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Infamous: Second Son Review Thread

I think if Sony wants better scores they need to ditch these IPs that got middling reviews last generation. Certain reviewers get too hung up on "It is a [insert franchise] game." and score it according to what they think the series should get. I remember during the PS4 Killzone reveal different media outlets seemed excited until it was revealed to be Killzone. "Awww, not another Killzone." "Please, don't be Killzone. Please, don't be Killzone" like if it was a new IP with the same opening it would have been amazing.
 
I think the gameplay comments are folks wanting something more than just "more of the same with better graphics". At this point in the console's lifecycle, I think it's fine to just have prettier and more refined versions of games we played on the PS3, but we'll see more innovations as the console matures. Just having a game like this helps since the library is pretty dry, and it's nice to be distracted from all the Titanfall XB1 talk.
 
I'm not even sure what people are flipping out about. Isn't an 80 meta score good-great? Do you think this game deserves a 90+ or something?

The whole thing about next gen gameplay, it's just their way of saying they hoped there would be improvements to the franchise since it's a new gen. Whether it's through more interesting and diverse missions, more compelling narrative, a more alive and interactive world, etc. But it seems to be the same old. That's my interpretation at least.
 
Sounds like some reviewers had the patch, but others may not have had everything. I asked Vince about it on twitter.

@Vincogneato: .@RetroRaconteur Actually, we did have this patch made available to us. At least I know I did. My review reflects reflects version 1.01.

@davidrobots: @RetroRaconteur @Vincogneato the first missions was accessible, but the server was down, so we couldn't play the whole set.
 
EGM1966 said:
Specific to Second Son though did EDGE really see the graphics/engine as lacking? That sounds like a true outlier right there if they did. Will have to read the review I guess.
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Nope.

In reference to the tutorial leaving a bad impression:
If it wasn’t for the breathtaking view – and in terms of lighting, shadow and detail, Second Son exceeds even Shadow Fall’s visual achievements – it would be easy to confuse this with an early release for the previous console generation. And not a very good one.
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infamous2-610x343.jpg

The time of day changes across the campaign, with the game at its most handsome when Neon powers are introduced as night, and the rain, begins to fall. Lurid fluorescence and wet surfaces intermingle to stunning effect
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Was waiting to see review scores before buying. Looks good.

Is there any specific place that's better than others for pre-ordering? i.e. are there any known deals? Amazon has the price at the standard $59.96 and comes with some vests if you pre-order. Anything better than that?

I'm gonna pre-order in a little bit though I won't get a chance to play until next month.

noobasuar said:
I think it's funny that people think that review scores affect sales.

I know you guys all desperately want this game to sell better than Titanfall or whatever but reviews are pointless in helping drive sales.
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Not true.

Reviews of Shadow Fall are what got me to return it before opening (had pre-ordered, got delivered earlier than expected)

Reviews of Second Son have gotten me to move from a "maybe" to a buy.

Sure, I'm just an individual anecdote but reviews absolutely affect sales. Especially when it comes to games where there is the potential to pick up lots of new customers (i.e. new generation, people who primarily were 360 only players, people who never got into the PS3 games, etc).
 
Mondy said:
It's not the game, it's me, I guess would be the appropriate adage. Watching gameplay footage, I wasn't entirely convinced that I would enjoy it before a single review came out, but since my PS4 has been starved of games to play, I jumped the gun and pre ordered anyway.

And as I said, my backlog is begging to be played anyway. I will certainly pick this up again later on, but for cheaper. I would wager it will drop to 40 bucks or so come E3 time or a bit later.
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Gotcha. Well I understand backlogs so good on ya. However, I don't know for sure if this game will receive a 33% price drop so soon. I think price drops are more inclined for games that don't sell, and Assassins creed games. For whatever reason, those games drop fast. And looking at the X1 which has had "artificial/official" price drops across the UK to stimulate sales, i wonder if Infamous will suffer from that.

