Slidell

Cool MM beta in ODST,another reason to buy that game.

June 1, 2009 - Two years ago Ubisoft unveiled Splinter Cell Conviction. And then, with the skill of a master spy, it vanished. Well, Sam Fisher is back and this time he's bringing his boom stick. Forget what little you know about Conviction, only the technology behind the original concept remains. Every other aspect of the gameplay has been re-imagined and retooled. In fact, forget what you know about Splinter Cell in general. Conviction is meant to be a true evolution of the series. While it's based off the core principals of the Splinter Cell franchise, Ubisoft redefined the gameplay to such a level that to some it may be unrecognizable. Sam Fisher's daughter was killed at the start of Splinter Cell: Double Agent and now he's finally broken free of government agency Third Echelon's control in order to find out who was responsible. Sam's on his own, without anyone talking into his ear directing his action or forcing him to play by the rules. The result is a Sam Fisher more intense and more brutal than you'd expect. It's not about blood (though there's plenty of that) -- the brutality in Conviction is a by-product of the new gameplay mechanics. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/988/988445/inline_splintercell_1243873966.jpgCheck out our video preview of Splinter Cell. In most spy-themed games, stealth is actually a limitation. You use it because it's forced on you, because your supposedly bad ass character is surprisingly vulnerable unless he stays in the shadows. For Splinter Cell, it's led to a cycle of trial-and-error gameplay that, while engaging, is slow and at times tedious. Conviction throws the old stealth system in the trash. Sam Fisher is a hunter, clearly superior to his prey. He stalks in the shadows, waits for the right moment, and strikes with frightening speed and ferocity. Jack Bauer, from the TV show 24, is clearly the inspiration in so much of Conviction's gameplay changes. In 24, Bauer often uses stealth to infiltrate a building. When he spots enemies, he sizes them up, takes a breath and then slides out of cover and kills all opposition in a matter of seconds. And if a terrorist has information he needs, Bauer's not afraid to use pain to extract that intel. That is the new utterly unflinching Sam Fisher. The failure or success of Splinter Cell Conviction rides on its new Mark and Execute mechanic. It is the crux of the series' new hunt and strike philosophy. If it plays as impressively as it looks, then Ubisoft has a real winner on its hands. If it doesn't, well, then at least Ubisoft gave Sam Fisher a hell of a sendoff. At any time, Fisher can tag targets. These can be enemies, any lighting source (save the cursed sun), traps or explosives. The type of weapon Sam wields determines the number of marks that can be made at one time. Marking a target creates a dot over it that turns either white or red, depending on whether Sam has a clear shot at the mark. When a mark's icon turns red, hit the execute button and Sam whips out of cover and delivers a killing strike. Guaranteed. See, Sam's sized up his enemy, he knows what to do and when that mark is red he ensures the target goes down. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/988/988445/inline_splintercell5_1243873868.jpgWatch the debut trailer for Splinter Cell Conviction. If the target happens to move behind an obstruction and the mark turns white, hitting execute causes Sam to draw his weapon but hold his fire. So there's still timing involved in this even if you are not forced to individually pull the trigger for each kill. Sam's AI is programmed to prioritize which marks to fire on first to maximize damage. If you mark a chandelier hanging above several terrorists and then mark another terrorist who appears slightly outside the chandelier's radius, Sam will shoot the chandelier first, as it will lead to the most deaths and cause the biggest distraction to enemies. Then, if the other mark is still alive, Sam will lay him down. The AI is said to be smart enough to utilize the decision-making prowess of a character like Sam Fisher (or Jack Bauer). Let's say you target two lights and a terrorist. Sam's first shot will go towards the light, as it gives him an advantage not only over the marked enemy, but any others in the area. Normally, he'd shoot out the second light next, but if the enemy suddenly turns and fires, Sam changes his priorities and attacks the hostile immediately. One of Ubisoft's primary reasons for switching to Mark and Execute is because of the experiences of past Splinter Cell titles. In the past, Sam hung to the shadows and then popped out, slowly guided his sight to the first enemy, and fired. Then he had to slide the reticule to the next enemy. The result required some skill, but it also produced a very slow hero and gameplay that was more methodical than visceral. As the E3 demo reveals, Sam is rarely going to face situations where he can rely solely on Mark and Execute. There are just too many enemies around to get rid of them all in a single execute move. As such, you must employ some strategy to determine which enemies are most critical to take out immediately. My initial concern was that the Mark and Execute gameplay would take the "skill" out of Splinter Cell. After seeing it in action, I would say that Mark and Execute simply requires a different type of skill than the previous Splinter Cells. If nothing else, the visual results of some of these execute moves is simply jaw-dropping. If the goal was to make Sam Fisher look like the baddest mofo on the block, then the E3 demo is a big success. One other element adds a touch more strategy to Mark and Execute. Each weapon has its own properties. A pistol might have the ability to place two marks at a time, where a machinegun can place several more. But then a shotgun can get a red mark icon even through doors and walls. For a pistol, Sam would have to kick open the door before he could successfully pull off the second half of Mark and Execute. But the shotty can blow through a door with deadly efficiency. