Game review: Infamous: Second Son

A scene from Infamous: Second Son.

Chris Schulz reviews the dazzling new Playstation 4 exclusive Infamous: Second Son, and likes what he sees.

Perhaps it's when you're dangling from the top of Seattle's Space Needle tower with nothing but fresh air below and sun-drenched scenery stretching to the horizon.

Maybe it's when you're smoke dashing across the dimly lit city at night, escaping from DUP agents while fleeing across rooftops, leaving a cornea-searing purple trail in your wake.

Or it might be when you unleash an orbital drop on a swarming pack of agents, a move that destroys everything in the near vicinity, including armoured trucks, small buildings, enemy agents and - whoops - the occasional pedestrian.

At some point while playing Playstation 4's excellent exclusive title Infamous: Second Son, you will think to yourself that you might just be playing the best looking video game on the market.

That's because the third Infamous instalment packs an almighty graphics wallop, taking full advantage of the console's visual power with a supremely detailed open world exploration of its Seattle setting.

As the superpower-inflicted, parkour-performing Delsin, you'll fling fire balls that seem to explode out of your TV, unleash neon splashes so bright you might need sunglasses to block the glare and swing a lightsaber-style flaming blade that will make you think you're in a Star Wars movie.

Second Son is a sumptuous visual feast, a work of art that its designers, Sucker Punch, deserve to be proud of.

It's also a hell of a lot of fun to play. Set seven years after the events of Infamous 2, gamers take on the role of Delsin, a "Conduit" - a human infused with superpowers - tasked with freeing Seattle from military control by releasing imprisoned conduits and taking out enemy strongholds.

Like previous Infamous games, Second Son offers players the chance to be good or bad, with key decisions altering the course of the game. Both options give Delsin different super-powers and are worth exploring, but if you're only going to play Second Son once, being a baddie is probably the better option.

Despite its mouthwatering visuals, Second Son is let down in several key areas: Delsin can be a bit of a jerk, his brother's constant pestering gets annoying, the game's open world design is a little empty when compared to Grand Theft Auto V, and the plot doesn't exactly reek of originality.

But quibbles are few and far between, especially when there's so much fun to be had exploring your newfound neon superpowers by running amok in Seattle.

Who thought being a human highlighter could be so much fun?

Infamous: Second Son
Platform: PS4
Rating: M
Click here to buy Infamous: Second Son for PS4.

- TimeOut