I hope someone can correct me on this, but what are the pre-order numbers indicating? 700K is what I got from some guy on twitter who apparently hates Thuway.

If the sales are good, price may not drop for some time.

Still, happy gaming!
 
Teletraan1 said:
I think if Sony wants better scores they need to ditch these IPs that got middling reviews last generation. Certain reviewers get too hung up on "It is a [insert franchise] game." and score it according to what they think the series should get. I remember during the PS4 Killzone reveal different media outlets seemed excited until it was revealed to be Killzone. "Awww, not another Killzone." "Please, don't be Killzone. Please, don't be Killzone" like if it was a new IP with the same opening it would have been amazing.
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80 is not middling reviews....jesus not every game needs to be a GOTG masterpiece.
 
noobasuar said:
I think it's funny that people think that review scores affect sales.

I know you guys all desperately want this game to sell better than Titanfall or whatever but reviews are pointless in helping drive sales.
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to disagree with this. Movies and music? Yea, reviews don't affect sales but I think they do for games to an extent. The game has to be marketable first though, which is why it doesn't matter what score Nintendo games get
 
Heshinsi said:
Exactly. In one game game (COD:Ghost/PS4) a reviewer (Polygon) docks points for slight frame rate issues. In another game (TitanFall) the same review site pretty much makes a small mention about even more sever performance issues, and carries on like nothings wrong. I get it, certain reviewers like certain genres, franchises, developers, platforms, etc better than others. But don't be so damn transparent in your biases.
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TitanFall and Infamous were reviewed by two separate people. Same with Ghosts. I guess they could be conspiring together, though! That could explain why they gave a score you don't approve of to a game you haven't played yet.
 
Zephyrus said:
Because you just can't have new and innovate gameplay without difference peripherals.

Gen after gen, all you got was the very same gameplay you always got before. Games play exactly the same as they did. They just look prettier now. They just have a narrative now. They just have a different perspective now. But they play the same.

So, when someone says "same gameplay from old gen" that person is a goddamn clown. Seriously. You review a game and knock points off it because... it plays the same?
Well that is quite wierd (especially when earlier you had no problem ignoring it on another game for a different system).
It basically reeks of an arbitrary system where you can make stuff up to justify your agenda.

I know that not all reviewers are the same... but when someone reviews a game based on their subjective view and not their objective view, they're worthless.

Saying that a game with old gen gameplay (oops forgot, not important in this game), frame rate drops, old gen graphics, lack of gameplay modes, lack of single player campaign, weapons that aren't balanced is the height of it's genre (5/5) just because you had more "fun" with it is ludicrous. Fun should count. After all what's the point of playing games if they're not fun? But it should never be enough to justify giving a game with glaring problems, a perfect score. At most, you give it a score based on what the game actually does and offers (7/10 or 8/10) and then end the review saying how fun you actually though it was and tell people if you think it's worth their time.
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Best post in the thread for me.
 
"Next gen gameplay" is not hard to understand. It's simply an evolution or step forward from the mechanics of the last gen.

Next gen graphics do just that, but with visuals.

Have there been any next gen only games that introduce new gameplay mechanics? If you want to count the Wii U sure, but I think that we should expect new things on the gameplay side of things as much as we do the visual side of things.

That beig said, these reviews are just the opinions of others, and those who were excited for the game should still be excited.
 
Sounds like it's pretty good with some caveats. Not in a big hurry to get it now. Too many good games to play as it is. Will pick it up somewhere down the line.

edit: and lots of sensitivity in here. Did people build their house upon this game getting all 9's and 10's or something? Much salt. Such wow.
 
If the game needs next-gen gameplay that badly, then maybe new powers should have been unlocked by a different means, and by a different means I'm talking about...

giphy.gif


microtransactions are the future
 
I am really disappointed after reading the reviews.

This was going to be the game I bought the PS4 for. The one I had waited until now for to make my purchase. I bought an XONE at launch because the games were there for me. PS4 had nothing I wanted until Infamous 2.

I don't think that's going to happen now. I'll just play it at a friends and, for me, the wait continues.
 
Chill Penguin said:
I'm not even sure what people are flipping out about. Isn't an 80 meta score good-great? Do you think this game deserves a 90+ or something?

The whole thing about next gen gameplay, it's just their way of saying they hoped there would be improvements to the franchise since it's a new gen. Whether it's through more interesting and diverse missions, more compelling narrative, a more alive and interactive world, etc. But it seems to be the same old. That's my interpretation at least.
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I'm not disappointed about the "lack of gameplay evolution" either. I could tell from way back it'd be more of the same. They made good strides with infamous 2 so I'm fine with it. I do wish they'd taken the story more seriously, though. There's alllllot of potential here. I get why they re-booted, but I don't think it was the best move.
 
Tratorn said:
I really hope this was a joke.
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Yes and no. I'm not going to hold off because I agree or disagree with the reviews, but some of the things said make me feel like people will be trading this in pretty quickly. Without much to do beyond the two playthroughs, and no multiplayer, I just don't see much reason for people to hold onto it for very long.
 
sonicmj1 said:
Ground Zeroes does a lot to differentiate it from previous Metal Gear games. It's set in a single large contiguous space with no loading times. A mission can be cleared from multiple exits, thanks to a helicopter that can be called anywhere at any time. Guards can be marked and tracked throughout the environment, they have better vision, and the player is given a chance to react to being spotted. The player can use vehicles in the environment freely. Even if the player has played a MGS game before, there are many new factors for them to consider and change how they approach the game.

Infamous: Second Son follows the gameplay template of every other Infamous game so far. The mission design uses the same patterns, the powers fulfill similar roles, and so on. "Next-gen" might be a poor way of phrasing it, but some reviewers feel like they've played this game before, and games get knocked for that sort of thing all the time.
Click to expand...

Infamous SS is set in a large contiguous space with no loading time.
 
The gaming media doesn't matter anymore. They pissed all over COD ghosts, 5 months later it's still top seller. They gushed over Titanfall and that game hasn't moved anything judging by press release happy Microsoft's silence. Infamous will sell a ton.
 
This is about where I expected Second Son to land, mid to high 80's, so I'll take what I can get.

Can't wait to pick it up and play!
 
mocoworm said:
I am really disappointed after reading the reviews.

This was going to be the game I bought the PS4 for. The one I had waited until now for to make my purchase. I bought an XONE at launch because the games were there for me. PS4 had nothing I wanted until Infamous 2.

I don't think that's going to happen now. I'll just play it at a friends and, for me, the wait continues.
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game gets 80 average review so you cancel buying a system? LMAO. A systmes is an investment for 6 + years, you never buy it for 1 game.
 
DistortionOfReality said:
Seriously, if you don't like this series, why are you in the OT for the next installment?
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It's early in the PS4's life and I'm starved for games. I'm looking at everything as a possibility.

I've also been playing games for decades and it's not uncommon to get into series later on even when I didn't like earlier games.

Metroid -The only ones I like are Super Metroid and Zero Mission.

Final Fantasy - There are 14 numbered games and I only like 4, 6, 7, and 9.

Resident Evil - The only two I like are 5 and 6.

Zelda - I only like the ones on SNES, N64, and GameCube.

I could go on, but you get the point.

And I'm a much bigger comic book fan than video game fan, so I have an inherent interest in wanting to see this series grow.
 
Nightengale said:
You don't think TLoU's countless 10/10s and slews of critical awards over & over didn't help push the game to a 6 million debut IP?
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My friend asked to borrow my PS3 with TLOU, played and that played a reason in him picking a PS4 over the Xbone. He's been MS only for 10 years by the way.

lol at people who thinks high scores don't make a difference most of the time, esp if they're considerably higher than usual. Especially in this day an age where information is so easy to access.
 