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/988/988445/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-20090601092734394-000.jpg Mark and Execute is certainly the most crucial new gameplay element added to the Splinter Cell franchise, but it's hardly the only change. The stealth aspects have also seen a reworking. In most stealth games, the main character moves slowly, plodding along in the dark, praying not to be seen or heard. Past versions of Splinter Cell went so far as to have separate vision and sound meters to create a complex matrix for stealth. But this is the new Sam Fisher. He moves quickly and silently, like a panther. Those old meters are long gone. If Sam is in the shadows and hidden the screen becomes desaturated. Only enemies and interactive objects maintain their full color. The edges of the screen grow black for added effect. The instant Sam is visible the screen regains its color. This is an important change, because Conviction looks to be a faster-paced game than its predecessors. You don't have time to search for meters to find out if you're visible or not. Now there's no mistaking when you're in the shadows and when you're in the open. Ubisoft's attitude is that Sam Fisher has nothing to lose and little time to waste. That leads to the faster pace of gameplay, but it also means that he's not concerned about leaving a trail of bodies. For Sam, this is the end of the line. He just has to finish this last mission. There is no tomorrow, so there's no need to hide his identity behind a pair of goggles or to stash bodies. That's right -- no more dragging bodies out of sight. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/988/988445/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-20090601092748174-000.jpgThe Mark and Execute in action. Just because you're in the shadows doesn't mean you can act with impunity. If you stand in the shadows firing off shots, the enemy's going to figure out where you're hiding. But perhaps that's what you want. There's another new gameplay mechanic that adds an interesting opportunity to mess with your opponents. Last Known Position is, as the name implies, the last place the enemy spotted you -- and it's represented by Sam's white silhouette. Now you know exactly where the enemy is focused. And you can use that to your advantage, laying traps or flanking your opponent. In the earlier stages, when you are fighting low-level goons, the Last Known Position is a great tool. The early enemies are said to be fairly predictable and you can have a lot of fun with them. But things get more challenging as the quality of combatant improves (you eventually take on other Third Echelon special ops). You'll break line of sight with these better enemies and see your silhouette pop up, as if to say, "nice job." Then a grenade rolls under that silhouette. Smarter soldiers look out windows and shine their flashlights up at pipes. Ubisoft does not want there to be any dead ends in Conviction. There is always an escape. That may mean leaping through a window (or throwing an enemy through a window and following him on the way out) or climbing a pipe or scaling a wall. Sam may have more salt than pepper in his hair at this point, but he's more athletic than ever. He moves quickly (and silently) in the shadows, shimmies across ledges faster than the Prince of Persia and closes in on enemies like a predatory animal. And that ties into Ubisoft's new take on stealth. Sam Fisher is continually popping in and out of the shadows and should never be stuck sitting in one dark corner for long. To help create a fiercer Sam Fisher, Ubisoft knew it had to do something about his hand-to-hand combat abilities. Aside from elbowing or knifing enemies, Sam has done little on this front. This new Sam uses Krav Maga, the official defense system of the Israeli army. It's a martial art with the philosophy that the end justifies the means. It's quick, powerful and shockingly brutal. Melee combat is resolved in as great a speed as Mark and Execute ranged combat. And it's handled with a one button. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/988/988445/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-20090601092740721-000.jpgYoink! Sam breaks arms, bashes in faces and leaves enemies crumpled on the ground in a single breath. It's exhilarating to watch. Many of the animations have yet to be added, so the E3 demo shows only a limited number of moves, all performed contextually. Though you don't control how Sam brutalizes an enemy, you can modify an attack by pressing in a direction as you strike. Where you aim determines if Sam throws the enemy or slams a part of their body on a nearby piece of the environment. At one point in the demo, I witnessed Sam grab an enemy's wrist, snap his arm, then bash his head into a nearby wall. The enemy slumped to the ground, leaving a mess of blood where his nose had exploded on the brick. This enhanced physicality lends itself to special interrogation moments. There are certain enemies you can toss around in an effort to learn some new intel. The demo dramatically begins with one such moment. Sam slings a thug into a urinal. From the moment Sam disarms the thug, everything is in the control of the user. Beat the guy's head in, throw him into a bathroom stall, crack his head against a mirror, smash him through a sink -- do whatever comes to you. Eventually the thug talks. There doesn't seem to be any subtlety to interrogations. You can't accidentally kill an enemy before he talks and there's no one particular thing that earns a confession faster. Just beat him until he spills. Sounds fun. Those are the gameplay changes I've seen so far. But there's one other aspect of Splinter Cell Conviction I've yet to mention and it's just as impressive. Ubisoft has developed a light projection technology that allows for a slick presentation. Basically, they are playing a movie on top of the game as if a projector were shining in through the fourth wall. If characters or objects move in front of the projection, then the movie is cast on them, just as it would with a real projector. The light is completely dynamic, so anything projected onto fabric will follow the folds and movements of the fabric. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/988/988445/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-20090601092744299-000.jpgYour objective is projected on the side of your destination. What's the big deal about this? Well, remember that Sam is alone without anyone in his ear guiding him (or you). This projection technology is used to cleverly display objectives. In the E3 demo, Sam needs to get into a mansion to find Kobin, the man who killed his daughter. While walking the streets, Sam can look across the street and see "Infiltrate the Mansion" cast across the side of his objective building. Progressing through the mansion, "Pursue Sarah's Killer" is cast on a glass partition. And locations you've entered are marked by their name projected on part of the environment. On top of this, flashbacks and important scenes play like movies on the backs of walls. It's an incredibly cool presentation that needs to be seen to truly be appreciated. Fortunately, we have plenty of video showcasing this new technology. I wasn't surprised when Ubisoft delayed Splinter Cell Conviction