INFAMOUS SECOND SON (Zero Punctuation)

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This week, Zero Punctuation reviews inFAMOUS: Second Son.
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[@SalvadorDolbyvsZAWARUDO]

Conduit powers were never explicitly stated to be elemental. In the first one you dealt with a girl who made black sludge, in second one you dealt with a guy who used biological transformations.

[@SalvadorDolbyvsZAWARUDO]

***** Let's not forget The Beast was nowhere near an element, he was just a monster. Not to mention that psychic old man you fought on the bridge, and Kessler himself had the power to go through time. I'm pretty sure time is not an element.. The element thing was always being stretched.

[@SalvadorDolbyvsZAWARUDO]

***** I still want my time control powers, actually. It was one of the reasons I bought Infamous 2. I wanted to be all "SCREW YOU TEMPORAL PHYSICS!"

[@Lyubimov89]

Yes, the One Piece approach is strong with this series.

[@trashpanda5869]

***** it's not tar it's napalm. And don't talk about infamous 2 I'm still mourning it's death and it's replacement by this bull

[@DakarTwelve]

TheBlackKnightGamer ooh, and telekinesis. Let's not forget about Aldin. or whatever his name was.

[@dr_lazer4694]

I think I know why both conduits and hoomins are still alive, because in the middle of his hoomin/conduit extermination Cole remembered "OH SHIT, I still have to go back in time to fuck with myself!" and then just left his killing side mildly genocided.

[@bookroach6742]

Lol!

[@Sad_Elf]

DR_LaZer a year late to this comment but I'll applaud that one

[@HORRIOR1]

I wonder if Yahtzees next weeks video on escapist will contain the words "I am surprised that my fan base is ready and willing to invade Poland, if I ask"

[@MrRudiMentary]

I agree with Yahtzee on pretty much everything here, but I want to point out that a game can avoid a lot of criticisms by being a bloody fun game about shooting fireworks out of your hands.

[@CyrusBluebird]

You partially summed up Saints Row 4 there...

[@XBLGR]

this game has 2 redeeming quialities in my eys 1 - they decided not to go with the whole short haired stubble chinned hero qluiche. 2 - when you get every trophy the main character Delsin actually congratulates you in game, never seen that done before

[@gunwantatwal1074]

@@ichijofestival2576 2. Yeah can confirm he does that, caught me really off guard when it happened

[@Gojiro7]

those strike me as some pretty light "redeeming qualities", more neat things they did but hardly come across as major selling points that negate the games issues of lacking content and inconsistent tone.

[@HawasPonders]

@@Gojiro7 Tbh when I bought it on sale I can't say I was disappointed with a lack of content

[@shplamana]

I'm going to beat this damn horse until it's a pile of bone dust, but BRING BACK THE DAMN END CREDITS FOR FUCK SAKE!

[@whybag]

Go to escapistmagazine.com, they're still there.

[@nukeclears]

NO I'LL STILL NOT HAVE MY EARS RAPED.

[@OCMOOO]

Hear hear!

[@Arretey]

Was just about to say the same thing

[@evilfreak7]

It's on the Escapist site you fools. Why aren't you watching it on TE anyway? They have episodes a week earlier!

[@TheNomad546]

"These days saying the word 'terrorist' to americans is like uttering the word 'dindins' at a dog pound" So bloody true it's scary.

[@nickj.648]

The biggest problem with Second Son is that it didn't have enough karma choices (the ones in the storyline not the ones around town) since there was pretty much one per character then you do a few missions with them and then you move on to the next character before you get to know them. For example, near the start of the game where there's that bus and you don't go on because the people were afraid of you it was pretty much begging for a karma choice there. Also while Second Son had about 25 missions inFAMOUS 1 had 40. I still liked romping through Seattle though.

[@mandownunder5211]

You know, even when I completely disagree with Yahtzee, I still enjoy him.

[@pizzavictory113]

I know right

[@smile_interactive5823]

You disagreed with the funny internet man that swears at games? *joke about you being a dumbass that makes me look like even more of a dumbass*

[@ungusbungus2486]

Same one of my favorite games

[@McgoganLives]

A bunch of obnoxious rich-kid teenagers try to act like they're cool, introspective renegades whilst dressing like shit, spouting lines like, "This is our generation," or "It's time to make a stand." I'm not sure if this is an accurate description of infamous, but that was the vibe I got from the crappy ads on T.V...

[@Montesama314]

That is pretty much what the Evil version of Delsin Rowe seems to portray, which is why the Evil route of Infamous Second Son isn't a very compelling story to me. Delsin by the end doesn't seem to be fighting to save his tribe as much as he seems to be sucking up powers to go up against the "haters" (that is, those who hate or capture Conduits), like some bullied teenager who's trying to play it cool so the popular kids don't see him cry... well, until he whips out the machine gun and shoots up the place, which Delsin can do with Neon bullets and sulfur bombs.

[@tonycullen301]

Guy from robbaz?

[@crose8149]

McgoganLives h

[@LegendNinja12]

"Stretched like a mozzarella bumhole at the Novelty Sausage Gala... What am I on about" I fuckin died

[@SmileyCirrusOz]

'if in doubt reduce gameplay, boost graphics" yeah, thats basically the way to sum up far too many 'next gen' games these days :/ Too much 'next gen' not enough 'game'

[@dfrostedwang5478]

Having tried PC gaming after a lifetime of consoles, I must say this next gen shit is TOTAL BULLSHIT, and I will likely never buy another console. Controller gaming is great for some stuff, but mouse is more precise, keyboard has more buttons and therefore more options, PC will always have better hardware because you can update it yourself, and games tend to be cheaper *points to Steam Summer Sale* Consoles used to be "easier to set up" or "less work to make it playable" but I don't buy that anymore. I can load a game from my desktop in under 20 seconds (less if I disable intro), have at graphics at least as good as next gen consoles, can be "backwards compatible" all I want because that doesn't fucking exist on PC, and only paid ~700$ (barely more than an xbone) for the entire thing.

