Reasonable

User Score
8.9

Presentation - 8.5
Gameplay - 9.0
Value - 8.5

I'll keep it short.  inFamous is very good, and mixes a linear story, told through a fixed progression that keeps the narrative clear and focused, with an otherwise sandbox environment where you can go anywhere you want (once each major location is unlocked in a very GTA manner), tackle side missions in any order and generally just 'mess around' to your heart's content using your powers for your own amusement.

Said powers are released in a sensible flow, taking you from someone with fledgling abilities to a veritable superman, the city, your foes and the citizens themselves helpless before you.  Yes, its up to you how you want to behave.

Which brings us to the Karma mechanic nicely.  It works for the most part, although the design is built around you deciding to head for Hero or inFamous.  You could ping back and forth, but there is no reason to do so, and plenty not to.  For one, your powers are upgradable based on a simple XP system (kill foes, get a little XP, complete missions, get a whole lot more) but the upgrades are also tied to your Karma level.  Therefore to get the best 'Good' powers you need to stick to building your good Karma.  To get the best 'Evil' powers you need to focus on... well, destruction and plain bad behaviour.  Clearly the game is designed assuming you will go for two playthroughs, once to become a Hero, once to become inFamous.

All in all, having played through for Hero and inFamous, I found the story held my attention, even on the second playthrough, and for the most part it even made some sense, even if it does try and force in perhaps a few too many twists (all familiar beats from other films/stories) towards the end.

Cole is okay as a lead character, and his voice work is fine (if a little too Snake like - Solid or Plisken, take your pick) but I did find that his on-off girlfriend Trish was poorly written and used, ending up more of a pain than anything else, which undermines certain big moments, while typical conspiracy nerd funny accent buddy, Zeke, get's too much time, then too little, then is finally put to a very expected use towards the end.

Still, you do get a good story, some terrific missions, and an open world to blow up or rescue as you please.  And, while simplistic, the world feels relatively 'real' and reacts to you well - I particularly liked the changing views of the citizens depending upon your Karma level.

There are some technical hitches, and given the scale of the game I'm not surprised.  inFamous feels like a big jump from Sly Cooper, with HD level graphics, climbing and melee mechanics, a huge open world and of course your electrifying powers.  Not to mention all the incidental details of cars, citizens, etc. going on all the time in the background.

The most common complaint would be clipping issues and a variable level of pop-in.  On the other hand the title seems very stable and the frame rate felt solid enough even in the face of massive destruction. 

Also, while you face various foes their abilities are fairly similar, and I would liked to have seen a more creative set of higher level foes to test you more.  Towards the end, even playing on hard, unless you played very risky with your life, it was relatively easy to mow down even large groups of foes - but this felt 'true' to the situation, so is perhaps more of a plus than a negative.

On the plus side the city looks good and has a nice detail level, enemies are well designed, many missions are well constructed and memorable, and the game doesn't cheat you on feeling powerful.  It's easy, as you climb a high building to look out over the moving cars and ant like citizens, to imagine that Empire City really is your plaything, and that you really are superior now.

Sound is good too, and the lighting is very good - particularly when underground (yes, underground) the reflections from your glowing powers are fantastic.

The draw distance is admirable, if sometimes marred by the aforementioned pop-in, etc.  And the city has enough 'life' to feel like its going about its business while you go about yours.

The title is SP only, and delivers very good value within that framework, with a decent play length on the main story, two sets of special side missions (if you play a good mission you cancel a bad and vice versa) and a good set of neutral side missions.  The are also a few 'hunt the maguffin' elements from collecting 'shards' that give you more power, to tracking down 'dead drops' - information stores than reveal further hints and details of the games backstory.

MP hounds may want to deduct a point from the value I've given, but I think for those who enjoy SP adventures inFamouse offers more than enough to be considered very good value.

Conclusion - unless you really, really don't think you'll like it, it's worth a purchase.