two years ago -- what I saw just didn't strike me as particularly exciting. The technology was cool, but the gameplay looked ordinary. I'm glad Ubisoft made the tough decision, because the new Conviction is an exciting prospect for this fall. The presentation looks top-notch, the Mark and Execute gameplay looks sick, and the hand-to-hand combat is stunning to behold. Though there are still more games to be seen at E3 2009, right now Splinter Cell Conviction is my most anticipated game of the year. Australia, June 21, 2009 - It's been a long time between missions, but Sam Fisher is back ââ¬â and thankfully sans-hobo beard. Revealed officially at Microsoft's E3 2009 press conference and later replayed at Ubisoft's, Splinter Cell: Conviction looks like the fresh direction the series desperately needed ââ¬â but it goes even further, pointing the way forward for cinematic and practical storytelling and stealth gameplay. Fisher the Predator With a haircut and some botox, Sam Fisher is embracing middle age with all the grace and scene-chewing presence of George Clooney. Fisher, no longer bound by his old government employ, is free to extract revenge for the apparent murder of his daughter, Sarah Fisher. The first thing we noticed was the speed and efficiency of Sam's movement; he has more pace to his step than previously, and the trade-off is a lessened emphasis on stealth, since the body count restrictions are now gone. In other words, during the Mansion Infiltration mission, there was a lot of headshots and biffo. That's a great thing, too. From the outset, there's an all-new, hard-edged attitude to Sam Fisher. Grabbing and interrogating a suspect has more to do with beating their heads against porcelain urinal basins and brick walls than carefully worded diplomacy. With that in mind, the environment has been built to be far more context-sensitive than in the past ââ¬â described as 'sandboxy' by Ubisoft. For instance, when breaking into the mansion, you can either head in all-guns-blazing or shimmy up a wall and use stealth. If you take the stealth option, not only does the game shift things up with an Assassin's Creed-like level of verticality and mobility, but you an also use environmental objects like chandeliers to take out a few enemies at once and turn out the lights in the process. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/996/996034/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-20090617111714908.jpg Shades of True Lies. Mark and Execute One of the biggest changes to the gameplay formula comes in the form of 'Mark and Execute' attacks ââ¬â at once upping the frenetic action and streamlining it. In some ways bearing similarities to Fallout's VATS (Vault-Assisted Targeting System), Mark and Execute allows Sam to peer under doors (and presumably around corner and over objects too), gauging the locations of his enemies and targeting them for near-automatic headshots when you burst through the door or into the line of fire. The result is a faster, more strategic level of action that takes de-emphasises some of the raw shooting aspects for those who'd rather just get on with exploration. It also adds a bit of variety ââ¬â and we can imagine a few cool scenarios where the tool might prove more useful too. Colour of Night After four years of development, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a thing of beauty, to be sure. Polished graphically to utterly triple-A levels of sophistication, it's the smaller details that really left us impressed. For starters, cutscenes are handled entirely in-game and storytelling is a blend of traditional cinematic sequences and, impressively, actual text overlays in the environment. For example, if Sam's currently pressing a suspect for information (by throwing him through a toilet cubicle door or similar), the walls will be painted with words relating to what he's thinking about or short movie reels about the death of his daughter, since it's playing on his mind too, giving Fisher his motivation. The game guides you to your next objective by plastering keywords on objects in the world; the word 'MANSION' stands five storeys high against the night-time backdrop, showing you your next waypoint. It's handled with an almost comic book-like blend of words, images and actions to build up a very fresh feeling storytelling method. Simple is Best If Splinter Cell: Conviction has some gameplay convictions of its own, it's that simple is best. It's an approach that explains not just the introduction of the storytelling text and video overlays, but it also extends to things like discerning which objects in the environment are useable and which aren't. When Sam's hidden in shadows, stealthing along like the ex-spy he is, the environment's colour actually drains away ââ¬â except for key useable objects in the world. Enemies also stand out against the background in this same manner. It's an intuitive system that keeps you immersed in the environment, reminding you that it's critical to study and interpret the world around you before making any rash decisions. As in previous games, the world's context-sensitive objects all bring up options on how to use them. Simply press the corresponding button to perform that command. However, combat now seems to feature a similar, albeit more streamlined system of context options too. Most importantly, all of the text overlays, pop-up context options and combat manoeuvres keep the HUD to a minimum ââ¬â and that means more immersion for the player. Prepare to lose yourself all over again later this year. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/996/996034/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-20090617111721595.jpg Click here to check out IGN's extensive Splinter Cell: Conviction Live Demo from E3. It's been a long time between missions, but Sam Fisher is back ââ¬â and thankfully sans-hobo beard. Revealed officially at Microsoft's E3 2009 press conference and later replayed at Ubisoft's, Splinter Cell: Conviction looks like the fresh direction the series desperately needed ââ¬â but it goes even further, pointing the way forward for cinematic and practical storytelling and stealth gameplay. Fisher the Predator With a haircut and some botox, Sam Fisher is embracing middle age with all the grace and scene-chewing presence of George Clooney. Fisher, no longer bound by his old government employ, is free to extract revenge for the apparent murder of his daughter, Sarah Fisher. The first thing we noticed was the speed and efficiency of Sam's movement; he has more pace to his step than previously, and the trade-off is a lessened emphasis on stealth, since the body count restrictions are now gone. In other words, during the Mansion Infiltration mission, there was a lot of headshots and biffo. That's a great thing, too. From the outset, there's an all-new, hard-edged attitude to Sam Fisher. Grabbing and interrogating a suspect has more to do with beating their heads against porcelain urinal basins and brick walls than carefully worded diplomacy. With that in mind, the environment has been built to be far more context-sensitive than in the past ââ¬â described as 'sandboxy' by Ubisoft. For instance, when breaking into the mansion, you can either head in all-guns-blazing or shimmy up a wall and use stealth. If you take the stealth option, not only does the game shift things up with an Assassin's Creed-like level of verticality and mobility, but you an also use environmental objects like chandeliers to take out a few enemies at once and turn out the lights in the process. