Oh, videogame developers. You poor, poor fools. I ask myself, did you know what you were getting into? Did you have any idea just how rabid we gamers can be? I don't really believe you did, because who would willingly subject themselves to all this flaming? Here you are, pouring your hearts and souls into an idea, into a story, which somehow finds its way across all the industry bureaucracy and becomes a game; and here we are, just waiting to see you fail. Yours is a sad fate indeed.

What has launched me on this pity party for developers, you ask? Well, I’ve taken a step back and observed the gaming community in the last couple of months (myself included) and it has let me see what a tough bunch we really are. We constantly demand innovation from developers, we demand bigger and better things, but any attempt to modify or change our sacred cow franchises in any way and we go berserk.

Final Fantasy

The first case I 'observed' was Final Fantasy XIII. If one franchise defines Square-Enix, it’s the Final Fantasy series of games. Hell, Final Fantasy defines the RPG genre. I grew up with the series, and have been a fan ever since I popped Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III to us U.S. gamers) cartridge into my Super Nintendo. Terra and her pixellated green hair won me over the minute the game started up. With Final Fantasy I developed a love for RPG’s which has endured through the years: I have played every single major Final Fantasy game, and have generally been delighted with the results. Then along came Final Fantasy XIII, the Final Fantasy game for a new generation.

Even before I ever laid a finger on that shiny Blu-ray disc, I had all these preconceived notions about the game. It seemed like every gaming site and message board was crammed with Final Fantasy fans going into frenzy. Was it true? Could it be a linear Final Fantasy game? It was heresy. I’m a big fan, and the game, if nothing else, looked incredibly pretty. Coupled with my well-documented soft spot for tough chicks with guns, I was convinced to give the game a chance.

Was it a good game? Yes, it was. Was it the best Final Fantasy game in the series? Not for me personally. It was different from the normal Final Fantasy experience, in the sense that it tried something new; a different, more story-focused approach to how the game progressed. Some people liked it, others hated it. Square-Enix was just trying to innovate. Square-Enix was basically crucified by those 'hardcore' Final Fantasy fans. The message, I’m afraid, was heard by Square: "Take your innovation and shove it".

Infamous 2

Fast-forward a couple of months and another big franchise is starting to tease the content of its new game. Infamous 2 was on the horizon, and Sucker Punch, the game's developers, were excited to show off all the shiny new stuff they had packed into their sequel. First on their list was the new character design for the lead character of the series, Cole. This to me was not a big surprise. If I heard one complaint over and over regarding the original game, it was the main character design. The guy looked, and sounded, way too gruff. This is supposed to be a superhero? He looked more like a plumber (no offence Mario). I had no problem with the original design myself, although I did find some of the choices Sucker Punch made a bit odd. So, of course, the new character design looked like a first cousin of Nathan Drake: the ultimate good-guy-relatable-game-protagonist. The old voice actor was also given the shove, and a new, more 'good guy'-sounding voice actor was cast. I’m sure Sucker Punch were excited to hear what the fans thought.

Poor saps. They never saw it coming.

The fans were outraged. They dared to change Cole? Our Cole? Forget the fact that these loose-cannon game developers actually created the guy. Who cares that we’re only one game into the series. We want back the guy we loved to hate, and we want him now! The funny part is that Sucker Punch actually listened. Check out the latest Infamous screens and you will see the old Cole is alive and well. That’ll show those kooky game developers! That'll teach them that we don’t want any changes! Power to the people.

DMC

However, it looks like the message didn’t make it to Japan, and more specifically, Capcom. By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard of DMC, the Devil May Cry reboot. You’ve seen the trailer. You’ve seen the new Dante.

Now, I have to come clean. I own, and have beaten, every single DMC game. I watched the anime. I have a DMC poster on my wall. I like the games. And if you’ve played these games, you'll know that Dante is what makes them work. Dante’s style and attitude; he's what makes the over-the-top Devil May Cry experience work. To change Dante is to change the game. You’d think Square-Enix was at the wheel.

So of course I - as a self respecting fan of the series - went onto the first message board I could find, and cried to the high heavens for someone’s head on a platter. Right? Well, no. See, I haven’t played the game; no one has. And whilst I think the change is a bit of a stretch, I trust these guys. They're the ones that gave me these awesome games in the first place.