[@SmileyCirrusOz]

Logan Kemp Though i can agree with most of your comment, 'less work to make it playable' is better translated to 'i put the disc in, it works without fail'. Which is the main appeal to people. They dont need to worry about updating their hardware infrequently to deal with graphics (since PC gaming graphics upgrades are very staggered). Im aware you dont need to update a PC very often either, though. My current PC worked fine for 6 years and only recently needed to up the graphics card and soon the CPU. They dont need to worry about the game not being optimized for their system, and they dont need to worry about fucking with said graphics to get the best out of the product. Without a doubt PC gaming is for if you want to maximise your gaming potential. But consoles are still great for gaming as they are. Which is the problem at the moment for console games... theyre spending more time on their so called 'next-gen' then the 'game' part of the games... TLDR: Consoles are meant to be plug n play gaming systems. Not the PC wannabes theyve been turned into.

[@Spectacular_Insanity]

And in Watchdogs's case, fuck it all. Reduce graphics and have boring gameplay.

[@dfrostedwang5478]

SmileyCirrusOz Somehow, that was about what I meant... although in a kind of roundabout way. I was saying that nowadays computers and consoles are so similar, except consoles are outdated POS when they come out. As Yahtzee puts it, consoles need to be playable in a drunken stupor, and the wii would do that if not for the damned motion control. I miss the gamecube :/

[@SmileyCirrusOz]

crzymn246 I dunno, i found the gameplay entertaining somewhat, but it lacked any progression of gameplay, or pace. (so it got stale after about an hour) You basically did the same thing over and over again. I mean, that might seem to be a little ridiculous of a complaint considering what multiplayer in most games are, but the difference is in singleplayer you expect progression. In all character, pace, story and atmosphere. Watch Dogs more or less doesnt have any of that. You can complete literally every single part of the game, and unlock everything, once youve done the fourth or so story mission. And to be honest, i felt no desire to keep playing the story, since half the missions were just side missions glued to the story...

[@AkumuLyn]

"Anex the Sudatanland" teehee

[@MiskyWilkshake]

Isn't it Sudetenland, named after the Sudetes mountains and Soudeta ore?

[@AkumuLyn]

MiskyWilkshake It was a horrible attempt at spelling it via pronunciation.

[@MiskyWilkshake]

I get that, everyone makes mistakes. Did you know that it was a place, and the relevance of that place, but not know how to spell it? That would make sense, I guess; I just would have assumed that people who don't know how to spell it just don't know what/where it is... but if that were the case, I don't see why they would find the joke funny to begin with.

[@AkumuLyn]

It's a little piece of land that is shared by both France and Germany. Originally apart of Germany, France gained possesion of it. Just before WWII Hitler had it Anexed and brought back into Germany proper.

[@MiskyWilkshake]

Fair enough. I wasn't accusing you of not knowing, I just thought it was odd that someone would know the place and it's relevance to the war, but not know the spelling.

[@tuffylaw]

So we're all clear on what we must do right? A little pre-WWII annexation is good for the legs I hear.

[@caliggyjack7480]

We ride at dawn.

[@TheHooteggs]

Caliggy Jack all right chums lettss do this Leeeeeeeerrrrrrroooooy Jeeeeennnkkkinnssss!!!!!

[@mentalotakuneko1916]

TheHooteggs But i dont want to go

[@TheHooteggs]

The Neko Wizard you will go or else i so help me i will make you play dark souls........ using only your fists while only using the keyboard!

[@user-op4ge3wj4y]

TheHooteggs you monster keep going you can do worse

[@TheRinzl2r]

I wouldn't say the character development is THAT bad. I, for one, liked Reggie and Delsin's relationship.

[@TheRinzl2r]

Maybe There's no contradiction. Reggie, unlike most video game characters, changes over time from a cynic to an optimist. He develops over time. Also, Delsin and Reggie don't hate each other, they just aggravate each other. Like an older brother trying to teach his younger brother. Oh wait!

[@Spamhard]

Actually agreed. Granted the game was so short that there was very little time for characters to really be seen, not to mention they got randomly forgotten about (Fetch was there, then just... totally absent for a load of missions, for example) but yeah, I love Reggie. He probably had more depth than any other character in the game and everything he did and said made sense, even if it wasn't necessarily something I agreed with. Him coming to terms with Delsins 'problem' seemed thought out and not just an immediate 'oh well that's cool whatever'. Although to be fair I actually really liked Eugene too, I didn't find his nerdiness to be an insult to gamers, I thought he was kind of endearing. Yes the game had flaws (a lot), and yes the characters were huge stereotypes, but they were still enjoyable stereotypes. I genuinely wanted to help them. No surprises that I always do good karma playthrough first. :B

[@Uhshawdude]

I know this isn't technically part of the game, but if you get First Light, you will see Fetch's great arc and progression immediately before the story, and I personally grew to sympathize with her at the end. Also, this game fixes a flaw he found in Infamous 2, which he loves so much, which is that getting evil karma is much easier than getting good karma, as with good it is so easy to accidentally kill a passerby when you explode a DUP truck or throw a bad sulfur bomb. Another thing, he isn't doing it to "show the haters", but I don't expect a presumably 20-30 year old white British/ Australian guy to understand (not that I'm complaining about his cis white male privilege, this isn't tumblr) . The basic choice in this game is "these people despise and fear you simply for existing, and want you imprisoned or killed because they are afraid you might "commit some crime". Sound familiar? It's basically like giving any random black guy (like myself) superpowers , and dropping him in the middle of a KKK convention of millions, with the U.S. Military there cheering them on and savagely beating every black person that comes by. Do you get angry and lash out, i.e. the ferguson riots, over this horrible injustice towards you and your people, something that is completely understandable and somewhat justified, or do you take the moral high ground, and attempt to prove them wrong, like Martin Luther king jr. or Nelson Mandela? This is a compelling question to me.

