Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Infamous: First Light proves the answer to the age old adage is as far from clear. A downloadable stand-alone expansion (so, kind of a mini-sequel), to the PS4's stand out super hero adventure, Infamous: Second Son, First Light may be more of the same, but it manages to feel both spectacularly fresh, and frustratingly familiar at the same time. Or rather, the two parts of it do.
Divided up into two halves, Infamous: First Light is a game of polar opposites. While one half, the story mode, offers everything the first game offered in a slightly smaller package, with more collectibles, more quests, more great writing, more fantastic characters, and another chance to explore every nook and cranny of the unusually small rendition of Seattle, the other is a generic "survive the waves of enemies" rigmarole, that, while it's fairly fun for a while, probably won't keep you coming back for more.
Still, if nothing else, First Light is a return to how expansion packs used to be. Rather than holding half the game back so they can sell it on to you later for £20 a pop as a season pass, First Light instead seems like more of a response to a game that's done better than expected (perhaps because it has such little competition so far on the PS4). Building on the same graphics engine, environments and characters as the first game, First Light aims to offer everything the original game did, for half the price - although it's the lack of variety that lets it down.
Centring the story about one of the stars of the original game, the rebel-with-a-pretty-good-cause, "Fetch", First Light is a prologue that tells us a little bit more about the flame haired star, and how she came to be in Seattle. After an intro that focuses on her troubled upbringing, and the discovery that she was a conduit - a kind of "gifted" person that has special powers, yet one that society fears - the game explains how her, and her brother Brent, were forced into hiding, as they were hunted down by the D.U.P. - a government organisation that controls (read: imprisons) conduits for the "greater good". Having made it as far as Seattle, the two eked out a living in the underworld, with Brent running missions for gangs to make ends meet, as they saved up for a boat to flee the country. Unfortunately for them, that never happens, as just as they're about to complete one last job, a gang of Russian mobsters, known as the Akurans, attack the boat, and blow it up, kidnapping Brent. This is where the story picks up, as you set out on a quest across Seattle to find your brother, and bring justice to those who kidnapped him.
There's a whole city at your neon fingertips.
Much like in Second Son, Fetch's special power is the control of neon, which she can use in several different ways. First off, she can turn herself into a giant neon stream, granting her both superhuman speed, and the ability to run straight up walls in a big pink blur. It's both a great way to get around the town, and a lot of fun, too - running straight into, and up the side of a building never gets old. Naturally, her powers also grant her the ability to blast lasers from her fingertips with pin point accuracy - which is useful when it comes to collaring the old Akurans.
While there are plenty of story missions to sink your teeth into, Seattle itself is brimming with things to do. Perhaps the coolest of these is the neon sparks, which glow in little red bundles at various points around the city, hovering just out of reach. Much like orbs on the Xbox's super hero 'em up, Crackdown, these are one of the most addictive things in the game, as you spot one, and then spend the rest of your time trying to figure out which rooftop you have to launch yourself off, and when, to be able to grab them. As you'd expect, these are more than just a simple OCD tease, too - picking up sparks gives you points to unlock new skills, and make your character stronger. It's a fun, and oddly relaxing way to spend an afternoon - and before you know it, figuring out how to get "just that one" spark will turn into a journey across the whole of Seattle to hunt them all down...
There are several other things to sink your time into around the city, too (and not just admiring the giant neon crab with a top hat that advertises Olaf's fish shack). Divided up into districts (although only in terms of the map - there's no loading times here), each district has ten plus lumens to collect, a few races (basically, you dash after a neon spark that's giving you a run for its money), and a "Neon Graffiti" task to complete, which lets you tilt the controller to zap neon clouds, and make a pretty picture on the wall.
Oohh, pretty.
Although the story mode is less combat oriented than the first game in the city (it's basically a playground full of collectibles), there are still patrolling Akuran gangs for you to dish out the punishment to, as well as random hostage situations you stumble across that give you chance to play the hero. Rushing in and saving a randomer's life by zapping a few baddies is still a lot of fun, and helps with the whole superhero vibe too.
Sadly, it's the actual missions that let the game down, as there's just not enough variety here to keep them interesting. While some missions are genuinely fantastic, and incredibly tense (such as hacking security cameras to chase a thug who's trying to kidnap a woman), most are sadly protection missions, as you attempt to either defend a van as it drives through the city (which is easier said than done when there are car loads of Akurans skidding around, even if you do have mega super powers), or pick off distant bad guys for just long enough to cover [someone], who's doing [something]. Luckily, just as things start to feel a little bit dull, a cutscene springs to life, and the excellent story picks up again, giving you that extra bit of motivation you need - but safe to say, for the most part, you'll be having a lot more fun exploring the city than you will completing the missions. That said, even at its worst, this is a lot more fun than Watch Dogs.
Even with phenomenal cosmic powers, defending people can be tricky.
Every now and then, one of the missions will take a bit of a different turn, as you're dragged out of Seattle, and find yourself in Curdun Cay prison, where Fetch is being interrogated and trained by the series' resident baddie. These sections effectively form the basis of the game's two attrition style modes, "Survival" and "Rescue". Survival does what it says on the tin, and pits you against wave after wave of ever increasingly powerful holographic D.U.P. agents, with multipliers earnt for chaining together kills, and a number of high scores to beat, while Rescue puts a slightly different spin on things, and adds hostages into the mix. Instead of simply having to survive against the waves of enemy troops, you now have to regularly swoop in and save a hostage as well, dispatching his attackers before running into him to "collect" him before someone gets chance to top him. With WW3 practically erupting around you, this is easier said than done, and requires some pretty serious skills. It wouldn't be a problem if this was all entirely optional, but seeing as it's integrated into the story, you have to clear some of these sections to progress (admittedly, only the first ten waves, which are usually pretty easy), meaning it may be a bit too tricky for those new to third person shooters.
While Infamous: First Light gets a lot right, there are a few niggling things that put a bit of a downer on the whole experience. While getting the chance to explore Seattle again, the collectibles, and the general feeling of being a super hero are all awesome things, the repetitive missions and slightly too strong focus on the high score survival and rescue modes takes some of the shine away. Still, for £19.99 as a download, while it's more expensive than we'd like, the great story and smooth gameplay make this well worth a flutter as soon as it drops just a little bit.
Format Reviewed: Playstation 4
