The karma system plays a big role in obtaining these powers. During certain missions you will be faced with moments in which you can choose either the good or evil way of doing things—your decision will affect your karma rating as well as your powers. Be warned though, before you make your choice Cole actually offers a very convincing explanation as to why he should take the evil route. Even though I played through the game as a good character the first time around, Cole made it extremely tempting to choose the evil option during some of these moments. Nevertheless, you'll want to stick with either a fully good or fully bad character when you play, as the higher your karma rating goes in either direction, the more abilities you'll unlock for Cole. Your karma also affects some of the missions you can perform, as both good and evil have 15 missions exclusive to their side. Minor actions change your rating as well—healing pedestrians and restraining enemies offers good karma, but killing everyone results in bad karma. In addition to this, all of your actions will award XP points, which can be used to upgrade your powers. Ultimately, the karma system provides a great incentive to replay the game a second time, as you won't want to miss out on the missions and powers of the other side.

Empire City is broken up into three different sections, with each getting unlocked as you progress through the story. You can travel around the city pretty quickly by running, but you can also use the train and railway lines to get around faster if you need to. SuckerPunch has really succeeded at creating a living, breathing city, from the pedestrians to the skyscrapers. NPCs even react to your presence in the street by running away or requesting help depending on your karma rank.

Each section of Empire City has its own unique type of enemies, with every area becoming progressively more difficult. These enemies are gangs that took over the city after the blast, so you will have to free the city from their control. Enemies come in different classes, but each has a specific look, making it easy to differentiate between a sniper or shotgun-wielder and adjust your tactics accordingly.

Some of the gameplay aspects are very similar to Assassin's Creed, namely the ability to climb almost anything. Considering SuckerPunch's roots with Sly Cooper, a game that contained numerous climbing elements, free climbing seems like a natural step forward for the developer. Platforming aspects from Sly Cooper can also be felt, such as Cole and Sly's shared ability to walk across cable lines. The great thing about Cole's climbing skills is that he automatically locks on to an object when you jump in its direction. This means that you won't fall to the ground if you don't have the exact angle of the jump right. Even if you do completely botch a jump and miss your landing, hitting the ground thankfully doesn't kill you, which prevents unneeded frustration.

For the average gamer, it will take about 12 hours to complete inFAMOUS. However, you will undoubtedly want to play through the game a second time, which effectively doubles its length. Once you finish, you can continue playing within the city using all of your powers, allowing you to complete the 100+ side missions that are available throughout Empire City. On top of this, there are also mini objectives you can complete, such as collecting blast shards and performing stunts. With a number of trophies to unlock as well, getting 100% completion in inFAMOUS will be no easy feat! Hopefully SuckerPunch continues to support this game with DLC, because this is one game I would love to come back to.

inFAMOUS is scheduled to release on May 26 in the United States, May 29 in Europe, and June 4, in Australia. Wherever you are in the world, this game is a must buy—there has never been a superhero game as good as this.

9.0 Graphics Great graphics, but there are a few issues such as texture pop-in. No major problems. 8.5 Sound Great voice acting, although the music is not very memorable. 9.9 Gameplay Fantastic gameplay, really addictive and fun. You will not want to put the controller down. 9.5 Replay Value At least 30+ hours of gameplay if you wish to do everything, the ability to continue the game after you complete it is a nice feature. 9.3 Overall Before I played the game I expected an average game and ended up playing a fantastic game. Lesson learned, I will never underestimate SuckerPunch ever again, this game is a must buy for PS3 owners.