Going back to play infamous and i2 and I can say without a doubt that Second Son plays so much better. It's actually so fun that lacking in side missions or a more compelling story does not bother me as much as I thought it would. I was already missing the ability to dash and easy access to multiple powers and controls.
SP nailed the gameplay though I hope for the next game they give melee a little more depth, just because it's a one button attack doesn't mean a 3 hit combo is enough. take note from MGR. You can still do a lot with a button. As I said before put some pause inbetween attacks to get new attacks, some stick twirls and such. Do more with melee man.
As a new owner of PS4 and it doesn't go for everyone but this game really showcases the visual leap I expect at least this early on. And with fun gameplay and a reason to play through twice it's the perfect title to jump into current gen.
Playing through as good first, evil later. When you play as evil, do you need to be careful about anything, or just kill everything? On good a few times I've denied surrender or a civilian has been caught in the blast from an exploding DUP truck, messing up my karmic streak.
Playing through as good first, evil later. When you play as evil, do you need to be careful about anything, or just kill everything? On good a few times I've denied surrender or a civilian has been caught in the blast from an exploding DUP truck, messing up my karmic streak.
Finished the game earlier today. Loved the main character, graphics and neon ability. You can really tell a lot of hard work went into the world design. Too bad I couldnt say the same about the gameplay. I left me really wanting more out of the abiities, also no real reason to exploring Seattle(when great effort wss put into it).
But the entire time I was playing the game, I kept wanting to play Prototype.
I'm not holding up AC as "some kind of revalation", I was just saying that at the time it was considered by many to be a "true next-gen title". From a gameplay perspective, AC was indeed very simplistic. However, back when it first came out, there really hadn't been any other games quite like it. The setting, the free-running, the crowds and the stealth mechanics associated with them, they were all "new" and complex enough that they could not have been pulled off convincingly on PS2/Xbox.
Second Son was also considered by many to be a "true next-gen title" simply by virtue of being a PS4 exclusive, yet, in my opinion, it's nothing more than a prettier version of the previous Infamous games. It's faster, smoother and looks much better than the previous games, but that's pretty much it. If that's enough to make it "feel next-gen" for you (which is entirely subjective by the way), then more power to you, but it wasn't enough for me, and so I understand the reviews that criticise the game for not being next-gen enough.
And yeah, the last-gen gameplay thing applies to most, if not all games that have come out this gen so far, but personally I found AC4 to feel much more next-gen that SS did, despite the fact that it's a cross-gen title.
I'm coming across as a huge AC fanboy here, aren't I...
Soul Reaver was more metroidvania than open world.
AC4 is not next gen by any standards, the game is just a high resolution version of the PS3/X360 versions with the gameplay and experience being identical across the board.
I finished my first play-through last night, and generally really enjoyed it. I completed it on Expert in Hero form, and have made brain dump of thoughts as I look back at my time with it.
- Moving Delsin around the city is a really lovely experience. The controls are excellent and feel very responsive. There is the odd moment where he sticks to the wrong point you are intending to go to (generally around small ledges on top of buildings etc) but most of the time is absolutely solid. Controls are also improved by the higher than average base framerate of the game, which is a big improvements over the other 2.5 games
- I thought the powers were really fun to use, and I liked the non-lethal ones which would trap an enemy as opposed to killing it outright. I do miss the grenade/bomb attacks though from the other games (perhaps Evil has these), and I guess some of them across the powers were quite similar. Getting around the city is awesome with
Neon and Video
, they have made something that has gotten a little stale (with all the open world games out there) into something much more exciting and fun. I actually found the Smoke forward boost to be the least enjoyable towards the end as it's the slowest for forwards movement on foot.
