disappointing as there are certainly moments where First Light removes itself from the shadow of its bigger brother.
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One of the ways First Light carves its own engravings is through its unique challenge mode. Here, you can use either Fetch or Delsin Rowe (the latter only playable if you have a Second Son save on your PS4), and battle inside the Curten Kay facility, fighting D.U.P grunts and various demonic entities in Survival mode, and saving hostages in distress via the Rescue alternative. Rescue plays a bit like an enclosed, arena based, third person action heavy Resogun. You have to engage in a manic rush from one side of a map to another in order to save a man in green by fighting off nearby insurgents, then walking into him by which you will officially save him and conjure up more points you can also score by building up multipliers from blasting enemies apart, and utilising your special gravitational superpower in a blender squashingly satisfying manner you can quite literally feel. In an advantageous twist, you can recruit holographic simulacrums to fight for you, provided you hit their glowing weak spots. Survival is the other mode, having you outlast the usual droves of enemies until you die- a standard yet invigorating mode type, testing your acclimation of the skills and abilities you’ve earned. Each challenge mode will reward you with a Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum ranking, and there are numerous objectives available to boost your SP, and therefore your upgrade cache.
Main story missions are sadly the ultimate turnoff to Infamous First Light. Shane has Abigail ‘Fetch’ Walker play the veritable ball and chain victim, as she conducts conduit emitting capabilities from atop Shane’s truck to protect him from pursuing gangster vehicles, and if he dies it’s mission fail and a restart for you. There are two of these blighters but surprisingly they aren’t the worst missions. The few objectives where you are forced into a close over-the-shoulder viewpoint hurling neon bombs and oncoming rank and fodder is the zenith of abysmal First Light aspires to. Generally speaking, the missions in First Light are monotonous and none of them come as close as instilling the profound sense of power and destruction in Delsin’s tale. On the contrary, the closing chapter features a new setting and has a resonant conclusion, wrapping the story up convincingly if typically.
Another dinger in First Light is the absence of moral choices. Infamous has prided itself on giving you the option to play a demonic or saintly role, but these have been jettisoned to nothing but the bear minimum, exposing the cracks in First Light’s exterior in the process. Delsin may have been a roguish thug, and it arguably made little sense to grant him moral choices based on his criminal intent, but little is known about Fetch other than she’s a conduit and that her brother is being held captive- so having her foes at the mercy of her would have given her more autonomy as a female lead. As it stands, having zero moral decisions to make is Infamous First Light’s biggest sin.
Main story missions are sadly the ultimate turnoff to Infamous First Light. Shane has Abigail ‘Fetch’ Walker play the veritable ball and chain victim, as she conducts conduit emitting capabilities from atop Shane’s truck to protect him from pursuing gangster vehicles, and if he dies it’s mission fail and a restart for you. There are two of these blighters but surprisingly they aren’t the worst missions. The few objectives where you are forced into a close over-the-shoulder viewpoint hurling neon bombs and oncoming rank and fodder is the zenith of abysmal First Light aspires to. Generally speaking, the missions in First Light are monotonous and none of them come as close as instilling the profound sense of power and destruction in Delsin’s tale. On the contrary, the closing chapter features a new setting and has a resonant conclusion, wrapping the story up convincingly if typically.
Another dinger in First Light is the absence of moral choices. Infamous has prided itself on giving you the option to play a demonic or saintly role, but these have been jettisoned to nothing but the bear minimum, exposing the cracks in First Light’s exterior in the process. Delsin may have been a roguish thug, and it arguably made little sense to grant him moral choices based on his criminal intent, but little is known about Fetch other than she’s a conduit and that her brother is being held captive- so having her foes at the mercy of her would have given her more autonomy as a female lead. As it stands, having zero moral decisions to make is Infamous First Light’s biggest sin.
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One thing First Light hasn’t abandoned from Second Son, is how elegant its metropolis looks. From sunrise to sunset, rain or shine- First Light looks brilliant. This is helped along by convincing facial animations, the stellar vibrancy imbuing the world, and the excellent sense of speed governed by Fetch’s excellent neon abilities. Quite simply zipping around Seattle at breakneck speeds is enthralling and truly worth experiencing. The use of the PS4 controller to emit sound is another neat inclusion from Second Son, though it’s underutilised this time out. Like many other aspects of First Light though, none of what’s on display feels truly fresh, often going through Second Son’s motions despite some glimmering ideas of its own.
First Light is a sidestep barely worth paying up for. The visuals are as superb as they ever were, helped along by a new environment in the closing chapter, different from any other environment in the series’ history. The challenge mode puts you through your energised paces as you bound around, destroying D.U.P soldiers and winged beasts- great for an afternoon of blitzkrieg. Other areas of the game sadly suffer from a severe case of déjà vu. Seattle is the same playground players will get to explore again with very few changes, there’s no karma system, making every mission and interaction in the world feel meaningless, and there just aren’t enough diversions to mask the standalone expansion aesthetic. While the temptation to buy First Light is strong, there’s very little here to hold your appetite for long, regardless of how positive an impression it might leave.
First Light is a sidestep barely worth paying up for. The visuals are as superb as they ever were, helped along by a new environment in the closing chapter, different from any other environment in the series’ history. The challenge mode puts you through your energised paces as you bound around, destroying D.U.P soldiers and winged beasts- great for an afternoon of blitzkrieg. Other areas of the game sadly suffer from a severe case of déjà vu. Seattle is the same playground players will get to explore again with very few changes, there’s no karma system, making every mission and interaction in the world feel meaningless, and there just aren’t enough diversions to mask the standalone expansion aesthetic. While the temptation to buy First Light is strong, there’s very little here to hold your appetite for long, regardless of how positive an impression it might leave.
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+ A captivating sense of speed as you traverse and clamber about,
+ The closing chapter is strong and featuring a new setting for you to pulverise, + The challenge mode provides an ample test for your conduit wielding abilities. - The missions are cut and dry, leaving much to be desired, - Gameplay remains largely unchanged and unimproved for better or for worse, - The story and characters are largely forgettable. |
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