[@KillerOrca]

+Shawn Williams Well put.

[@CJNiiva]

lol, I played both, if you where a bad guy you got laid, and if you played the good you didnt, but the good side did fit the character better tbh

[@samuelakenova8065]

Funny how Yahtzee sounds a tad different in the after-video message.

[@dayman888]

I find it odd how he sounds different at multiple points throughout the history of him making videos. It's weird.

[@LegendLeaguer]

Samuel Aken'Ova mics of varrying quality

[@OckhamAsylum]

Smoke and concrete are passable, but what is neon and video doing here as powers, anyway? It's bothered me since release. How does one make a weapon out of TV signals? "Look out, he's firing reruns of Friends at us! Take cover, he's launching a volley of The Walking Dead! Oh no, he's pulling out the Disney Channel! Flee for your lives!" It just annoys me that we went from elements that are actually quite dangerous, like electricity and fire, to things that shouldn't actually cause any direct harm to human beings in any way whatsoever. According to Second Son, if my power was control over pubic hair, I could create devastating beams of smelly fuzz that could destroy tanks and toss braided hair grenades that wipe out entire squads. Picture that, Delsin shooting a kamehameha of dick fluff.

[@voltrainer]

+OckhamAsylum well neon actually is an element, its a gas with a current in it. the powers are now more themey. but the powers teased on paper trail were cool sounding.

[@OckhamAsylum]

VoltaireSurge I know it's an element, it's just... what a lame element for combat. I could see someone with those powers working as an entertainer or something, but you'd need some very specific circumstances to make neon directly dangerous, like locking someone in a small room and filling it with the gas. I just hate how they've disregarded the actual powers themselves and instead just make everything a equally deadly despite the nature of the power. Don't get me wrong, it's a game and it's functional and all, but the powers are just stupid, in my nitpicky opinion. Remember how Cole couldn't even touch water because his electrical powers actually behaved like electricity? He couldn't touch guns or they blew up in his hand? The powers in SS just aren't as natural. I really don't think my pubic hair power joke was that far off, I really think that if Delsin had dickweed powers that he'd be shooting beams of fluff despite that making no sense. Sorry, didn't mean to essay at you.

[@voltrainer]

yeah i get yea. I feel like they just said fuck our own rules, lets make new ones. i do like the powers overall though. and i doubt theyd have a pubic hair conduit. they said the powers manifest differently for every conduit, and thats why fetch had to train for them to be lethal, hand was a criminal, but he seemed to use his powers for pushing and trickery, and choking people with hot ash, and eugene straight up became his character from hevans hellfire, which explains why his "video" powers are so different. they are from a game. like world of warcraft or something. fetch had kinda glowed but they werent lethal until she made them so in seattle, and then trained. augustine was in the army, so her way of powers was kinda defense style, big, bulky, walls. you get it. The powers manifest defferently for each conduit, and they did explain that. just not in game. And they could have done so much with side missions, and side conduits, and side stories, but the only good side content was the dlc's. the preorder, and paper trail. cant even rewatch cutscenes or listen to dead drops. now, i enjoyed the powers, but i dont like hows its all, here, have these powers immediately because we cant think of a cool way for character growth.

[@OckhamAsylum]

deathpyre42 Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly okay with weaker abilities if it means I have to get creative and it makes things more interesting. In fact, that kind of format is practically the foundation for an entire genre of games (survival-horror). But it's like you said, they didn't really make each ability distinctive, they all just make things explode with various particle effects. The different styles of good and evil and fire and ice that you described from the previous game is the kind of thing I wanted to see. Maybe smoke is more evasive, concrete is for tanking, neon for traveling around and video for screwing with electronic equipment. And if powers could be combined for different effects, like concrete and smoke to make you both hard to see and hard to kill for maximum defense, that would have made my day. I just wish they got a little more creative like that.

[@OckhamAsylum]

deathpyre42 Oh hell yes. Good karma was better in the first game too, really. And even the non-ice powers for good karma in 2 were so much better than evil powers (I killed the final boss with cluster grenades in literally a few seconds, they are stupidly strong). I've always played the good path just because the powers were better, which is ironic because the evil path is supposed to tempt you with the better, more powerful abilities.

[@CO_Luke]

"Yay" for the Munich betrayal reference. Sincerely, your Czech subscriber

[@Mionikoi]

I still miss the funny end credits. :(

[@starwarsnerd100]

If you miss them watch them on the escapist site. You even get to see the vids a week early

[@rubdulbah3201]

I miss the meaningful Infamous end credits' songs.

[@Davisnacho]

