Split into 'Neon' and 'Smoke', these two completely separate sets of superpowers allow him to fight enemies and traverse his environment in a way that is fluid, instinctual and beyond anything Cole could hope to achieve.
Thankfully, oh so thankfully, once you get to control Rowe much of this is forgotten because he has some indisputably engaging tricks and skills hidden up his too-cool-for-school sleeves. His lack of persona and his wholly offensively inoffensive wardrobe speaking to a creation likely defined by endless focus-testing and character-sapping surveys. Unfortunately, Rowe is Cole's equal in intrigue, his every waking moment seemingly spent moaning and cursing his very existence - he's not someone easy to cheer on. He's been replaced by Delsin Rowe - a surly hipster with a taste for terrible jackets and worse beanies.
No surprise, then, that for InFamous: Second Son, the series' first offering on PS4, Cole has been dropped. If you ever want to craft a story that nobody cares about, make your character feel robotic, predictable and more vacuous than a Hoover. Its story of a society struggling to accept a set of humans, known as Conduits, who possess supernatural abilities is not a new one to the world of sci-fi, resulting in unflattering comparisons to other franchises (both in and outside of video games) that cover similar themes in a more engaging fashion.Ī big part of that identity problem has come as a result of having the utterly dull, charisma-devoid Cole MacGrath in the role of lead protagonist.
In comparison to its genre peers Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row, Sucker Punch's InFamous series has struggled to craft itself a strong personality. "These abilities provide a dramatically heightened sense of comic-book indulgence to Rowe, and to the world as a whole, giving him a presence that is lacking in his personality." We go hands-on with Suckerpunch's latest, and find it a faster, more streamlined and morally interesting sequel.