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/996/996034/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-20090617111714908.jpg Shades of True Lies. Mark and Execute One of the biggest changes to the gameplay formula comes in the form of 'Mark and Execute' attacks ââ¬â at once upping the frenetic action and streamlining it. In some ways bearing similarities to Fallout's VATS (Vault-Assisted Targeting System), Mark and Execute allows Sam to peer under doors (and presumably around corner and over objects too), gauging the locations of his enemies and targeting them for near-automatic headshots when you burst through the door or into the line of fire. The result is a faster, more strategic level of action that takes de-emphasises some of the raw shooting aspects for those who'd rather just get on with exploration. It also adds a bit of variety ââ¬â and we can imagine a few cool scenarios where the tool might prove more useful too. Colour of Night After four years of development, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a thing of beauty, to be sure. Polished graphically to utterly triple-A levels of sophistication, it's the smaller details that really left us impressed. For starters, cutscenes are handled entirely in-game and storytelling is a blend of traditional cinematic sequences and, impressively, actual text overlays in the environment. For example, if Sam's currently pressing a suspect for information (by throwing him through a toilet cubicle door or similar), the walls will be painted with words relating to what he's thinking about or short movie reels about the death of his daughter, since it's playing on his mind too, giving Fisher his motivation. The game guides you to your next objective by plastering keywords on objects in the world; the word 'MANSION' stands five storeys high against the night-time backdrop, showing you your next waypoint. It's handled with an almost comic book-like blend of words, images and actions to build up a very fresh feeling storytelling method. Simple is Best If Splinter Cell: Conviction has some gameplay convictions of its own, it's that simple is best. It's an approach that explains not just the introduction of the storytelling text and video overlays, but it also extends to things like discerning which objects in the environment are useable and which aren't. When Sam's hidden in shadows, stealthing along like the ex-spy he is, the environment's colour actually drains away ââ¬â except for key useable objects in the world. Enemies also stand out against the background in this same manner. It's an intuitive system that keeps you immersed in the environment, reminding you that it's critical to study and interpret the world around you before making any rash decisions. As in previous games, the world's context-sensitive objects all bring up options on how to use them. Simply press the corresponding button to perform that command. However, combat now seems to feature a similar, albeit more streamlined system of context options too. Most importantly, all of the text overlays, pop-up context options and combat manoeuvres keep the HUD to a minimum ââ¬â and that means more immersion for the player. Prepare to lose yourself all over again later this year. http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/996/996034/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-conviction-20090617111721595.jpg Click here to check out IGN's extensive Splinter Cell: Conviction Live Demo from E3. Splinter Cell Conviction has been delayed in order that the game can receive more spit and polish, as Ubisoft has detailed the thinking behind pushing the game back to early 2010. Well, it turns out that Conviction wonââ¬â¢t just feature a mind-blowing single-player adventure either. Ubisoft producer Alexandre Parizeau told Joystiq that, as with the previous three SC installments, Conviction will include multiplayer. Parizeau didnââ¬â¢t drop any more details other than to expect more info sometime over the summer. Looking beyond Convictionââ¬â¢s release, Parizeau confirmed that the developers are planning to release downloadable content as well, but weââ¬â¢ll obviously have to wait until the game finally launches this fall sometime to find out more about what that DLC will include (Could episodic content be in Sam Fisher's future?) Many fans have noted that Double Agentââ¬â¢s multiplayer was noticeably more accessible than it was in previous installments, but the gameââ¬â¢s co-op mode wasnââ¬â¢t as robust as Chaos Theoryââ¬â¢s. Well, with Ubisoft Montreal once again at the helms, here's hoping the team can build on what it started in Chaos Theory, and make the multiplayer portion of Conviction as new and exciting as the single-player mode. Source Community developer UbiRazz commented on the delay over at Ubisoftââ¬â¢s official Conviction forum, saying: ââ¬ÅIn order to live up to our own ambitions and your expectations, we strongly feel that giving our teams that extra time will allow us to present a game to you that will fulfill that potential. Due to this, we have decided to move the release date into Q1 2010. This extra time will ensure Splinter Cell: Conviction becomes every bit the fantastic experience we want it to be.ââ¬Â UbiRazz went on to say, ââ¬ÅJust so you know: there won't be any major changes or additions to what you saw at E3 but there may be minor tweaks/balancing." I actually have zero problems with this delay. Sure, Conviction is one of the three or four games I was looking forward to the most this year, however the delay had nothing to do with the gameââ¬â¢s development, meaning everything I have been most impressed with so far should be pretty much intact when the game is finally released. It was financial strategy, pure and simple. And if that means Ubisoft Montreal has a bit more time to make its already stunning game even better, then no complaints here.