- There aren't enough sources for the Powers. Sometimes it felt like minutes you were walking around trying to find the one you wanted, and this got frustrating, especially around enemy fight sequences. It wasn't always an issue, but it was a pain in the ass at times. Also, I think they have decreased the detection area for grabbing the powers now, so you have to be closer to them. There was a couple of times were I felt I was very close to the source but it wouldn't let me suck them in. This was a real bastard when
trying to get Smoke when fighting the boss woman on the island. You couldn't hang off the generators properly to get the Smoke)
- Last Boss fight.
I enjoyed the very last boss fight despite it being a simpler and much easier fight than the one before it with her on the island. THAT was fucking annoying, but only because the game threw in soldier enemies alongside her. I thought that was totally unnecessary and was just a frustrating fight (although I liked her patterns). The relentless gunfire from them got quite tiring after a while, and as I said above, the inability to efficiently grab the Power source was annoying.
- Playing on Expert was a good challenge at times, but there were moments where I felt a little underpowered despite being maxed out on upgrades.
-
4th ability only available after completing the game is a shame, but maybe DLC will be offered which uses it more?
- Side Missions were basic, I think there is lots of room for improvement and expansion here. Still, they are enjoyable at least but do become a chore towards the end.
- The story is fairly decent, I still love the comic style cutscenes and the characters were cool. It feels a little loose going from mission to mission, but I think this is the case with most open world games. I feel the same about the Assassin Creed games.
- I do wonder if the Good/Evil split should be removed, and you should be able to switch at will do the different Karma. I dunno, maybe they tried it and it didn't work. It could give some variety to the game and let you mix things up slightly. Part of me thinks its there just to double the length of the game for completionists but who knows. (Good/Evil would have to be replaced by something else to make it work I think)
- Graphics and Sound are both excellent, it really is a very good looking and sounding game. I downloaded the sound preset for the Wireless 2.0 headphones, and DAMN it sounds good. SO MEATY! Visuals are stunning, with excellent draw distance and the framerate is really good too. I like the unlocked cap personally, but it's good there is an option coming for players that do not.
- It's still my absolute favourite open world game and one of my most loved Sony franchises and look forward to what they will be offering with DLC. Hoping for story expansion and maybe new Powers!
Just got the power and was coming in here to say how underwhelmed I am by it. Neon is still my favorite, but just barely. Smoke seems to have more "oomph" to it, but there's something about neon I really like. The third power just seems like it doesn't have enough to it.
"Flying" could be much cooler (and maybe it gets better towards the end of the game), but the R1 attack isn't great IMO, and the melee attack doesn't feel as powerful as its slow attack speed makes it seem.
and your practically in god mode. Run around and subdue or execute people and in like 10 seconds you get your Karma bomb. Its Upgraded dash is way better then Neon. Its almost twice the speed and you don't drop like a rock when going off buildings, added with its upgraded hover and you can stay in the air longer then any other power.
AC4 is not next gen by any standards, the game is just a high resolution version of the PS3/X360 versions with the gameplay and experience being identical across the board.
Not by your standards perhaps, but to me, personally, playing AC4 on PS4 felt like a more next-gen experience than playing Infamous: Second Son. And yes, I'm aware that I'm apparently contradicting myself by claiming that, but that's one of the problems when discussing something as nebulous and subjective as what next-gen feels like. SS is just a much more basic game overall, or at least that's what it felt like to me.
I agree with 3rd power beeing the best Overall.
not the best for combat but still good enough but by far the best for traversal.
I farmed sign Spinners and musicians yesterday and circled the 2nd Island to look out for them. I made a full circle in like 30 Seconds and never touched the ground and barely was on foot. Its just awesome.
dashing and hovering from Roof to Roof into satelite dishes feels so great.
now onto my evil playthrough.
I really hope they are doing more dlc and a Sequel.
I had so much fun with this game so far.
Whats obvious is the technology took a much larger portion of development for SS as it always does on a new console. Still its onbvious where they invested the majority of their time, the graphics are phenomenal. This why theres a lot less content. Next time they can focus much more on making the game.
