InFamous: Second Son - 10 Reasons It's Dividing Opinion
It's been a few weeks since Infamous hit store shelves, tearing the critics in half. But is it a must-buy or a mediocre followup?
InFamous: Second Son was a hugely anticipated game for the PlayStation 4. Developed solely for that platform, expectations were high that the infamous Sucker Punch would deliver a genre-defining next gen experience. However a look at Metacritic shows that while some reviewers have waxed lyrical about every aspect of the game, some have been less than enthralled and a large chunk flounder in the no-mans land of mediocrity. So let's look at the reasons behind this polarity, at the expectations we all had for the game, and examine what sucker Punch got right, and where Second Son became second rate. Pre-launch to the new consoles both Sony and Microsoft had one simple job to do: Make everyone want to buy their console. The hype train breeds not just enthusiasm but excitement, a feeling that we gamers will be heading into a new promised land where we will be literally blown away by the much heralded new generation of gaming. It's very easy to get caught up in the wheels of this train, as if it wasn't marketers wouldn't do it. The downside to this is that although we rush out (and boy did people rush out!) to leap aboard, when we take a look around the ride is a little bumpier than we would have liked. The first bumps will always be apparent as the technology is new, developers still getting to grips with the demands and capabilities of such new technology will not yet be maximising the potential of the new consoles. The PlayStation 3 had some good games at launch, but nothing to even remotely compare with The Last Of Us or Grand Theft Auto V. This generation will undoubtedly repeat that pattern. Is it unfair then to hold InFamous: Second Son to the standard set by the pre-launch hype?