Ubisoft is awesome.

I am

I miss the arcade.

Dude,you've been gone for ages.

hawt

WTF is this ****?

Man,that's like instructions no one ever reads them until there ******. I think a PM is the way to go people might not notice it though.

Hawt

I have one whenever I make a roast in the crock pot they come out dry,what can I do to change this? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Dude,it's an E not an I...

I don't care,just leave if you want to. You can have a life and have a computer,I have a life and a computer. Aw,dude airsoft sucks,Paint Ball FTW.

Lame

I don't know but the guy that posted this is no longer here,and he didn't even make the tut. So,in short hope there's someone here who did this.

I only have PayFriend

There's no 3,in internet.

GET TO DE CHOPPA NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really don't care either way,but it's not going to happen.

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The one on the PC,right?

It's been pushed back to 2010.

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http://ads.ign.com/advertisers/sonycomputer/InFamous/infamous_480x110.jpg I'll be doing more reviews and posting my own. Go to the bottom for a quick review(pros and cons) Open-world sandbox games have a depressing tendency to stick to the mundane. For all the over-the-top violence and mayhem of games like Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row, you’re still just a guy or girl with a gun. Outside of the occasional licensed game, few sandboxers dare to tackle the idea of superpowers, and those that have tend to be disappointments, with the notable exception of Crackdown. It’s time to expand that exceptions list by one, thanks to Sucker Punch’s exceptional inFamous. After a package he has been tasked to deliver explodes and takes thousands of lives and a large chunk of Empire City with it, Cole MacGrath finds himself in possession of electrical superpowers. In addition, a plague has swept the city and the entire area has been sealed off by the government in an effort to contain the chaos. Trapped in a semi-apocalyptic no-man’s-land, Cole ends up as part of numerous parties’ efforts to control Empire City and track down the Ray Sphere that gave him his powers. As with most sandbox games, the story is incidental. Cole is a perfectly adequate hero, and his allies and enemies fit the comic book archetype roles they fill so well that you can predict their fates from the first scenes in which they appear. It’s all just an excuse to get you out there and zapping nasties, so the bland tale is inoffensive at worst, and at least the cutscenes have an appealing visual style. Thunder Road http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/143366_M/Infamous.jpgCole’s powers all stem from electricity, and it’s clear that Sucker Punch spent a long time considering the implications of an electric man. He begins with simple lightning bolts and electromagnetic force blasts, but as the game progresses he develops more and more abilities. He learns how to fire long-range sniper bolts, toss explosive grenades of electrical energy, ride electrical currents along power lines, and can eventually call down lightning from the sky to do his bidding. The powers can be upgraded using experience points gained from doing missions and defeating enemies, and how they upgrade depends on choices made by the player regarding Cole’s moral compass. As with so many such features in videogames, the moral decisions generally come down to being a selfless martyr versus stomping on kittens stolen from orphans, but inFamous isn’t trying to be a BioWare game. Choosing good or evil is essentially choosing a character class. A good Cole’s powers will evolve to be precise and focused, directing huge amounts of power into a single place in an effort to take out enemies without damaging the surroundings too much. An evil Cole’s powers are explosive and half-random, taking out enemies by blanketing the immediate vicinity with electrical death. The differences are not subtle, and lead to very different styles of play. inFamous definitely warrants both a good and an evil playthrough. Cole can’t fully turn his powers off (one imagines shaking hands with him would be somewhat like warmly greeting a Tesla coil), so using guns or even sitting in cars are out of the question, as he causes them to explode. Thus, you’re limited to your own abilities for combat and own feet for transportation. Luckily, Cole’s an agile guy, able to scale almost any building with ease. He also can fall from any height without injury, which doesn’t make a whole lot of narrative sense but adds a lot of freedom to the gameplay. I Love This Town http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/148441_M/Infamous.jpgThe climbing is reminiscent of Crackdown, as it’s mostly just a matter of tapping jump until you find the right handhold. It’s simplistic much of the time, but it’s meant to be, as it’s basic transportation. A surprisingly intelligent autopilot system attempts to “read” your intentions while leaping and climbing, and is mostly successful. In the game’s numerous platforming sections, this makes death-defying jumps to tiny outcroppings and narrow pipes easy and intuitive. It can be a bit tough to fine-tune Cole’s maneuvers at times, as he tends to be a bit “sticky,” constantly grabbing for handholds. A tap of the circle button makes him drop down to the next lowest grip point, but it would have been nice if holding circle made him completely ignore grabs and just drop to the ground. Climbing around Empire City is extremely enjoyable, and each of the three islands has a distinctly different feel to its urban geography. The city feels handcrafted down to the alleyways, and nothing feels put anywhere by accident. Sucker Punch has managed to make Empire City feel like a real place and yet serve the needs of gameplay without sacrificing one to the other. Some of the story missions play out in areas that feel as expertly designed as any self-contained non-sandbox game level. Should You Choose To Accept It http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/148731_M/Infamous.jpgTake the numerous missions in which you must chase a fleeing enemy or race the clock to re-activate satellite uplinks. Moving as fast as these missions require seems impossible at first glance, but it’s a matter of recognizing how the area is built and finding the shortcuts and power lines that will allow Cole to keep pace. Just wandering into the area while exploring, you’d never notice the level of design there, but as soon as you’re put to the task, it’s clear that everything is where it is for a reason. inFamous is full of places that feel like an organic part of the environment and yet serve very specific functions during missions. The only real flaw in the world around you is occasional geometry and detail pop-in at high speeds, usually while riding the train rails around town. It’s very minor, but still noticeable. The missions are, surprisingly, another high point of the game. Far from the typical routine that many sandboxers settle into, inFamous makes a point of changing things up and forcing you to use Cole’s powers to their full extent. This is not an easy game, and the enemies are relentless about plinking you with gunfire from distant rooftops or unleashing shoulder-mounted rocket fire from nearby alleys. Thanks to very generous checkpoints and autosaves, death isn’t a disaster, so the game remains challenging without becoming frustrating. Over the course of the game you’ll perform search and destroy tasks, escort prisoners and vehicles to safety, break up supergang street fights, disable insidious surveillance devices on building walls, use subterfuge to follow enemy couriers, and battle large enemy forces in huge setpiece sequences. Batteries Not Included http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/149312_M/infamous.jpgIn fact, huge battles can break out just about anywhere. As you complete side