While I was out...InFamous

Let's start off with a few quick-hit reviews of the best games that came out while I was on "vacation". Next up is InFamous.

This game is a PS3 exclusive, and I played it through to completion on hard mode (after I was "promoted" from normal mode -- more on that later) following the "good" path. I haven't done it yet, but I do play to go back and beat the game following the "evil" path.

This is a great superhero game wherein the hero was created for the sole purpose of the game itself. Since the character was not established it was easy for the developer to come up with really nice game mechanics that worked perfectly and didn't seem out of place or ill-conceived.

You start off as a bicycle messenger, but all that changes when a package you're delivering blows up in your hands and gives you super-powers. You start playing the game, and if you're performing well enough or normal mode, the game decides that you chose poorly, and tells you that you should have picked hard mode. At that time, it even gives you the option of switching on the fly. As you play through, you learn that you can be good or evil, and the powers that you can later manifest change based on which path you follow. Also, the way that the NPCs react to you is dependent on which path you're following.

The game was very polished, the powers were interesting and easy to use, and the story was great...even though it ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger. I usually hate that in a game, but InFamous really couldn't have ended in any other was. Oh yeah, and the twist at the end was friggin sweet.

Play this game. That is all.