I actually liked this game. This actually the game that got me to try the other infamous games. I do agree with most of your criticisms. The only major critism that I have to disagree with is that there was no real difference between the good and evil paths. I enjoyed that each path seemed to focus on different aspects of the abilities you had. Smoke had it set up so that good karma abilities increased your healing and increased to power of your AOE stun ability. This is contrasted by bad karma, which amped up a movement ability and focused on allow the player to more easily execute enemies. These abilities allow for a style of play that is different based on your karma. I wanted to use smoke as a basis but in short the idea I think the game was trying to implement was good and bad karma, enhancing certain play styles. Good Karma: Smoke is can more easily disorient your enemies and take them out with reduced risk to yourself. Neon improved your accuracy and make it easier to snipe enemies one at a time. The video powers improve your stealth and allow you to take out enemies while invisible, leading to a stealth based play style. Bad Karma: Smoke is able to execute immediately after a dash move and increases the power of the charge attack. This leads to fast and aggressive play style. Neon is focused on allowing you to fire faster and more often. This leads to a play style less focused on accuracy and more rapid fire. Video changes the most. Your attacks do more damage and you can summon more helper to aid you in battle. Again causing a more aggressive play style. Aside from that the only part I really liked more than the other infamous games was the main character. I am absolutely nothing like Delsin and I kinda hated him for the most of the beginning of the game. However, by the time I got to the scene where his brother died I honest felt sorry and felt for him. He might not be that likable, but he felt more like a really human being than Cole. Honestly I think every needs to listen to someone shit on something they like. It helps them determine how much the actually enjoy something. If you listen to some point out every flaw a game has, accept those flaws, and still love a game, then it proves your not a blind fanboy. A blind fanboy on the other hand will either deny the game has any flaws or rage incoherently at the critic. Love your reviews, Yahtzee. I just wanted to add a bit more perspective to the karma system.

[@SomethingClever1116]

Yeah I am a huge fan of Infamous 1 and 2. Second Son was a blast to play but the story was EXTREMELY lacking...which is my favorite thing in the previous Infamous games...

[@korreaction7296]

Had a weaker and shorter story than previous entries but the gameplay itself was better. Graphically it was gorgeous.

[@MrSargBagles]

Escapist. Making good games seems shite since 2013. Joking. It's basically his channels job to just shit on games :L I'm fine with that, because his reviews are fucking hilarious.

[@MrSargBagles]

***** Talking of polishing turds ( also i'm not an average gamer, i'm like a proper gamer - i like games like bioshock and dishonored), i liked call of duty ghosts singleplayer :P I admit that basically every other Cod had a better story but i still liked it. The missions were really varied.

[@KrankuSama]

MrSargBagles "I like games like bioshock and dishonored" That's pretty fucking average, casual mainstream games are the 'average' game...

[@neoseoul6239]

MrSargBagles CoD was all the same, and a gamer is gamer, even if you wanna label yourself a pro or a proper or whatever, we are all gamers theres no difference, unless you account the people who try hard and take games seriously.

[@MrSargBagles]

Roventheus Blacklite I wasn't labeling myself as a pro :L `i was just saying that i'm not one of the really casual gamers who pays no attention to singleplayer and is generally really casual (swearing online and stuff). I just wanted to make that point so that my liking of the Ghosts singleplayer was justified.

[@KrankuSama]

MrSargBagles Bioshock and Dishonoured are casual games, casual gamers aren't really what you think they are.

[@OurNextGoal]

My biggest issue with the entire Infamous series has always been the fact that I've always been forced to choose whether I want to act like a doormat/martyr or a mouth foaming psychopath. Can't I just be someone who doesn't want to die for the good of everyone else, but doesn't want to act like a complete and utter dick?

[@mrziggyzaggy113]

Or an evil villain who makes smart decisions to gain power or money

[@MartiansfromUranus]

Ok, I think that was my favorite ending to a Yahtzee review

[@Mario53415]

Been a while since I've watched Yahtzee and this reminds me how funny Yahtzee is & how I barely understand him half the time

[@Machouseproductions]

"Like a mozzarella bum hole at the novelty sausage gala. What am I on about?" This is why I occasionally come back to his reviews, for gems like this that I've forgotten about.

[@Mousekins]

The video game nerd Eugene is an adorable little shit though. Look at him walking off the side of the building like he gives 0 fucks and flying away. ... Happy thoughts kid uwu

[@derpaderpy4931]

Turn on Annotations, turns out Escapist was Cap'n Bastard.

[@Kaalcite]

PS4 and Xbox One have yet to produce anything that I can be interested in. If I ever get a next-gen console, it will be a while from now.

[@Kaalcite]

***** Honestly, my PC is how I play most of my games currently, but sometimes I break out the Wii and play GameCube games.

[@nukeclears]

Kaalcite Wii emulator for 1080p Wii games :P

[@Senthain]

nukeclears Yeah, but then you have to deal with pesky downloads and possibly glitchy emulators. With the Wii and Gamecube, you just pop in a disc and you're set. Also, most Wii games had motion control crow-barred in, so I have no idea how that would work on PC.

[@Kaalcite]

Calum. You sound like a joy to talk to.

[@calum.6222]

Kaalcite i am. when i'm not enraged.

[@Flamingpangolin]

Coming back and playing this with all the most recent triple A games feels... refreshing. It's sad that what was a mediocre game and the start of the downfall of triple A a decade ago now feels like something refreshing.

[@Evanz111]

Just a shame it’s so short!

[@KatieFrog217]

Don't know what it is about your videos Yatzee but every time without fail on my phone it will start playing your intro and right before the intense bit with the ZeroPunctuation font it's like "let me buffer here for a moment" then DA NANA NA--

[@lyingpancake95]

I'm still confused why Sony decided to add in that stupid touch pad. Did they want it to seem special and original? All they've accomplished is making developers create unnecessary mechanics.

[@DarknessXER]

Jeter6261 well other then Xbox One, they are simply squeezing the kinect for as much money as possible, and it still sucks. Yup

[@blubobo99]

In one Rhymedown there was a line: "You are only innovating for the sake of innovation..."

[@DarknessXER]

The Wii supposedly was mostly only bought by the casual market, which is possibly why the Wii U has been doing quite a bit poorer as Nintendo was confusing with what the Wii U was for most people. And the starting lineup and a ton of other factors has lead to the Wii U being fairly lack luster in sale compared the Wii.

[@linkno1]

The PS3 control had that 6-axis motion control stuff so I don't see the big deal here. I won't be surprised if the new PS4 control touchpad gets used once or twice in a few launch titles then barely ever used in anything else, just like the 6-axis. Basically, stop moaning, it will probably barely effect you.

[@CyrusBluebird]

Would be better on the back of the controller, not the front.

[@bigtank2185]

Im actually down for a "Mario paint HD" type game.... Using the wiimote as a "can" and spraying with B...

[@tonyparkerson1691]

The Mario Paint HD comment killed me. Bravo!

[@DatboyCarl]

Bring back the end credits with the blue background! I actually enjoyed those!

[@Mancboy2000]

Yatzee has spoken, annex the sudatanland. (I can't spell for shit...)

[@adampoole948]

I have all three games now and i'm playing through Infamous Second Son as we speak.. and honestly I've found it to be a lot of fun.. though even i'm playing through hours on end, without noticing how much time has gone by as I've gotten lost in the fun, and I will admit as much fun as I've had.. i do wish Abigail "Fetch" Walker had been the main character as she was more interesting.. partially thanks to Laura Bailey voicing her and partially thanks to her being more human in terms of personality... which is why Infamous First Light was so much fun

[@ciceronincheese7195]

I was introducing a friend to these videos, and so although this video was published nearly two years ago, I wish to express my deepest conviction that the Sudetenland MUST be united with the rest of the German Fatherland!

[@TvTrollByIvy]

"You have the power of biscuit!" - best power ever.

[@Kabitu1]

Was that a yatzee impersonator at the end, or did the mic just go funky?

[@chaoticcranium]

In this episode: one of Yahtzee's masterful rant metaphors (rantaphors?) goes so out of control that even he is forced to ask what "he is on about" 2:40

[@UKstey]

I've had to start watching these videos on the escapist website because the lack of outro makes my OCD side go insane.

[@QutraLored]

Nice, good job mentioning it was short, I am not alone in being unhappy about that.

[@KillerOrca]

I was just annoyed they didn't make Seattle look like real Seattle

[@KillerOrca]

+otakuploader Nope

[@UndertakerU2ber]

+Orcaman15 I mean, they can't make it look exactly like Seattle, street for street. Though, the studio is located in Seattle so surely they should have at least gotten some decent inspiration since all they had to do is model the game after the first thing the see when they look out their office windows.

[@skysnow2495]

If you have not finished infamous 2 skip between 0:50 and 1:00 since he spoils the ending without warning.

[@dbzaf101]

Its been three years infamous 2 has been out how much longer would he have to wait to no longer need a spoiler warning.

[@Teth47]

dbzaf101 Never, because people are assholes...

[@skysnow2495]

dbzaf101 Three years is not enough for spoilers to no longer be spoilers.

[@dbzaf101]

Sky Snow I think three years is plenty given that infamous 2 already has another game "ahead of it" cant really say second son is a continuation.

[@rimurutempest117]

Teth47 People that spoil games are fucking assholes, not the other side of the people...

[@krikeo]

That joke at the end :P I remember this from history class!

[@gamer106892]

"Annex the Sudeten Land" That was actually hilarious

[@SoEkviious]

FUCK YES. best part of Escapist's weekly routine!

[@JoshuaStandingHarvey]

Its the only part for me!

[@keeganlubbe2470]

Exactly. Zero Punctuation is the only reason I subscribed (not that Jimquisition isn't good, but this is the best!)

[@JoshuaStandingHarvey]

Yeah i am not a fan of Jimquisition. its all too negative. thing is with zero punctuation is that i dont take it seriously at all. its just funny. and as a video games developer in training i prefer watching things like extra credits and tutorials

[@SpeedShadow54]

joshua standing Jimquisition just seems negative because it's all true.

[@JoshuaStandingHarvey]

Well yeah but nothing gets done with a negative attitude!.

[@Nenjamonky117]

Now, I can't offer an opinion on whether or not it's better than the other infamous', because I haven't played them, but this game was fun and engaging, though a lil' too short for my tastes. Though, the Paper Trail missions are fun to follow as well.

[@dominikfiksel9540]

I burst out laughing at the end when he showed my homeland.

[@pianoman021]

Very, VERY true final thought there.

[@MayContainAwsomeness]

I was going to vote for the Escapist... but then I saw Twitch was up for the vote too.

[@HORRIOR1]

Still gonna Annex Sudetenland though...

[@MayContainAwsomeness]

Oh what the hell, I have nothing better to do

[@ZackVapa]

We want credits back ;(

[@Evanz111]

4:33 - Yahtzee predicted a Rick & Morty Joke 9 years before it got written, about the writers pretending to be too cool to know what Star Wars, and trying to work out who that joke was even written for

[@TravisStewart42]

I have been working on the Sudeten problem for years, hopefully we can get on with it now.

[@Flint_underscore]

I like how escapist just said fuck all our other content because no one watches it. And jim and yahtzee is the only thing.But im not saying that its a bad thing :)

[@roboguy75]

What about Moviebob with the Big Picture and Escape to the Movies? Those are pretty decent.

[@drowninginthoughts]

I gave you my vote... maybe we have some estus left so we can recover and show twitch whos the chosen medium. praise the yahtzee!!!

[@99sonder]

Love your videos!

[@slawteren]

Oh dear, I'd love to vote for the escapist!.... I have to sign up to give my vote?... Better luck next time!

[@petertoye314]

Just a note good karma is canon.

[@kiptheott5932]

Still doesn't explain why there are still conduits.

[@petertoye314]

The plague mutated to turn people it is explained in either a dead drop or cole's legacy.

[@TheBillofLefts]

Regardless, I quite enjoyed second son.

[@dr.bright6272]

The Paper Trail thing just gives you a mask

[@asaduppal5594]

That ending tho, I love the lack of end credits, makes it hit harder XD. Well...time to go annex the Sudeten lands

[@yudhiadhyatmikosiswono9082]

just come to see yahtzee

[@69johndz]

The Escapist currently only has 27% of the votes. Twitch has 47% of the votes. What is Twitch?