missions, Cole liberates chunks of the city from the crime and superpowered gangs that are oppressing the citizenry, but until you’ve liberated an area, it’s infested with enemies. It’s not rare to get caught up in an exhilarating fight against over a dozen enemies simply in an attempt to survive stumbling into an unliberated or, even worse, unpowered area. Cole’s powers are finite, meaning he must draw electricity from various sources in the environment to recharge. This is also the best way to restore his life, as his altered physiology allows electricity to heal him. Some of the toughest parts of inFamous involve sending Cole into unpowered areas of the city (generally to turn the power back on), where he has no easy way to recharge or heal, and smart play and navigation of the terrain become key to success. Then there are all the little touches that make inFamous a treat on a micro level. You have the choice to heal, ignore, or even drain of life the injured bystanders of your battles. If your fame level is maxed out evil, pedestrians will throw objects at Cole in protest. If you’re a hero to the public, they’ll throw things at your enemies, distracting them long enough for you to get a good shot in. Government propaganda and pirate television broadcasts duel for ownership of the public trust on TVs throughout the city. Cole’s “always on” powers will electrocute someone should you step in the same puddle of water they’re standing in. Where most sandbox settings feel sterile, Empire City feels lived in and believable, at least to the degree you’re allowed to interact with it. inFamous will draw a lot of comparisons to other games of the sandbox type, and Crackdown in particular. Thanks to a more structured presentation and vastly more variety in gameplay, Crackdown may have to hand over the superbeing sandbox crown to Sucker Punch. Combining the freedom of Crackdown with the tight design and platforming of Sly Cooper, inFamous isn’t just a great game, it’s the best reason yet to own a PlayStation 3. Article Written By: Matt Keil -G4.com http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/135493_THMB/Infamous.jpg http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/GMOF_Tucker/5stars.png Well-crafted world with character and personality Exceptionally satisfying power progression Challenging without being frustrating, good mission variety Mediocre story Occasional pop-in at high speeds May 12, 2009 - Spider-Man 2 the videogame will always hold a special place in my heart. After decades of games taking superheroes, assigning their abilities halfhearted meters, and sticking them in beat'em ups, Spider-Man 2 put you behind the web-head's mask and let you loose on an open-world. The game had citizens packing side missions, enemies roaming the city, and more. Of course, it also had a bunch of problems, but it at least gave the world a glimpse of what a superhero game could be. Surely, someone would pick up the idea, polish it, and run with it… right? Five years later, Sucker Punch has dusted of that blueprint and improved the hell out of it. Infamous is one of the best offerings on the PlayStation 3 to date. http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/981/981734/infamous-20090512083433422.jpg Come watch the shocking video review. When you pick up the controller, you'll be dropped into the shoes of Cole. He used to be your everyday bike messenger, but that all ended when he was delivering a package and the thing went off in his hands. The ensuing blast leveled a gigantic portion of the city and left Cole in a coma. When he wakes up, everything is screwed -- there's a plague that's making people sick, the government's quarantined Empire City, gangs have seized control of the three islands that make up the metropolis, and -- most importantly to our tale -- Cole finds that he's been blessed/cursed with electricity-based superpowers. Now that you're in control of a guy who can shoot lightning bolts from his hands, fall from the highest buildings without taking any damage, and throw cars into the air with his trusty shockwave, what are you going to do? See, Infamous is an open-world game. Once you've gone through the basic tutorial -- typical third-person controls with L1 bringing up your reticle for aiming your R1 lightning bolt and face button specials -- Empire City is yours to do what you want with. You can go out on story missions, take on the random bad guys camped out on rooftops, tackle some side missions, or just run and jump from rooftop to rooftop. Now, as you get going, you'll need to get Empire City up and running again. At the most basic level, this means Cole needs to head into the city's sewers and manually reestablish the connections between transformers (see: he grabs the working electrical box, grabs the one that isn't working, and lets the juice flow through him to get the city back online). When you do this, you'll gain a new superpower so that by the end of the game you'll have access to 16 abilities such as calling down a massive lightning storm that obliterates enemies as well as an electrical shield you can use to block incoming attacks. Now, the powers are going to get a lot of press leading up to the launch of Infamous, but one of the most endearing things about this game is Empire City itself. You'll only get to see the pre-blast skyline for a second when you start the title, but the post-blast world is one of wonder and heartache. Now, before things went to hell, Cole was a bit of an urban explorer. This means he's got mad skills in terms of his climbing ability. Everything in this city is designed to be scalable. You'll run at a wall, jump and cling to a windowsill, pull yourself up and leap to a pipe, climb to the roof, and run across a power line connecting the rooftop to another structure. Now, this could've easily turned into a frustration-fest if Sucker Punch demanded precision jumps the likes of Lara Croft, but instead it gave Cole the gift of agility and made it so the man knows to grab on to whatever he can. Within seconds of playing, I was pulling off impressive leaps and truly enjoying myself. http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/981/981734/infamous-20090512083430938.jpgExplosions look good but often hurt innocents.As you turn on the power to various sections of the city, the power lines go live and allow you to skate on them while kicking up a wave of juice. Combine that with Cole's later-level ability to glide via Static Chargers, and you've got the ingredients for one of the most original city-traversal mechanics I've ever seen. Seriously, in the beginning of the game I was a bit worried about how long it would take to navigate the islands without the ability to fly or run at super-speed, but once Cole got to the point of sliding around on the train tracks and chaining together power line moves, I was in love. Beyond the way you actually play in Empire City, the burg blew me away because of how alive it is. Sure, there are bystanders waving their arms to signify side missions, but how many times was I searching for a blast shard only to have someone run up to me and beg me to come heal a friend? Perhaps I'm just a softy, but the man crying in the street lamenting the loss of his wife and the girl repeating over and over again that she was only supposed to be here one day got to me. If you get caught up in how fun it is to zap bad guys and glide around town, it's these moments coupled with the out of control fires and destroyed vehicles that remind you that you're living in a city that has just gone through its darkest hour and doesn't know how to get back on its feet. With that backdrop, you'll come to understand that Cole is the most important thing in this time of "What the hell do we do now?" See, all these people are on their own. The government isn't going to help them, the gangs will kill them as soon as look at them, and the police are all but gone. When you press Start, you have to decide if you're going to save these people