Whats obvious is the technology took a much larger portion of development for SS as it always does on a new console. Still its onbvious where they invested the majority of their time, the graphics are phenomenal. This why theres a lot less content. Next time they can focus much more on making the game.
I felt there was just the right amount of content. They needed to work on making the side missions more varied, but I was generally happy with the amount of content available.
Some thoughts now I've wrapped up both Good/Evil play-through and have got as far with Paper Trail as has been released:
Overall gameplay - solid but somewhat lacking in content IMHO in terms of fleshed out side missions and varied mission construction to require more use of your powers.
Engine/Tech - superb and clearly this is where tons of the development went - getting Sucker Punch PS4 engine polished and gleaming.
Future promise - SP now have a great engine that is already well polished and solid gameplay mechanics but I expect to see a lot more content with any future inFamous games on PS4
Karma flow and "plot" - The "Good" flow felt better overall. Many main story cut-scenes definately played as though you were taking the good path and in a number of cases playing through as "Evil" there is a clear disconnect with your behaviour and how Reggie is treating you. I quite liked that the plot was smaller and more personal than inFamous 1&2 although I did somewhat miss the bigger bosses and story of the earlier games in terms of feeling more "comic book". "Evil" playthrough was interesting though and built to a truly disturbing ending in terms of where your character ends up - it's just a pity that the plot didn't fully respond to taking the "Evil" playthrough - for example Reggie's relationship should have changed with Delsin dramatically and it barely differed from "Good" playthrough. I'd also note the story and plotlines felt fairly rushed/constrained - Fetch, Eugene etc all could do with more airtime and more good/bad missions would have helped too.
Paper Trail - really quite enjoying this. Very interested in this approach and quite enjoyed solving the puzzles, checking clues, etc. then executing in game. Would like to see more of this type of gameplay approach in the franchise going forward.
Overall enjoyed it as an early title and most impressed that the tech is so polished this early - as with many launch titles content felt a little light and truncated to meet launch day.
Not by your standards perhaps, but to me, personally, playing AC4 on PS4 felt like a more next-gen experience than playing Infamous: Second Son. And yes, I'm aware that I'm apparently contradicting myself by claiming that, but that's one of the problems when discussing something as nebulous and subjective as what next-gen feels like. SS is just a much more basic game overall, or at least that's what it felt like to me.
Why is AC4 'more next gen'? I played both games back to back and felt SS to be liberating in terms of it's embrace of stronger technology (comet bomb alone fucks up AC) and the amount of freedoms the powers give you in the open world. That's primary what open world needs to do imo. SS is simple and restrictive in its scope in what to do, but it does this (traversing and fighting) aspect better than any other open world game.
Yea AC4 is big, but it's size is a facade of repetition and bloating up their simple mechanics. It's their shtick, how can we bloat this thing up to the point it feels impressive? The melee battle system is basically a two button QTE. Push O when attacked then push square to win. Yea the amount of different animation sequences that these two button presses give is at first quite impressive, but ultimately that wears down. It's a feast, but a banquet of tasteless food. I do find the running and taking down mechanic to be awesome though, they copied that straight out of the only other AC(II) I have played, but it never got old to me.
The traversing and climbing in Black Flag is a straight copy from ACII. Yea there are some new things to be found, new animation sequences etc, but again these additions are what Ubisoft does best, adding new layers instead if refining the core mechanics. Here again push R2 to win (why is there a jump button?).
The reason Black Flag is so well received is the naval stuff. That is basically it. Although imbalanced and in the end fighting the legendary ships become more of a chore, it is a well done feat and delivers meaning to the pirate theme. That is also the reason why I raised my eyebrows to the new French revolution theme. The theme doesn't give much room for Ubisoft to add a layer that that hey can show with pride, in relation in what they have done with the Ezio stuff.
There is the problem you just got it. Try upgrading it and it really becomes awesome. I thought the same when I first got it but as with smoke and neon it's not awesome until it's fully upgraded.
