As one of Sony's PS3-era flagship franchises (Crash Bandi-who?), a new InFamous seemed like the right way to help show off what the PS4 is capable of. But with one reveal quickly following another at Sony's big event last night, it was hard to keep track of what was what. So let's slow things down for a moment, and take a closer look at Sucker Punch's upcoming InFamous: Second Son.
Second Son brings the franchise to an alternatively named version of Seattle, based on the Space Needle's prominant appearance. In previous titles, Empire City was a thinly-veiled rendition of New York City, and New Marais served as a stand-in for New Orleans.
The city, loaded with cameras and barricades, looks like it's ready to become a warzone at any moment. An government agency called the Department of Unified Protection, or DUP for short, a government organization that, according to the PlayStation Blog was "created to ensure there is never a repeat of the catastrophic events of Empire City and New Marais."
While the trailer doesn't offer much in the way of the plot, but the PlayStation Blog has gone a little further to set the stage: In order to prevent similar catastrophes like the one seen in New Marais and Empire City, the DUP rounds up and eliminates anyone showing signs of having powers. This is a plan that doesn't exactly mesh well with Delsin. As the Blog notes, "Delsin, who has never been particularly respectful of authority, finds himself caught in the DUP dragnet - And decides he's not going to go quietly. Along the way, Delsin is going to ask questions that are not just relevant to the world of Second Son - but to the world we all live in today. A world where we are often instructed to surrender our freedoms to help improve our security."
Soon after we see the amount of security present in the city, we meet the game's protagonist, who makes an explosive appearance. Sporting a red wool knit hat and chain bound wrists. Based on his look and his power, we can see immediately that this is not Cole McGrath. He's Delsin Rowe, a 24 year old who has a serious problem with authority, and the power to manipulate smoke.
The title Second Son does allude to there being some sort of connection between Cole and Deslin. Delsin is not Cole's brother, who's come up in past games but was never shown. The new protagonist's powers seem eerily similar to Nix of inFamous 2, though...
Nothing official has been revealed about Second Son's release date, but as it was presented along side the PS4, expect it round about the same time the console itself peeks into view.