[@MrConman666]

do you live under a rock or are you bieng sarcastic?

[@SolfonicToast]

Twitch is a large company that hosts a large live streaming website called twitch.tv :)

[@cas9564]

Jordan Tucker Basically, free service that allows others to see you play games.

[@64UPAllGOD]

A streaming site.

[@Kumweka]

twitch.tv is a site used for streaming live game footage, mate

[@Edgezard]

GAH twitch is winning but you guys are in 2nd place, I made sure to vote! >:D

[@maxboogie3421]

"total immersion VR can only be days away" holy shit that was funny

[@dewbs815]

Here's a link to the new one, if anyone's interested www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/9053-Metal-Gear-Solid-V-Ground-Zeroes-40-Demo

[@Wandergirl108]

Nnnnnnno, you said that if an Infamous 3 was announced, you'd take its "Number 3 Game of the Year" award away and give it to Minecraft. This led Notch to Tweet that video with the words "Please announce Infamous 3!", which in turn led to me watching that video, which is the sole reason I discovered you exist. So…I feel kind of cheated now. :\

[@dermcel2518]

When and where did he say that

[@blarg2429]

Well, whatever he originally said, he qualified the statement here by saying "but only if it was a _direct_ sequel." :P

[@Wandergirl108]

Der Mcel The Top 5 Games of…I think it was 2012? Sorry I appeared to miss this question. :( And, blarg2429, that wasn't quite the point of my comment…The main point here was that his saying what he said about an Infamous 3 led to Notch - the reason I got a Twitter account in the first place - Tweeting about it, which then led to me discovering Yahtzee, so the lack of acknowledgement of that one small detail that literally changed my life is what I feel slightly cheated over. :P

[@blarg2429]

Wandergirl108 Ah. Please have an internet hug, then. (No sarcasm or condescension intended, if my tone's unclear. Well, _maaaybe_ just a smidgen. :P)

[@Wandergirl108]

blarg2429 Thank you, friend. XD

[@son-of-1810]

Really enjoyed the game when it first came out, but even then I still liked Infamous 2 way more. I do hope they one day do a remaster of the first 2 games, a good one at that.

[@huneylove5]

I liked the main character but he quickly became an out of the blue revolutionary to a point where every line almost sounded like a PSA on why you should love every conduit you see.

[@philpyung4831]

Uttering the word terrorist in Australia is like din din at the dog pound these days. Be careful when you put people down, I suppose.

[@antobigdick8411]

He's not Aussie just lives there lol awks jk lol rofl

[@HedgeThatDamn]

Sucker Punch already confirmed we're not getting Paper >.>, welp there goes fucking 5 weeks of doing shit for nothing.

[@floatinghamstick]

I really fucking wished that they had said that at the start, it was obvious that everyone was expecting that. Why lead us on? I can't believe I did all that browser based BS for some fucking jackets that I never even changed during the main story.

[@HedgeThatDamn]

FloatingHamstick Yeah, it's fucking bullshit.

[@floatinghamstick]

Damien Busker Honestly the whole thing just felt like a chore, you spent almost no time on the console and when you did it was just follow this girl around or take photographs of mundane things. 90% of it was spent on a web browser trying to understand some obscure solution to a puzzle.

[@eviltwigster]

That ending though :D

[@whatalovelyday1308]

6 years ago. And yet the Sudetenland remains un-annexed

[@OtterloopB]

InFamous: Second Son better not be a contender on any Game of the Year lists. No person's money should be given toward a game that insipid and awful. I mean, I heard good things about it from multiple sources. And the other InFamous games had been pretty good experiences. The powers never impressed me but at least the stories were engaging. Then Delsin the chucklehead shows up with his focus group-approved beanie and the game turns into one of the most unpleasant things I've ever experienced as a gamer. The city was a shiny yet lifeless place. It's obvious Sucker Punch pooled its resources into the graphics but forgot to give the city a feeling of life. It's just one big set piece that feels devoid of energy or believable life. The story was short and lacked the punch and engagement of the previous games. Worse, the karma system is a joke as your choice of which side you're on only affects the ending... and the system is even nonsensical. You mean if I choose to be evil, my brother... whose a COP... will still support my actions? ... Did you guys forget to do a logic check, Sucker Punch? The bosses were infuriatingly cheap. Nothing is worse than being knocked down and then knocked down again and dying as a result because Delsin's recovery animation takes too long to finish. The menu interfaces were a convoluted mess. There was hardly any enemy variety. I hope you'll enjoy fighting endless waves of yellow DUP soldiers because that's all you really get. The citizens were lifeless husks who didn't do ANYTHING! Most just stand there leaning against buildings until you swoop in so they can arbitrarily boo or cheer you based upon your karma readout. Then once you bounce off they blend right back into the tarmac. 14 years ago the citizens of Clocktown in Majora's Mask had lives to live and gave a sense of life and purpose to the world they inhabited! And that was pulled off on limited hardware!! What's Sucker Punch's excuse? The characters were some of the most wooden, archaic, walking stereotypes I've ever seen. They had no believable personality or character development because their stereotype label couldn't afford for them to grow beyond their stereotype! Fetch never extends beyond her "angry street punk" label and Eugene never breaks past the "nerd" label placed on him. The side missions were uninspired and tedious, and were repeated continuously. Spray paint this, follow this guy, find this recording... and now rinse and repeat 100 times! Having fun yet? The powers were an absolute joke. Some were even complete throwaways that didn't offer much use-- such as smoke and the post-game acquirement of concrete. And what's worse, they don't build off of each other in cohesive or meaningful ways. Most powers are only useful for traversing the city rather than used engagingly for fighting. And given how FRAGILE Delsin is-- 5 to 8 hits and you're dead-- you'll be spending more time running and hiding than actually fighting. Further, given how underwhelming all of your powers are, you'll never feel powerful. Shouldn't the point of a game that gives me super powers strive to make me FEEL powerful? The biggest draw pre-launch was that Delsin was supposed to be like Megaman; that is, he absorbs others' powers. So naturally I assumed I’d have access to something like Cole’s powers times 3 or 4. Instead we get a bunch of throwaway powers which have very few useful applications. Finally, tack on the lackluster DLC with no decent rewards, disappointing endings, bad one-liners and everything else this game does wrong and I'm baffled as to how it got the scores that it did. Am I the only one that sees all these flaws or is everyone still too slack-jawed by the graphics to speak out against this digital mess heap? Well I'm not. I encourage everybody who cares about their money to not put a dime toward InFamous: Second Son. Spend your cash on anything else but this game. And I encourage everyone who does venture to play it to look at it critically and see if my points aren't valid. Second Son is one of the worst examples of selling on looks alone. It brings nothing new or exciting to the table; instead, it gives us an uninspired, shiny mess of a game. In my opinion, I consider it to be the Worst Game of the Decade. Not just the Worst of 2014. The decade. I realize some may want to give that title to Destiny... but at least Destiny's mechanics work. I have no idea if I'll even make it through a simple boss battle with Delsin simply because of cheap and broken gameplay mechanics.

