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Infamous: First Light

Infamous: First Light

We have returned to Seattle for a darker story starring the neon powered Fetch.

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Seattle is peaceful. The rain comes down from dark skies and the streets are nearly deserted. The Space Needle towers over Seattle's citizens as if keeping a watchful eye on them. All of a sudden there's a sharp noise that rings out and the dark streets are lit up by neon ights. Nimbly she runs across roof tops taking out enemies as she goes. Fetch only leaves a faint neon trail as she quickly moves across town.

Do you recall Infamous 2: Festival of Blood? A standalone expansion of Infamous 2 that added a vampire twist and provided us a piece of New Marais for only a fraction of the cost of the main game? Infamous: Second Son is getting the same treatment with First Light, another standalone expansion in the Infamous universe - and this time the focus is on Fetch. She's a neon power-wielding girl that stood out as one of the more memorable characters we came across in Second Son, but her story left us with a lot of questions about her background. These questions are what First Light aims to answer and we'll also get to explore bad guy Augustine's mutant prison Curdun Cay.

Infamous: First Light

As a standalone expansion you don't need to own Second Son in order to play it. For just twelve quid you get to explore a small part of Seattle with Fetch and carry out specific neon-centered missions. In other words it offers the same solid gameplay the series is known for, and it has a lot in common with Second Son in terms of structure.

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You complete story missions, collect Lumens (First Light's version of Blast Shards) in order to upgrade your abilities, devastate police drones and create thought provoking street art. Nothing of this will feel foreign to players who are familiar with the series and it's all a little predictable. That's not to say it doesn't entertain as while Second Son players are familiar with neon powers through Delsin, Fetch comes with a range of unique neon abilities that builds on the foundation laid in Second Son.

Firstly, the wonderous neon abilities have been upgraded to include a massive jump and even greater speed. In addition to this the neon super attack and close quarter mechanics have been updated to feel more brutal and powerful. All in all, this smaller and larger tweaks, makes the neon powers of First Light distinctly different from those in Second Son. Unfortunately this isn't enough to make it feel vastly different for veterans of Second Son. Seattle is great, but each and every nook and cranny has been explored, the abilities are exciting, but Delsin already made rushed through the city like a neon light, collecting Lumens is addictive, but perhaps the hundreds of Blast Shards in Second Son were enough - the list can be made very long.

But a new chapter in Seattle is only part of what First Light offers. In addition to Fetch's story and the usual sandbox gameplay, it also brings a so called Challenge Mode. The concept here is that while Fetch is trapped in the Conduit prison Curdun Cay under the watchful eye and iron fist of Brooke Augustine, she is put through a series of trials designed to hone her neon powers. These challenges take place in gigantic levels, both in terms of area and verticality - and you're scored based on your speed, precision and how quickly you can save a number of hostages. This is the strongest single component of the package, and a nice change of pace compared to Second Son. In addition to the tactically demanding arenas, you can also go head to head with your friends compared times and high-scores, adding lasting appeal to the game.

Infamous: First LightInfamous: First Light
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One of the most discussed aspects of Infamous: Second Son was the story, and the rather tongue in cheek approach to his abilities main character Delsin Rowe took at times. If you were among those who felt that some of the gravity of the previous Infamous titles was lacking, you will no doubt prefer the tone of Infamous: First Light. The story of Fetch is far darker and revolves around drug use, death, abuse of power and treachery. The somewhat cliché-heavy dialogue is still there, but as a whole First Light takes itself a little more seriously and this ads to the immersion and depth of the experience. This immersion is helped on by the gorgeous graphics, that as the case was with Second Son, made use of motion capture with all of the actors. The visuals add an element of life and vitality that really helps add more depth to the characters.

Infamous: First Light

Infamous: First Light is a tough nut to crack. On the one hand seeing Seattle again and revisiting the neon powers feels a bit repetitive, and the Infamous formula of story missions and sandbox diversions is slowly starting to show its age. On the other hand it doesn't change the fact that First Light is very entertaining and great value for money, while it retains story elements and technical brilliance that will dazzle players. The main attraction here is undoubtedly the Challenge Mode that adds much needed arcade energy and helps you hone your Conduit skills - this and the brutal nature of story are the highlights of the expansion.

HQ
07 Gamereactor UK
7 / 10
+
Great Challenge mode, Interesting story, Wonderful visuals.
-
A bit repetitive, Could have done with a change of scenery, Neon power is a bit boring.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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