Sean*O said:
The gaming media doesn't matter anymore. They pissed all over COD ghosts, 5 months later it's still top seller. They gushed over Titanfall and that game hasn't moved anything judging by press release happy Microsoft's silence. Infamous will sell a ton.
Click to expand...

Lol.

What the hell is PS4 owners problem with TitanFall?
 
noobasuar said:
I think it's funny that people think that review scores affect sales.

I know you guys all desperately want this game to sell better than Titanfall or whatever but reviews are pointless in helping drive sales.
Click to expand...

Reviews do affect sales somewhat. It's disappointing to see both this and Titamfall not hitting 90, but they'll still sell great.

And yes, WW, inFamous sill sell better than the Xbox One version of Titanfall
 
Snuggles said:
TitanFall and Infamous were reviewed by two separate people. I guess they could be conspiring together, though! That could explain why they gave a score you don't approve of to a game you haven't played yet.
Click to expand...

Ah infamous got a really good score from polygon, in fact I never mentioned Infamous at all. I'm talking about how certain things are a problem in one game, and completely ignored in another. Considering that reviews are edited together before being put up at Polygon, such oversight is weird.
 
mocoworm said:
I am really disappointed after reading the reviews.

This was going to be the game I bought the PS4 for. The one I had waited until now for to make my purchase. I bought an XONE at launch because the games were there for me. PS4 had nothing I wanted until Infamous 2.

I don't think that's going to happen now. I'll just play it at a friends and, for me, the wait continues.
Click to expand...

I enjoy posts like this.
 
Zephyrus said:
Because you just can't have new and innovate gameplay without difference peripherals.

Gen after gen, all you got was the very same gameplay you always got before. Games play exactly the same as they did. They just look prettier now. They just have a narrative now. They just have a different perspective now. But they play the same.

So, when someone says "same gameplay from old gen" that person is a goddamn clown. Seriously. You review a game and knock points off it because... it plays the same?
Well that is quite wierd (especially when earlier you had no problem ignoring it on another game for a different system).
It basically reeks of an arbitrary system where you can make stuff up to justify your agenda.

I know that not all reviewers are the same... but when someone reviews a game based on their subjective view and not their objective view, they're worthless.

Saying that a game with old gen gameplay (oops forgot, not important in this game), frame rate drops, old gen graphics, lack of gameplay modes, lack of single player campaign, weapons that aren't balanced is the height of it's genre (5/5) just because you had more "fun" with it is ludicrous. Fun should count. After all what's the point of playing games if they're not fun? But it should never be enough to justify giving a game with glaring problems, a perfect score. At most, you give it a score based on what the game actually does and offers (7/10 or 8/10) and then end the review saying how fun you actually though it was and tell people if you think it's worth their time.
Click to expand...

"their objective view"
wut
 
Dragon said:
All the stuff you expound upon regarding Ground Zeroes sounds great! Infamous Second Son gives you four powers compared to previous games. You can switch them on the fly during a fight if need be. That's definitely a big improvement from previous games and I think just as important as some of the Ground Zeroes improvements. Good post!
Click to expand...

I would hope that the different powers would add an interesting on-the-fly switching dynamic, but that isn't the impression I got from the reviews. For example, from Giant Bomb's 4/5 review:

Giant Bomb said:
You can only have one power source active at a time, and you switch between them by siphoning off of the different power sources. It's an effective way to switch things around, but it makes the progression a little bland since you'll rarely want to switch back to an older power source once you get something new, especially once you've invested some blast shards--which are strewn about the world and easily marked on the map--to make your abilities a little easier to use.
Click to expand...

If the player isn't rewarded for switching between the powers, then having four different power sets wouldn't meaningfully change how it plays.
 
Sean*O said:
The gaming media doesn't matter anymore. They pissed all over COD ghosts, 5 months later it's still top seller. They gushed over Titanfall and that game hasn't moved anything judging by press release happy Microsoft's silence. Infamous will sell a ton.
Click to expand...

Come on, man. This is a very myopic way to view review scores and sales.
 
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