Guess I got lucky, changed the difficulty to expert a few minutes in and still got the expert trophy. Now I just have to play through the evil side on easy and I should have my platinum.
Guess I got lucky, changed the difficulty to expert a few minutes in and still got the expert trophy. Now I just have to play through the evil side on easy and I should have my platinum.
When you play as evil, do you need to be careful about anything, or just kill everything? On good a few times I've denied surrender or a civilian has been caught in the blast from an exploding DUP truck, messing up my karmic streak.
It's possible to accidentally subdue an enemy with some abilities (eg. shoot the leg instead of head with neon) which cancels your evil streaks, but just blowing stuff up makes it much less likely. Streaks are timed on evil though, so that makes them harder when enemies aren't abundant.
Sure, that's one way of looking at it. Does SS, then, represent an evolution of gameplay? I'd say it doesn't, though I'm sure some would disagree.
Yes, maybe my standards are too high or I've become too jaded after over 20 years of gaming. I'm not about to give up hope just yet, though. Witcher 3 looks like it could be the first truly next-gen game for me.
And yes, Vice City does fit my standards, or rather GTA3 does; they were some of the first games that "felt next-gen" in the PS2/Xbox era.
Litte OT: GTA 3 on PS2 is still the game that shocked and wowed me the most till this day. Was a huge fan of GTA 1 and 2 and seeing that open world city in 3D, with every car highjackable just blew my mind.
Because ut's not really unfinished at all if you're using it fully upgraded. It's actually one of the better powers in the game and it's disappointing they didn't allow us access to it sooner.
That was definitely disappointing. I never got to use it much though since I started my next playthrough pretty much as soon as I got it.
I personally found video to be a bit lacking on my first playthrough. But when I did my second on evil, it ended up being my favourite. Felt much more powerful than neon and smoke. Only thing I missed was a video bomb, since I felt that was far more effective at subduing people than turning invisible. But I still had neon for that.
I'm really surprised that some people aren't digging the third power. It's the most powerful by far, and gives you the most options in combat. You can really wreck havoc in a short amount of time, it's the quickest way to fill your karmic bomb gauge, and the traversal is unmatched. Plus the heavy weapon attack homes in and tracks enemies; it really is op when you think about it.
Neon > Video > Smoke
Though Smoke has the better R1 attack out of it and Neon. Video still the best with it being a homing attack.
Evil:
Combat
Video > Smoke > Neon
Both:
Traversal
Video > Neon > Concrete > Smoke
Karma Bomb
Neon > Video = Smoke
I can't decide if Smoke's is better than Video's or vice versa.
I am excluding
concrete from the combat ranks cause it's missing the karma bomb. I need a karma bomb for it, Sucker Punch!
Neon was useless for most of my Evil play through. I only used it up till I got Video to travel faster.
This might sound a bit like cheating but I used to go and attack drug dealers to build up my karma bomb then go to the dup stations and use the neon karma bomb to wipe everyone out. Rinse and repeat at all the dup stations.
is there fast travel in the game Ive only just gotten my 3rd power and travel to do side mission is get a little annoying also is there a fast way to fill up
also there is a fast way to fill up your bomb power the one where you go in the air and fcuk shit up lol
is there fast travel in the game Ive only just gotten my 3rd power and travel to do side mission is get a little annoying also is there a fast way to fill up
also there is a fast way to fill up your bomb power the one where you go in the air and fcuk shit up lol
This might sound a bit like cheating but I used to go and attack drug dealers to build up my karma bomb then go to the dup stations and use the neon karma bomb to wipe everyone out. Rinse and repeat at all the dup stations.
Guess I got lucky, changed the difficulty to expert a few minutes in and still got the expert trophy. Now I just have to play through the evil side on easy and I should have my platinum.
This might sound a bit like cheating but I used to go and attack drug dealers to build up my karma bomb then go to the dup stations and use the neon karma bomb to wipe everyone out. Rinse and repeat at all the dup stations.
