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Infamous: Second Son Review Thread

I see a bunch of great to good review scores so far and a small handful if 7s. I'm so confused by some of the reactions in this thread. Can't wait to play this game tho!
 
These 2 hurt. Still day one though.

What I was alluding to in my post earlier, before somebody tried to teach me basic math, is that sites like Eurogamer and especially Edge trend lower than a lot of American sites. Edge used to have this big diatribe in their review section about how they use the full scale, with 5 being average. A 5 on most sites is bad. Reviews shouldn't be identically compared and collated like Metacritic does! And reviews for different games certainly shouldn't.
 
Narrative is a pretty obvious one, given his hyperboles. Bioshock Infinite, GTAV? Dickens.

I've just found his subjective opinions just don't align with mine at all, so I don't even bother. He has this thing for the popop and hype of big games, regardless of value and quality.

I'm also scratching my head at Eurogamer comparing to GTA. GTA getting passes other games don't notwithstanding, these are very different types of open world adventures. In style, gameplay, and narrative.
 
So far it seems like a slightly polarising game, just like the first two. I'm absolutely positive I will love it. Can anyone tell me if there is any licensed grunge on the soundtrack?
 
I think it's pretty clear; The game visually looks amazing but the gameplay is bung average, exactly what I feared from an open world game.

It scares me how much this game smells of Gravity Rush.

Just watching videos, it looks like it plays better than Gravity Rush

-2 score for Delsin not being as cute as Kat though~
 
Sucker Punch and Sony asked us to not spoil the latter parts of the game. I don't even name the third and fourth powersets in my review, even though most of you know them already.

I don't know them and that presumption you just made is why I don't read reviews until after I beat a story based game like SS. I don't know what the other powers are and I'd like to be surprised.
 
I think its fair to dock a point for the game having the same flaws as the old games. Id even dock half a point for not allowing real-time power switch and not having enemies that require a switch up of tatics.

But as a launch window title i think sessler was too harsh. He market it down more on what he wanted it to be rather than what it was. It is a very solid game in a established franchise. It doesn't have to reinvent the wheel.
 
lol at people bitching out Sessler. The man who's played and beat the game obviously has a lesser formed opinion than us. Maybe he just didn't have as much fun with it as Titanfall? Not that the two reviews should be compared in any way in the first place.

It's not him, it's his track record of reviewing PS exclusives that's got people upset.
 
Wow...what is the feel of next gen? I hate this choice of words for reviewers because there really is no "feel" honestly. I can see why people are mad because when you say something like that and then you give another FPS with now with mechs a perfect or near perfect scores it begins to question there reliability. I won't compare TitanFall with SS in no way when talking about it and honestly I wouldn't compare it to the GTA series because you know what your getting with that kind of game. Either way shits going to fly for some of these reviews but I say don't ever let a reviewer buy a game for you. You have your own mind try it for yourself and be the judge. I almost didn't even play Knack because there was so much hate on reviews and on GAF but im on chapter 10 and what a fun game that just feels like a Pixar movie. Play it yourself before deciding this goes for anything.
 
Jim Sterling for the Escapist 3 and a half stars.

Seems like it's going to be a decent but not very memorable game. PS4 still waiting for that killer app.

It's times like this where I wish Sony had been a bit faster with that digital refund policy. This game screams "sale pickup".

Escapist is one of the better reputation ones isn't it?

I really don't pay attention to who is favored on average.
 
Why are we even giving these reviewers the time of day?

They are corrupt, incompetent, juvenile fanboys fuelled by junk food and dependant on the very teet they "review".

One bad review can blacklist them from events, early review copies, merchandise etc which will end their career.

We know it happens. We know they get bribed. We know they have agendas. We know they suck fucking ass. So why are we still treating them like they matter?

They don't matter. We're just following them because we have nothing to do until the game releases.
 
I think it's pretty clear; The game visually looks amazing but the gameplay is bung average, exactly what I feared from an open world game.

It scares me how much this game smells of Gravity Rush.

Yeah, I am going to cancel my preorder.

Nothing to do with the scores at all, which are actually pretty good. It's because of quotes like the one below (Eurogamer I think I ripped it from). I played and loved the first Infamous, but quit the second game after about an hour because I got bored. It was literally the same game. I don't want to spend another $60 just to get a prettier version of a game I've already played.

"Instead, Second Son is more of the Infamous I already loved last generation, prettier, with more powers and better writing."
 
Getting really annoyed at reviewers saying it plays like a last-gen game. Wtf does this even mean and what were we expecting in next-gen gameplay?! Every other next-gen title that is out doesn't push any gameplay boundaries at all, yet isn't reflected in the reviews :S
 
lol at people bitching out Sessler. The man who's played and beat the game obviously has a lesser formed opinion than us. Maybe he just didn't have as much fun with it as Titanfall? Not that the two reviews should be compared in any way in the first place.

I've had it since last Saturday and I don't agree with his review.

edit: and I beat the game last night.
 
Please dont ban me for asking this but why is Sesslers Review even listed here? How does this guy stil have ANY credibility left after his Twitter meltdown and still being pissed for not getting a free PS4 before launch?