or destroy them. As you play, your actions are tracked on a six-part morality gauge. You can go as high as the saint-like rank of Hero or as low as the scum of the earth rank of Infamous. Now, this choice has an affect on your looks -- good Cole has blue lightning and a clean look to him whereas bad Cole packs red lightning, a filthy coat, and ghostly white face -- but it has a bigger effect on Empire City. If you're good, people post posters of you, cheer you in the streets, and clean up the dump the best that they can. If you're evil, people deface posters of you, hurl rocks at you when they see you, and let the city fall deeper and deeper into filth and anarchy. Will you inspire or dominate the masses? For me, this is one of the keys to Infamous' greatness. When I played as a hero, I went out of my way to help everyone. I healed the sick, saved guys from being lynched, and was thrilled to see people run over and cheer me. When I played the bad guy route, even I was disturbed by the things Cole did. If you didn't know, there's a set of spark-looking things on your HUD. These are power kegs and represent how much juice you have to do special moves. Your regular lightning bolt doesn't deplete this reservoir, but just about everything else does and you'll need to drain juice from light poles and cars to refill the meter (this will also heal you if you don't want to wait for the regeneration to kick in). Thing is, you can also drain humans of their bio-electrical energy. The boost completely refills your meter, but it kills the person you just drained. When you choose to do this on a downed person -- innocent or foe -- you have to tap Square because the victim is fighting to keep your hand off of his or her face. The camera even changes so that you can watch this battle unfold. Have you ever seen a woman's face as she grimaces and desperately tries to save her own life? It's screwed up, man. http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/981/981734/infamous-20090512083424547.jpg Cole's powers + montage = OMG When the game gets going, you'll have a trio of "bosses" that are standing in Cole's way and threatening the city, but for the most part, you'll be battling the gangs that have each taken over one of the town's islands. The Reapers are a set of former druggies who now rock hoodies and pack machine guns; the Dustmen used to be homeless but now have armored suits made of junk and a knack for creating robotic drones; and the First Sons are the hardest to take out and obsessed with the Ray Sphere, the device that went boom and created the madness in Empire City. While most of these guys will be chumps with weapons, there will be a handful of dudes in each group that are Conduits -- dudes who have gained powers from the blast. The Reaper Conduit can tear apart the ground and send a blast Cole's way, the Dustman Conduit climbs into a mech made of trash that can basically kill you in a couple of hits, and the First Sons Conduit can morph into an energy being and bring the fight to you. There are also a bunch of rocket launcher-packing dudes, invisible foes, and more. This mix keeps it interesting -- especially when the gangs come and battle each other head-to-head -- but I could've gone for a bit more diversity seeing as how you'll only see one squad on any given island. Choosing your path is linked to both big decisions, called Karma Moments, and small choices you make during missions. In a Karma Moment, a situation is presented, the game pauses, and Cole audibly weighs the pros and cons of each pick -- when a passerby asks for help and offers a reward, Cole can do the right thing and lend a hand or just fry the guy and take the reward without doing the work; when a bunch of food gets dropped in Archer Square, Cole can let the masses get their fair share or zap the people so he and his friends are taken care of; etc. What I dig about the Karma Moments is that most of the time Cole justifies why he'd pick the bad option, which makes it not seem that bad; I mean, why wouldn't you want to zap the police from a crowd of protesters so that you have more people fighting alongside you rather than having it be one-on-12? Sure, that's the cowardly choice, but at least it makes sense in the story. Outside of these events, which are littered throughout the story and side missions, your actual actions feed into the morality meter as well. When you see a person writhing around on the sidewalk, you can be good and heal the person with a quick defibrillator burst or you can suck the bio-electricity from the person's body and kill them. That's an extreme example, but the smaller stuff matters, too. When you're out on a mission, the game keeps track of everything you do. When you complete a task, the game freezes and some stats pop up letting you know the task is done, how many experience points you've earned, as well as how your actions have influenced your Karma. See, if you're trying to be a good guy, you can't run and gun it through the game. You need to make sure you're only taking out the bad guys and not beating the hell out of the citizens of Empire City -- the citizens who love to get in your way. That might sound like an easy enough task, but you have to understand how powerful Cole's powers can get. As you're completing missions and taking out bad guys on the streets, you're earning XP. This can then be exchanged for upgrades to most of your superpowers, some of which have three upgrades of awesomeness. When I maxed out my Shock Grenades as a good guy, the little balls of explosive energy automatically began restraining enemies after hurting them. This was great at banking me XP for the non-lethal takedowns, but when I faced off against a bunch of foes, I peppered the area with Shock Grenades, the first wave tied guys down, and then the second wave killed the bound baddies. This counted as an Execution; it banked me XP, but it also registered as an evil act. Even though I was fighting the good fight and protecting some medical supplies, I ended that mission with negative Karma. http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/981/981734/infamous-20090512083420610.jpgMissions net lots of XP, but just about everything gives you a few points.These Karma Moments are for more than just show. There will be 15 side missions that are only open to good guys and 15 that are only open to bad guys in addition to the game's 70 neutral tasks, there will be moves you can only unlock if you've achieved a certain Karma rank, and these choices are leading you towards one of the game's two endings and giving you a different experience on each playthough. See, Cole has two main people in his life; there's his best friend Zeke and his girlfriend Trish. When the blast happens, everything changes. Trish's sister is killed in the explosion and then she suddenly has to deal with her boyfriend being the cause of it all, and Zeke has to deal with his best friend now having a higher calling. These threads might not standout in most games, but with the way the story and characters are presented in Infamous, you'll find yourself connecting with the themes. Listening to Zeke lament a failed attempt at a relationship and Trish tell Cole that she loves him drives home the bond these people share -- and that only makes the events ahead and Karma choices you have to make that much more meaningful and emotional. Even though I was playing as a good guy my first time through and I knew what choices I had to make, there came a point of no return for one of the characters and even I faltered -- someone who knew he'd be coming back through -- and thought about making the "bad" choice because I couldn't let go. These characters and events are beautifully driven home via cutscenes that play out as moving graphic novels. The images are still but effects happen in and around them. This artwork looks great (although I wish more visual changes were present when you're evil Cole), but they also set up one of the game's few stumbles -- in-game