Infamous Collection—the tale of bike courier Cole MacGrath, who gains super powers after an explosion wrecks Empire City —joins the likes of God of War Saga, Ratchet & Clank Collection, Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, and Journey Collector's Edition as wallet-friendly game bundles that showcase the PlayStation 3's exclusive titles. The $39.99 compilation—which features Infamous, Infamous 2, a voucher code to download PSN's Infamous: Festival of Blood, extra missions, and more—is a solid package for those who like sandbox titles where you can wreak havoc in a bombed-out city that's suffered societal collapse. Bugs (such as getting stuck in walls) unfortunately dull the experience.
Sucker Punch Production's action title puts you in the role of Cole MacGrath, a generic, gravelly-voiced protagonist who fits into this console generation's unfortunate ho-hum lead character archetype. He gains mysterious energy generation abilities that let him shock enemies with lightning bolts, reverse gravity, and more. The hook in these games is that how you use these abilities in Karma Moments affects not just the gameplay, but how your character evolves as a person.
For example, when a group of people faced off against a line of Empire City cops safeguarding a walled-off area of the city, the game prompted me to either directly engage the cops, or do so within the confines of the crowd. The former is the benevolent option as you put yourself at risk; the latter is the malevolent option, as you incite a riot which brings the police's wrath upon the crowd. As you progress through the game, you unlock more powers catered toward your good/evil inclination. Whether you save or destroy Sucker Punch's beautifully detailed game world is up to you.
The gameplay holds up for the most part. Cole can climb structures, shoot projectiles from his hands, and perform other superhuman acts. Unfortunately, he would occasionally get stuck in a wall or in the ground. Sometimes I could wiggle Cole free; other times I had to reset the PS3.
If you like action games with a touch of superhero flair (or supervillain flair, depending on how you play), Infamous Collection is worth the $39.99 asking price—if you don't currently own any of the games. Gamers new to the series will have a blast slinging cars, hurling lightning bolts, climbing buildings, and battling impressive boss characters. Just beware a few bugs.
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