I'm not a developer, I'm a gamer. That my friends, is the reality of things. It's what I’m trying to get at: we are all just gamers. Of course we are entitled to our opinions: our opinions fuel the industry. Hell, without opinions, this site wouldn’t even exist. This article that you’re reading right now is nothing but my opinion. But to flame a game incessantly without even having played it, without even knowing the motivation behind the changes and innovations which the game creators have chosen to implement is - to be honest - just kind of dumb. The gaming community is constantly asking for innovation in its games. Throw us a couple of sequels with nothing but rehash and your game will fail. On the other hand, if the developers try something new we collectively nail them to a cross.

Although I think the whole Infamous business is an incredible testament to the powers that we gamers have, I also think it sets a dangerous precedent, which may force developers and designers to hold back their artistic vision and creativity, in hopes of appeasing the masses. I, for one, hope that Capcom sticks to their guns with the choices they've made with DMC. Yes, the game might suck, but then again it might not, and Capcom amongst others will learn that it’s okay to try something new. When that happens, dear gamers, we will be much better off for it.

Labels: Columns, Devil May Cry, DMC, Final Fantasy, InFamous, Infamous 2, Joey Núñez, RePlay

Sucker Punch’s PS3 debut revolves around a deliveryman in Empire City that unknowingly sets off a huge bomb in the city centre, causing the city to be taken over by a plague and your character, Cole, to receive electricity-related superpowers. InFamous is an original game with no games or fiction (save a small 24 page comic) to come before it, so Sucker Punch really had to work hard to nail Cole, and Empire City’s personality to make this a first-rate origin story, and they did. I thought that Cole’s voice acting, while mocked by many in the press, is fitting to a character that unwittingly killed thousands of people, and that his friends, Zeke and John were well fleshed out, and definitely stood up on their own.

Moral Choices in videogames have been as “in” as Keyboard Cat ever since Mass Effect, and InFamous willingly jumps on the bandwagon. Along the way to the game’s ending you will be confronted by moral choices. These can vary from choosing whether you want to have a “good” or “evil” poster with your face on it, to deciding the fate of the city later on in the game. Your choices in these moments push your “karma” (My name is Cole?) towards good or evil, which changes the way normal citizens, and other characters react to you. There are also some powers which can only be unlocked by going one way or the other down the karma path, which basically forces you to be all the way good or all the way bad - there is no ‘neutral’ karma in this game. I played through the game twice, once good and once bad and found that the powers were a little more fun while being evil, but that I really felt awful making some of the decisions I did.

As the game develops Cole gets more and more powerful leaving you with the decision of “do I take over the city, or save what’s left”. The game definitely does a good job of giving you the powers to act on your decision with awe-inspiringly lethal powers. These powers basically replace guns that you would expect to find in a game of this genre. The normal lightning attack replicates a rifle, the Megawatt Hammer replicates a rocket launcher, and Lighting Storm replicates…I don’t know, something really badass. All of the powers are upgraded using XP earned by completing missions or killing bad guys – but the upgrades you get depend on whether you are good or evil. Good powers generally receive upgrades that make the powers more precise and lethal, whereas evil powers just cause an extra area of damage, making you feel like a dick for killing hundreds of innocent people.

Alongside the main mission there are lots of distractions. There are trophies for any people (such as myself) who are sufficiently insane to collect all two hundred and something “shards” and thirty something “dead-drops” (which are audio clips that help flesh out the story really well). It took me about 30 hours to go through the story twice and get the platinum trophy, but I’ve heard from others that it can take up to 40 hours to do.

However much I have poured over InFamous’ good points, it isn’t a perfect game. The game starts off really hard, enough so that I nearly stopped playing, because at that point Cole hasn’t got all of his powers. But after the first 3 or 4 hours it gets easier, to a point at the end of the game were a small flick of the down button can kill 7 enemies effortlessly. This end-game power is actually great, as it really feels like Cole has developed from a small battery to a nuclear power plant in terms of power, which is, if truth be told, very rewarding.

Another bad point, if minor, is the main bad guy; Kessler. He may be tough and, at times, badass, but his voice acting is atrocious. Seriously, he sounds like the stupidest person on the planet. The only comparison I can make is that of the voice of the doll in the Saw movies. Ugh.

Anyway, I digress, InFamous is a great example of how an open world, superhero action game should be made. At no point does the game stop you from having immense amounts of fun. Everyone with a PS3 that likes action games should buy this. Good job Sucker Punch!

9/10

Matt

Labels: InFamous, Matthew, Matthew Meadows, Review