Infamous Second Son Powers

One month after the release of inFamous: Second Son and gamers are still enjoying their superpowers (not to mention the gorgeous visuals of virtual Seattle). As promised, Sucker Punch Productions has delivered a steady stream of free post-release content in the form of cross-medium "Paper Trail" missions - as Delsin Rowe investigates a series of mysterious murders (via Second Son and viral internet marketing pages). Of course, gamers who have already completed the campaign have an entire other side of the Karma system to explore - not to mention plenty of unique in-game trophy objectives to complete.

Given solid sales for the game so far, