Infamous: Second Son Dials Up the Action and the Drama

In video games, action and story are often conflicting forces that, for one reason or another, never seem to peak together. But in the time I spent recently with Infamous: Second Son, I was impressed both by the fluidity of its action and the authenticity of its storytelling – a rare mix in the sandbox action genre. And whether I was speeding from rooftop to rooftop amidst the flickering particles of Delsin's new neon powers or watching him have a moment with his brother Reggie, the added oomph of the PS4 kept my eyeballs tingling.

Let there be light.

Before I'd fired off my first smoke shot, or subdued a single enemy, Second Son impressed me with its cinematic chops. My demo kicked off with a quick trailer introducing me to Abigail “Fetch” Walker, a vigilante conduit wreaking havoc on Seattle's drug dealers. Delsin and his brother Reggie manage to apprehend her, but it was left to me to decide her fate. Sure, that choice was still a disappointingly simple matter of naughty or nice, but regardless of what direction I went with, the ensuing exchange between the brothers was charged with nuance and tension. Troy Baker's predictably great voice work breathes real life into the anti-hero, imbuing him with a believable potential for either malice or morality. This duality helps bubble the many complexities of the brothers' relationship to the surface. Reggie loves his brother, but he truly doesn't know if Delsin is capable of discerning right from wrong. I already feel invested in how their story unfolds.

Depending on what I decided to do, my next mission was completely different. One had me going on an Anakin-esque tear, killing unarmed anti-conduit protestors by the dozens, and in the other, I was searching houseboats for drugs to destroy and hostages to rescue. Both missions were nicely paced and ended with an impressive climax that, sadly, I'm not allowed to discuss. But what was even more noteworthy was how it felt to control Delsin. Infamous 1 and 2 handled great, but the refined, direct nature of how our new hero responds to inputs is on another level. His animations transition so smoothly as he changes direction, and despite how quickly he moves, he feels entirely rooted to the Seattle streets he stalks.

Meet Abigail.

Except of course when he's got his neon powers activated, at which point even gravity has little sway over him. In this mode, I could streak straight up the side of a building's exterior without any parkour at all. Using L2 to aim, I could even slow time and highlight the weak spots of any enemy around me to strike for maximum effectiveness. Regular attacks might not do as much damage as when using smoke powers, but the extra maneuverability and precision more than made up for it. Regardless of which power set you're using, though, you're practically guaranteed to look good while wreaking havoc.

There's an incredible amount of detail packed into every frame of Second Son, but the lighting and particle effects stand above all of them. Environmental reflections flicker off puddles of water in the street, neon projectiles pulse with an incandescent glow as they hurtle towards enemies, and all without so much as a hitch in performance. Especially in a large, fairly destructible open-world environment, that's a pretty impressive feat, and a good reason to be thankful for next-gen hardware.

One man rave.

Infamous is easily my favorite open-world action franchise, and Second Son looks as if it will elevate the series in almost every way. It's a little disappointing that the morality system doesn't seem to have matured as much as the rest of the story and presentational elements, but perhaps some of the other choices in the full game will be a bit more difficult to make. Regardless, Infamous: Second Son looks and plays like a dream, and I'm itching to spend more time with it.

Vincent Ingenito is IGN's newest recruit. He's pretty good at fighting games. Beware, and follow him on Twitter.

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