[@TokyoReborn]

The things that you say are bad about second son could also be said about the originals. Let's be honest, all the infamous games have had some pretty lack luster stories. The game mechanics were spot on and stayed true to the original formula. I really liked some of the powers presented in the game, it showed the developers are really trying to come up with new ideas. All in all it wasn't the best, but it most definitely is not the worst.

[@annoyedhuman42]

Agree completely.

[@annoyedhuman42]

***** I do not undestand how knowing the truth makes me an idiot.

[@annoyedhuman42]

***** If there's only one it's called pc elitist.

[@annoyedhuman42]

It wasn't a launch title.

[@Kingfury4]

I liked the game but I do agree that the butchered the gameplay and character depth.

[@ryallenquake]

The gameplay was actually really good! Definitely different, but that doesn't mean bad. The gameplay focused more on mobility in combat, what with the crosshair in the middle of the screen. You didn't have to press L1 to shoot, you just push the button to fire whenever. And I also disagree with the whole idea that the powers are just regurgitations of each other. Smoke focuses more on crowd control, what with the shotgun power, Neon is more of a sniping ability with the slowdown upon pressing L2 and the highlighted body parts, and Video? Well, it's still fun. Not really any strong points, but still fun with the video streaming attack. Concrete is the worst in my opinion, but not because it's no good. It's very good. But it's so short term! I know that you are meant to use it and then ditch it, but it has the best mobility potential, and I like that! As for character depth, well... you got me there. Doesn't mean that I don't think that Eugene isn't a badass.

[@napkin60]

ryallenquake I loved this game to death. The gameplay was a little different but I felt it changed for the better by finally having some variety in the powers besides just lightning this, lightning that.

[@Kingfury4]

John Malkovich Don't get me wrong, I love the game. I don't know why I said they butchered the gameplay. I loved it. The story was so-so for me though. The only real characters that were given depth were Delsin and Reggie. Fetch and Eugene were quickly thrown to the side.

[@napkin60]

Kingfury4 It kind of depends which missions you do. If you go the hero route, it goes more in-depth on Fetch (at least for me) and if you go the infamous route, it goes more in-depth into Eugene. But Delsin and Reggie did have more depth, yes.

[@Kingfury4]

John Malkovich Beyond their one or two corrupt or redeem missions they were missing from the game (Except for the final battle with Augustine) which I don't like. in inFAMOUS 2 Nix and Kuo were both there for the majority of the game and had plenty of depth.

[@Marblez3]

"Smoke, concrete, video and neon" rofl

[@skaternutxOriginal]

I love this guy been watching him for years with friends Lol

[@SkitsnGiggs]

funny and some of this is true. but he forgot to mention how fun this game is.

[@ViktorKruger99]

FUN is a subjective word.

[@SkitsnGiggs]

Baqqy Casumb okay... weirdo

[@SkitsnGiggs]

***** bitch this game is fun

[@DigitalGame18]

Skitsn Giggs Eh, not as fun as infamous 2. In fact the game is really lacking when compared to its predecessor.

[@DonPetals]

Yeah, I would disagree and say that I actually enjoyed Second Son more than 2.

[@DigitalGame18]

I'd actually be interested in knowing why.

[@DonPetals]

The powers alone made the game considerably more varied than 2, which had surprisingly repetitive gameplay. Obviously the story was significantly worse in Second Son, but besides that I had far more enjoyment in the new systems and everything else about it.

[@DigitalGame18]

Really. While I can agree that the powers are certainly more varied. I actually found that to detract from the experience because I never really found any reason to experiment or even notice much difference between them, after a while they just sort of blended together until I stopped caring about what I was using. Funny you also mention repetitive gameplay because I found this game to be much more like that than infamous 2 ever was, even at it's worst the variety of side-missions and chance encounters never made anything boring unlike here where me only incentive to explore is just to find upgrades for the powers. The biggest drawback for me is the lack of enemy types, mostly because DuP just feels like a re-skinned Vermakk 88.

[@datechnod00d]

2 > SS > 1. Infamous 2 was the best, because it had by far the best story, by far the best upgrade system (gave me a boner the 1st time I saw it), had new powers, and improved on everything that Infamous 1 did well.

