Genre Character of the Week: Cole MacGrath

So I'm currently working my way through the 2011 PS3 game Infamous 2, and I just realized I've never really talked about the main character of the series, Cole MacGrath before.

Originally a bike messenger from the fiction Empire City, Cole begins the first game by getting caught up in a massive explosion, which has granted him electrical-based superpowers.

Throughout the two games Cole works to increase his use of these powers to aid him in his mission.

...and that's where we get into what I really love about both the character and this game series overall.

Cole can be played as either good or evil.

This means that as the player, you can decide whether Cole helps out the citizens of Empire City (and New Marais - clearly a New Orleans-inspired city in Infamous 2) or simply dominate them on his way to defeat those who would stand against him.

It makes for one of the more interesting game experiences I've had in my experience with video games - basically letting me decide whether I want to do my best to help those around me or simply get the job done and let God sort it out.

Yes, Cole has some pretty good one-liners and his parkour moves are pretty exciting, but unlike a traditional book, movie, or television series, the format of the game allows you, the player, to decide how things will run.

Also Electrical powers are awesome!

Game Review: Infamous

As I've been off on vacation for the last couple of weeks, I was able to finish my most recent game for the PS3, Infamous. The game is a sandbox-style game (wherein you can follow a main story, do side missions or simply explore the environment) and follows a bicycle messenger named Cole MacGrath who begins to develop super powers after being at the epicentre of a massive explosion.

The game itself was a lot of fun, as the explorations through the city showed me a lot of really neat environments and allowed me to interact with the cities population. Actually one of the best parts of the game, in my opinion, was the ability to be a jerk or a decent guy throughout and have your choice actually affect the gameplay. Playing as a good guy, I eventually had a lot of people helping out in my battles and being friendly to me overall. I'm looking forward to coming back to the game at a later date and trying it out as an evil guy, so the replay offered by the game is actually quite high.

The graphics were fun, the story was engaging, and although there were a few glitches (mostly falling through parts of the environment that should not have let me fall), overall this was a really fun play. I'm excited about checking out the sequel as well, but next up for me is the sequel to one of my favourite games for the PS3 so far, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. This new title, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.