Im just getting frustrated with that guy. I seriously dont understand how he gave Titanfall a 5 (which is graphically underperforming, framerate is dropping etc.) and Infamous only a 3 which is graphically an amazing looking game, has fantastic acting / face performances and a great story.

I think, and mind you this comes from having once met Sessler and years writing reviews for video games, that there is a deep, dark secret here that no one wants to possibly acknowledge.

I think

Are you ready for this?

I think

it is possible

that Sessler liked Titanfall more than inFamous: Second Son and just because that is his opinion does not mean he has an agenda, nor does it mean you have to agree or seemingly lose your mind because it disagrees with your worldview.
 
So far everything I have read seems like pretty valid complaints on the game. For those screaming bias, this happens with any type of an opinion piece. Most reviews run mutually exclusive, or at least they are supposed to ;)

When GTAV came out, everyone screamed about the review that mentioned the gender stereotypes/sexism in the game. The game was perfect, how could people cherry pick such an issue? Now, even in this very thread, people tear the game apart. It obviously wasn't perfect. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

This game has always felt to me like a game you were either going to buy or you weren't. It's the same with the Killzone series. In fact, so far these reviews seem pretty stellar for an Infamous game.
 
Im just getting frustrated with that guy. I seriously dont understand how he gave Titanfall a 5 (which is graphically underperforming, framerate is dropping etc.) and Infamous only a 3 which is graphically an amazing looking game, has fantastic acting / face performances and a great story.

Same reason anyone could ever give Game X a higher score than Game Y: He liked it more.

While some types of problems will drag a game's score down with a fair degree of consistency, the difference between "there's nothing major wrong with this game, 7/10" and "this game is mindblowingly amazing, 10/10" often comes down to purely irrational personal preference. Critics aren't acknowledging which games are objectively better or worse and then lying through their teeth about it, they're just not trying to be objective in the first place.
 
So its getting dinged for playing like a last gen game?

You mean...like every "next-gen" game released for all systems so far?
 
What released game plays like a "next gen game" so far on the new consoles?

All the well reviewed games like Assassins Creed Black Flag, Titanfall etc. sure don't and are playable on last gen hardware.
 
Getting really annoyed at reviewers saying it plays like a last-gen game. Wtf does this even mean and what were we expecting in next-gen gameplay?! Every other next-gen title that is out doesn't push any gameplay boundaries at all, yet isn't reflected in the reviews :S

Lacks Titans.

Duh.
 
I expected it to be like infamous 2 with awesome graphics. The mission design and getting sniped from nowhere was never the greatest parts of infamous so I'm hoping it's better in second son.
 
Sessler giving Titanfall a 5/5 despite the game having basic features missing makes his inFamous review that much more of a joke.

Now I wouldn't go too far as to say Sessler is a 'joke'. He's an smart, eloquent man who you just happened to disagree with.

That being said, anyone who gave Titanfall a 5/5 did not dig deep enough (sorry to call you out there Mr. Sess). Now, don't get me wrong, I love Titanfall and am playing it more than any other shooter I've touched in a long time.

However, this is a game where basic features are missing. There's no option to rename custom classes, there's no way to mute people on text chat, merely voice, there's no voting system for maps, there's no custom playlists so I'm forced to play through CTF which I hate whenever I'm looking for variety, there's no visual customisation on the pilots or titans and there's some serious optimisation issues even on PC (maps with any water, here's looking at you).

Coming from COD or any other multiplayer shooter, it's very obvious that this is a first step and I'm sure the sequel (or maybe even some patches) will build upon these very solid foundations. That being said, as much as I adore the basic gameplay and map design, it's simply not a 5/5 or 9/10 game. It has too many issues even in just the MP section, let alone the questionable campaign mode.

However, for someone who doesn't extensively play MP shooters, like I imagine Mr. Sessler doesn't, I can see why first impressions would be so positive. But you have to understand that each reviewer has different tastes and specialities which will colour a review. I don't hold that against him, just accept that we're not likely to agree 100% and move on. Now I don't know how his criticisms hold up for Infamous but since I agreed with his feelings on UC2, and to a lesser extent Bioshock Infinite, I'm more prone to agreeing with him here as our tastes do hold some common ground.
 
Jim Sterling for the Escapist 3 and a half stars.

Seems like it's going to be a decent but not very memorable game. PS4 still waiting for that killer app.

It's times like this where I wish Sony had been a bit faster with that digital refund policy. This game screams "sale pickup".

PS4 doesn't need a killer app. Titanfall was seen as big system seller, a "killer app", even though it didn't hit 90 either.
 
"Gameplay isn't as 'next-gen' as the visuals"
What does that fucking means??!

That's what you get when you get people that try to act like gamers but really aren't. you get sentences like this, "gameplay isn't as next-gen". What that means is the guy doesn't have a clue on what he's talking about and is trying to fit into the gamer community.

So basically any review that states this..

-"gameplay isn't as next-gen as the visuals"

That is a derp effect, it just so happens that the reviewer is in it so deep there is no saving him. his ways are set.
 
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