cutscenes. When the in-game model of Cole or Zeke is used for some dialogue, it pales in comparison to the graphic novel stuff. Seeing Zeke robotically wave his arms or Cole stand at attention with his mouth flapping away kind of hurt the experience. Also, even when you're going the goody two shoes route, Cole's voice is always in the gravely range of Solid Snake. It seems like that should've been a bit lighter for a guy who's willing to pose for the occasional passerby's photo. In similar (albeit rare) ho-hum spots are some visual issues. The only time the game loads is when you start it, which is awesome, but this does lead to some pop-in here and there. It's never anything major, but don't be shocked to see cars sprout up and building textures drop in as you rocket into areas of the city. Also, be aware that the framerate is going to dip now and again (for me, it was while I was riding the rails) and that you might fall through the world every now and again (in 30 hours, it's happened to me once). http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/981/981734/infamous-20090512083436250.jpg Cole for president. Another one of my few criticisms is that I was aware I was playing a game most of the time. Sounds silly, right? What I mean is that when I played Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4, I found myself completely immersed in those worlds. From start to finish, I was that character and I was fighting for my life. For the majority of the time in Infamous, I totally felt like I was Cole; When I made choices, when women cried out that they wanted to have my baby, and so on, I felt like that stuff was happening to me. However, at the end of every mission the game pauses and brings up a stat box to show you the XP you've earned and what moves you pulled off. I like the information, but it kind of slapped me out of the experience. I would've preferred if the "Mission Complete" screen was more integrated like Fallout 3. It was just something that didn't mesh with the rest of the title for me. Still, those super-small issues shouldn't make you doubt buying this game. Beyond the engaging story chockfull of interesting characters, there are a bunch of side projects for you to tackle. An undercover agent has hidden 32 audio recordings throughout the city, 84 districts need to be liberated from gang rule, and there are 350 Blast Shards scattered around Empire City. What I find nifty about all of these collectables is the fact that none of them are hidden from you -- they all show up in some way on your radar. The audio recordings have been left by a man named John. He's on the inside of the First Sons and has left these story-expanding tidbits on satellite dishes all over the place. When you click L3, a circular sonar-like overlay forms around your radar screen and hones in on the location of one of these Dead Drops if you are near it. As you head in that direction, the sonar-pointer gets more and more specific -- it's sort of like a game of "Warmer… warmer… HOT!" Similarly, when you click in L3, you'll see your radar spring to life with little lightning bolts and blue dots. A blue bolt signifies an object that Cole can use to recharge -- again, this restores life and the energy kegs that are consumed by using his special abilities -- and the dots are Blast Shards. These shards are pieces of metal from the original blast site that are super-charged with Ray Sphere juice. As you collect them, you'll begin earning more power kegs so that you can store more juice. The final carrot on the end of the Infamous stick? Stunts. When you pause the game, you'll see one of 21 stunts at the bottom of the screen. If you feel like it -- or at least feel like the Trophy -- it'll be your job to pull off each one of these moves that range from crushing an enemy with an object to simultaneously blowing three guys off a roof with the Shockwave to taking out an airborne enemy with a melee attack. Even though the game is telling you how to do the feats, some are pretty challenging; my advice is to try and get them out of the way while you play rather than be foolish and tackle them after you've finished the story. Yup, like you'd expect, you can keep on playing when Cole's tale is over. You'll keep all the powers and XP you've unlocked and be able to take on the remaining side missions and enemies. If you feel like starting over and playing as the other side of your Karma chameleon, you're welcome to, but you start with a blank slate in terms of unlocked abilities and XP. If you want to have multiple games going, you're welcome to as Infamous supports 10 save slots counting Autosave. http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/981/981734/infamous-20090512083427625.jpgMassive battles are par for the course. Closing Comments In December, I played Infamous for the first time and told you that it was awesome. Five months later, I'm standing by that statement and backing it up with about 30 hours of playtime. Cole's powers are cool, the graphic novel cutscenes are stunning, the story is intriguing, and the city is alive. I could go on and on about this game -- about my hunt for the final few Blast Shards, about the sick joy in blasting a pedestrian and then sucking his bio-energy, about the subtle Sly Cooper references -- but to truly appreciate what Sucker Punch has created, you'll have to sit down and play this game. Infamous is amazing. - IGN.com Another Take I completely agree with Greg. Sucker Punch has delivered an outstanding superhero game, one that works really well on pretty much every level. The powers are incredibly fun to use, the upgrade and Karma systems allow you to customize your play experience, the city feels alive and like you're a part of it, and, perhaps most impressively, the story really pays off in the end. The powers that you get access to are obviously the most important part, and Sucker Punch did a fantastic job of making you feel powerful, not only in terms of combat, but with your ability to navigate the city quickly and really feel like you own it. Being able to grind rails to quickly cover ground or hover to cross between skyscrapers reminds me of the good parts of recent Spider-Man games, but it's only one piece in a much bigger puzzle. While some of the in-engine presentation aspects could be better, the comic book-inspired cutscenes are fantastic and do an amazing job of really bringing you into the story. The characters evolve and make interesting decisions, and they serve not only to give you reasons for taking on the various missions, but they play a key role in the story, what happens to Cole and, most importantly, why Cole goes through what he does. There are no throwaway and unimportant characters here, which is extremely refreshing. For me, Infamous serves as a stellar reason for owning a PlayStation 3. It also proves that Sucker Punch is capable of creating dark, deep and interesting tales, and I'm really hoping that a sequel isn't too far off. 9.5 Presentation This city is alive and you'll feel like you're a critical part of it from start to finish. The easy to upgrade powers, story-expanding Dead Drops, and more wrap you up in the experience. 8.5 Graphics The city looks great with its destroyed buildings and people dying in the streets. Cole's powers dazzle at times, but there is some pop-in, repetitive environments, and framerate dips. 8.5 Sound The soundtrack is great, the ambient noise of the city makes you feel like you're there, and the sound effects are solid. Still, why is Cole's voice soooo gravely? 9.0 Gameplay Cole's powers are stunning and fun, but the real joy is zipping around the city and unraveling the story. I could've gone for a few more enemy types and better Stunt explanations. 9.5 Lasting Appeal It took me about 25 hours to go through both storylines, but I've put in a total of 30 hours searching for Blast Shards and my Platinum Trophy. All that, and this still isn't old. 9.2 Outstanding OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)