For months PlayStation 4 owners have been left twiddling their thumbs waiting for that next big game release. While we’ve seen a number of small indie titles in the form of Outlast, Don’t Starve and Resogun keeping us mildly entertained along with a handful of last generation ports there’s been nothing that has shown us just why we needed to upgrade to this brand new system. Ever since launch gamers had been hoping Infamous: Second Son would be that game and now it’s finally here can this system exclusive live up to its promise of a truly next generation product?

You play as Delsin Rowe, the town’s local delinquent and graffiti artist who when not spray tagging billboards is constantly being arrested by his brother and local sheriff Reggie. The game picks up with the pair of you witnessing the escape of a trio of Conduits (basically people who exhibit superpowers) from a crashed truck. It’s here where Delsin realises he too is a Conduit accidently absorbing the smoke fuelled powers of one of the criminals. After getting to grips with his new powers you’re then introduced to Brooke Augustine the leader of a bioterrorist unit who complete with concrete abilities tortures those close to Delsin. What then follows is a “rising through the ranks” story as you search for new abilities in order to track down and topple Augustine. It’s a simple story that is carried more effectively thanks to the strong performances from its leads.

To begin Delsin has no more than running and jumping at his disposal but of course this being a game about using powers, Infamous soon begins introducing a wealth of different abilities to the player at a gradual pace. You’ll start with the smoke power that allows you to fire projectiles, hover, dash in a brief smoke-cloud and even shoot up air vents of buildings in an instant. Before long you’ll get the chance to toy around with the neon ability that allows you to run up buildings and fire slower more powerful projectiles. Overall getting used to these skills feels natural in part thanks to their similarities with each other and before you know it you’ll be pulling off impressive looking feats with ease. A little more variety in the game’s four powers would have been nice though – helping give each more of a unique feel. As I played through the campaign, at times I would just absorb whatever power was nearest as opposed to hunting down a specific one. It simply didn’t matter to me which I got as they all offered the same sort of results.

Exploration plays a big role in the game and thankfully gliding, running and hovering around Seattle is great fun. The combat too offers plenty of opportunity to alternate your plan of attack. Do you simply go in and melee anything that breathes with your fiery chain, pick enemies off with the neon power from high above the rooftops or utilise your Orbital Drop and eliminate everything in seconds? Whether you’re incapacitating DUP agents or simply obliterating them you’ll be entertained – important considering the big focus on combat in the game.

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