Infamous (Sniper)
Genre: Action
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Graphics
Infamous' graphics engine is certainly modern enough, with impressive texture resolution and draw-in distance. The title's city is so drab looking though, filled with monotonous shades of gray and little else. Lots of attention was seemingly paid to the protagonist's appearance, however generic, and his imaginative animal-like animation, but most of the other characters in the game are unintentionally macabre and creepy looking.

Sound
When picked apart and examined, Infamous' songs have interesting instrumentation, and it seems like their styles have been plucked from television shows of various, appropriate genres. Melodically though, they are a bit like the title's visuals: dull. The voice work for the main characters is strong but almost unbelievably cliche in style; one could switch the protagonist's voice with Marcus Fenix's or Scott Mitchell's and it would be next to impossible to even notice.

Gameplay
It wouldn't be surprising if the title's engine was originally intended for use in a licensed Spiderman game, because outside of web slinging the protagonist moves like the masked man himself, or a monkey, and can slink up buildings and run along narrow surfaces with ease. Unfortunately, the Grand Theft Auto-style mission structure feels extremely antiquated when put up against modern, dynamic sandbox titles like Minecraft.

Overall
Like almost all of today's "triple-A" titles, if you strip out the story Infamous' gameplay isn't good enough to stand all on its own, while the story is so eye-rollingly uninventive and lacking in depth that it offends the senses of anyone who has ever read a piece of literature or watched a half-way decent film. That said, as a shameless Grand Theft Auto clone with Spiderman player mechanics the title is at least well paced and some of the mission types reasonably enjoyable.

Sniper's verdict: