Grave Gamer News & Views — superhero

“It may feel like the Basil Karlo interpretation of Arkham – giving itself away as a mere copycat when pressure is applied – but Origins is still adept at capturing that empowering sensation of being The Goddamn Batman.”

“I Love Meeting New People”

Every look I get at Sucker Punch’s Second Son, the yearning in me runs deep.  Though it doesn’t borrow its characters from the hallowed pages of comic book lore, the Infamous series are the best superhero games this side of Arkham.

Second Son’s winning design conceit is in Deslin’s power.  Rather than mirroring Cole McGrath by owning only one ability, Deslin can absorb the powers of fellow Conduits, turning him into skully-clad rolodex of a demigod.

In this new trailer fresh off the Gamescom floors, young master Rowe chances upon Abigail Walker, a Conduit with electricity-based powers (or possibly plasma based?) who has taken to superpowered violence to get her point across to the world.  I don’t think its a leap to figure that dispatching or sparing other Conduits plays into Infamous’ now signature Good or Evil morality system.

The rewards may be too good to pass up, though, and by the way Deslin is able to suck the juice out of a marquee sign by the end of the trailer, I think he agrees.

If you find yourself roped into a conversation about Spider-Man and video gaming, you won’t go long before someone feels obligated to mention Treyarch’s 2004 Spider-Man 2 movie tie-in.  It’s as if a blood vessel will burst in their head if they’re unable to remind you how much they loved Spider-Man 2.  Before Rocksteady’s Arkham series showed us another plateau of potential, SM2 was widely considered the best superhero game of all time.  Why?  Simple.  Despite being Raimi’s organically webbed, Average Joe interpretation of Spider-Man, and despite having the cruel restrictions of a billion dollar movie license and a very limited amount of time to craft the title, the game managed the unthinkable: it got Spider-Man right.