Reviewing a collection can be tricky business. A series or developer oeuvre usually doesn’t warrant a bundled re-release unless it’s of a certain quality in the first place, so grading such a product on the merits of the original games seems like an unnecessary exercise. However, as this generation grinds on, we have seen a plethora of HD Collections and Collector’s Editions that simply weren’t worth your money, whether due to their pricing, antiquated feature sets, or just plain old terrible conversions. The inFAMOUS Collection seems like an obvious addition to Sony’s recent PlayStation bundles, but it falls into a seemingly new category: irrelevance.

Before we really delve into the opportunity cost of Sucker Punch’s superhero bundle, let’s take a look at how the games stand individually. As you probably know, inFAMOUS is the story of Cole McGrath, delivery boy turned electric Übermensch, whose main gimmick is the that he can become progressively more evil or saintly, depending on the player’s choices. Of course, the morality system at play here was mind-blowing when Knights of the Old Republic codified it almost a decade ago, but the over-simplicity of the mechanic has become apparent in the years since. Unlike Mass Effect‘s more nuanced Paragon/Renegade system or a relatively mature approach to morality à la The Witcher, almost all of Cole’s decisions come down to “Be sickeningly perfect” or “Be an unrepentant bastard.”

How does destroying the world benefit me again?

Of course, some of this is excusable. The world of inFAMOUS is heavily inspired by traditional comic books, so the black-and-white approach to good and evil can be seen as an homage, rather than any serious attempt at adding consequences to gameplay. Also, the divergence of alignment lends itself to at least a second play-through in both titles, as you will have access to new cutscenes, missions, and abilities upon taking the other road. The critical path of every inFAMOUS storyline is rather short, but there is a decent amount of content if you want to see everything.

In fact, the approach to side-missions is really the main evolution the series undergoes between the first and second installment. Both titles have the usual sandbox markers to trigger filler quests, but the sequel has an entire system of user-generated content. This is actually ingenious in theory, but underdeveloped in practice. LittleBigPlanet proved that a strong community could dramatically increase the lifespan of a console game, but inFAMOUS 2 just doesn’t have the tools to keep UGC fresh. In the end, there’s not enough creativity or novelty in the options available to make this a promising long-term proposition.

You've been… thunderstruck.

Luckily, the core gameplay is solid. Cole has a surprising amount of depth in his arsenal, ranging from long-range precision strikes, to area of effect grenades, and all the way to scorched earth disaster attacks. The interplay between environmental traversal, third-person shooter style combat, and even some melee options give combat a satisfying challenge overall, even if the difficulty sometimes fluctuates unpredictably. Sadly, inFAMOUS 2 doesn’t seem to advance in any major capacity, as its simple upgrade system and close-range finishing moves are underwhelming. Most disappointing is the addition of fire and ice abilities, which are severely underutilized and barely differentiated from their electrical counterparts.

The plot is similarly mishandled from one game to the next. The original story of Cole trying to discover the origin of his powers and punish the people responsible is compelling. The characters he meets on his journey across Empire City, including the three unique gangs he faces, are interesting. inFAMOUS 2 literally negates all of that within the first five minutes, even going so far as to never mention or address a major plot point from the first game. New Marais is certainly a great concept for a setting, but it’s filled with far too many boring, cliché, and one-note characters to strike any kind of meaningful chord. At least the humorous banter between Cole and his sidekick Zeke remains, as it is easily one of the best parts of the sequel.

Suddenly, vampires.

In summary: inFAMOUS is a good game, but its follow-up was a letdown. The franchise takes a turn for the strange in its stand-alone downloadable content though, as Festival of Blood injects vampires into the mix. As you might imagine, the DLC is equal parts gore and comedy, as Cole runs afoul of Bloody Mary and her brood of bloodsuckers during New Marais’ Mardi Gras equivalent, Pyre Night. It only takes a couple hours to complete, but it’s a seriously satisfying romp which introduces more mechanics to the series than the actual sequel did. The morality system is dropped in favor of Vampire Vision, the ability to turn into a swarm of bats, and a host of new features for level creation. While such a short experience may not have carried FoB by itself, it makes a great addition to this collection–or rather, it would, if not for one glaring flaw.

For some reason, Festival of Blood is not included on either Blu-ray in the package. Instead, a download code is included in the packaging. For a majority of consumers, this isn’t an issue–most gamers have their console connected to the internet. However, it seems like a huge missed opportunity to once again cut unconnected gamers off from this content. Not only does this hurt those who don’t have access to the PlayStation Store, it also means that anyone picking it up used will likely find its code taken–which perhaps the intention. However, if games like Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition could fit its DLC on a disc, then I don’t see why it could have been done here.

Zombies may be boring now, but old-school vamps are still cool.

There are also some noticeable oversights in terms of bonus features. Thatgamecompany’s recent bundle included commentary tracks, the original score, a subscription to PlayStation Plus, and more. The inFAMOUS Collection costs $10 more, and contains none of these extras. Even worse, some of the bugs and glitches present in the original releases have gone unfixed, including the sound cutting out, enemies getting stuck in the environment, and some graphical anomalies. That’s not even touching on the problematic camera or preponderance of jaggies.

Despite all these niggling issues, Sucker Punch has crafted a solid couple of games. The problem with the inFAMOUS Collection isn’t really the quality of the titles being collected, but in the way they’re being released. Both main games have been free at least once on the PSN, while you can probably still pick up each entry up used for less than the total MSRP of this set. It might have been worth it if a menagerie of special features had been included, but as it is, this is a bare-bones, average collection.

A copy of the game was purchased from a retailer for review purposes and played for about 30 hours. The title is a PS3 exclusive.

Also, follow me on Twitter @austinyorski (please).

inFAMOUS Collection Review

By Austin Yorski

It could be worse--it could be the Silent Hill HD Collection.