I did this on the most difficult ones, after maybe 3 tries if I couldn't make it I will not waste time anymore and went to build a Neon Karma Bomb and wiped everyone out.
Sure, that's one way of looking at it. Does SS, then, represent an evolution of gameplay? I'd say it doesn't, though I'm sure some would disagree.
Yes, maybe my standards are too high or I've become too jaded after over 20 years of gaming. I'm not about to give up hope just yet, though. Witcher 3 looks like it could be the first truly next-gen game for me.
And yes, Vice City does fit my standards, or rather GTA3 does; they were some of the first games that "felt next-gen" in the PS2/Xbox era.
I agree with you to some degree. Its a small evolution over infamous 2 but still a noticeable change when you compare powers this time around to last time.
This might sound a bit like cheating but I used to go and attack drug dealers to build up my karma bomb then go to the dup stations and use the neon karma bomb to wipe everyone out. Rinse and repeat at all the dup stations.
This might sound a bit like cheating but I used to go and attack drug dealers to build up my karma bomb then go to the dup stations and use the neon karma bomb to wipe everyone out. Rinse and repeat at all the dup stations.
Me clearing out a DUP station on expert, First take, total improvisation, total overpowered.
I don't think I could die anymore, you are truly a super hero in this game. To me this feels completely next gen. There's no way you could have done anything as smooth to play with this much going on on ps3.
If you use your Karma bomb too soon you are doing it wrong, it must be used to avoid death. You can also destroy large infrastructures with it because it looks cool.
I've been able to put some time into this game, finally. The combat is fluid, it reminds me of Tony Hawk pro-skater, where if you have a perfect line of tricks being set from obstacle to obstacle, so is the complement of powers that Delsin has which allows for some interesting chain attacks.
For instance. I started out a battle with an APC, four or five soldiers and one heavy machine gunner, which happened to jump me when I was dealing the hurt on some drug dealers, next to a high rise.
I immediately jumped through the vents to the top of the building, hover dashed from the building to the open area below, then comet strike down in the middle of the fracas, lobbed a few smoke bombs, shot one or two normal fire attacks and then finished with the ultimate ender where Delsin flies into the air (as seen in the promo videos).
I WISH I KNEW HOW TO RECORD GAMEPLAY, (I never set up sharing or whatever, so I am not sure how to just capture my gameplay on the fly), because damned if that wasn't the best set piece in an attack sequence that just happened naturally. And it happened within the first few hours of my game!
Another notable mention, story beat related, was in
Lantern district
where I was just
trying to locate a signal with my phone
regarding
buses with conduits
and neon traversed into a fracas that contained
flying Angels beaming
the DUP.
It was a jaw dropping moment as I tried to assist and avoid the explosions and enemy fire, by jumping in and taking down a DUP, then high taling it up a building to deal with some sniping and defense of the DUP who would bring the fight to me.
I had to stop for the night, and just think about the awesome that I had witnessed. Bravo SuckerPunch! You folks made a game that tickles my open world superhero game play love!
Well killing civilians won't get you that much evil karma or none at all I think. Just assault the red icons (Street musicians, Sign twirlers etc) to earn the evil Karma.
----------------------
@thread
BTW was it only me or
did anyone else also tried to demolish the first boss (when you run into Augustine and she taunts you about your new found powers), with smoke only and didn't use neon? I tried killing him 4-5 times before succeeding and was gravely disappointed to not have received a trophy for such a feat.
Well killing civilians won't get you that much evil karma or none at all I think. Just assault the red icons (Street musicians, Sign twirlers etc) to earn the evil Karma.
----------------------
@thread
BTW was it only me or
did anyone else also tried to demolish the first boss (when you run into Augustine and she taunts you about your new found powers), with smoke only and didn't use neon? I tried killing him 4-5 times before succeeding and was gravely disappointed to not have received a trophy for such a feat.