[@SCWIC]

DaTechnoDood LevelX 2 > 1 > No Infamous games > SS

[@joshmorse9313]

the ending was brilliant

[@mikerice868]

He finally questioned what was coming out of his mouth

[@Jaceblue04]

Contextual button presses aren't that bad.

[@noelshen1580]

QTE in disguise

[@MetalGamer666]

Yahtzee, do a Zero Punctuation on ESO, please!

[@KodieRussell]

wth is that?

[@MySillypig]

Elder scrolls online

[@KodieRussell]

ah. k

[@SingingChiorGirl]

Annex sudentandland...the master has spoken... O.O

[@Marshy50]

This is the most accurate review of this game. Thank you.

[@isaackopstein3367]

It's not that this game is necessarily bad. it just so much worse than the first two. Cole and his sidekick Zeke were actually likeable, relatable characters with real world concerns. they weren't trying to be heroes or save the world (at least in the first game). They were just trying to find food and settle down with some pizza and beer. Plus the powers actually made sense back then, before they ran out of element ideas and had to switch to fucking video.

[@fantasyconnect]

And the fact that humans do have bioelectric sign a s which made the karmic drain make sense.

[@ArceusFireForme]

Delsin and Reggie ARE likeable characters. Delsin's desire to be a hero and bring justice for Conduits probably comes from the fact he's the kind of guy who spray paints graffiti on the wall. Furthermore, his entire tribe gets concrete-d by Augustine, so he needs her powers and eventually realizes that he has actual power and can do something about this. Reggie's death in the good ending is sobering to him, too, only driving him further towards the end. I like Reggie and Delsin more than Cole and Zeke, to be honest. Plus, in my opinion, Video is a pretty cool idea. They could've done it better, but it's interesting. My biggest problem with the game and games like it is that its idea of being the good guy is picking the blue option. Games like Cave Story make you work for the best ending, which is something I can respect. You really have to go out of your way and sacrifice to be the hero instead of just deciding to not kill someone.

[@Butterworthy]

Let me sum up every Yahtzee review ever: "I HATE ANYTHING OUTSIDE NORMAL BUTTONS AND ANALOG STICKS!"

[@TheRadioSquare]

Context sensitive buttons are a limitation and not some kind of feature, there is nothing to like about them.

[@Northstarswap]

Because they work.

[@Butterworthy]

TheRadioSquare Disagreed. They're just lazily and poorly implemented most of the time. Just like quick-time buttons.

[@Northstarswap]

Butterworthy I was replying to the first comment about hating everything but normal buttons and analog sticks. I hate the new KZbin comment system :/. Anyways, I was saying that he hates anything outside of analog sticks and buttons because they are so unnecessary. Instead of revolutionizing the controller, companies should be revolutionizing the games.

[@Butterworthy]

Marshall Goldsmith Everything standard today on controllers was an unnecessary add-on at some point. I think controller and game innovation go hand in hand. D-pad, analog stick, dual analogs, and rumble among others spurred game innovation as the controllers themselves evolved. The problem is this industry has become a bloated and corporate suit driven cow only interested in churning out rehashes and sequels instead of driving innovation unless one of their main series dies out due to gamer boredom.

[@MJfp6lx]

this guy is by far the best game critic on KZbin

[@N8R_Quizzie]

I've met mr.Main character in this game because I live in seattle. He is a seahawks fan.

[@Jaceblue04]

Still buying a PS3 first.

[@nionnex1828]

Don't even get the paper power

[@johnlarrabee6630]

I AmNot_A_Potato don't feel like that's a problem lol

[@nionnex1828]

John Larrabee well it was flic with no payout

[@hokiro888]

What's funny is mario paint HD was announced at E3 this year.

[@TheBocaChini]

You make a hell of a case, but I think Second Son has so much gameplay value cause its just so fun to run around and use powers. But you mentoned that so cheers!

[@Valiordruid]

Buy Prototype 2 and save yourself 440 bucks.

[@zarkthedestroyer7130]

I liked this game up until the final boss with augustine. The game wants you to do so much in so littles space and so little power.

[@naruhearts1]

I dont think their was enough to do. Wait around for a power core to get your powers and eventually you just keep shooting over and over. Wish it were just more diverse and interesting.

[@spencer871]

Reminds me of the Iraq "fight" in Watch Dogs. 1. make narrow corridor thus rending all the open-world aspects moot 2. artificially add difficulty through confined space in a game that is largely open-world 3. boss fight is so easy it becomes secondary to the lack of movement in terms of what is adding actual difficulty.

[@ethanedwards3357]

@@naruhearts1 Kinda the point. Augustine knew that Delsin would be locked into concrete until he mastered it, and she ordered her men to round up the cores. If the others didn't find them, Delsin would have lost.

[@magnusm4]

two choices that change the ending.... IDEA! instead! why not make the choices matter in a way that it change the entire game and story! a boss in one choice become your allie in the other choice which makes another choice matter if you should fight another boss or go with the person and do something else.

[@Elepole]

That would require creativity from the AAA industry, or, in other words, a miracle.

[@vivalafisy]

Elepole Eolis You mean $20000 in extra code and graphical design to fill in the choices? Code doesn't write itself to fill the choices.

[@Elepole]

Tom Shaw Considering the budget of current AAA title, $20 000 for one more boss and one meaningful choice is a drop in the ocean. Also, considering where most of the budget goes (moar technological graphic innovation, which, for most of them, are useless and don't add anything to the enjoyment of the experience) i would say that currently they definitely don't lack money, and do lack creativity.

[@DonPetals]

That would cost far more money in production, which they probably did not have.

[@garrettcarter2959]

Did Yahtzee just predict One Piece with the Biscuit Powers?

[@sion8]

What is the "Sedetenland" (is that how one spells that name)? The bit at the end about annexing something-land after voting for this show!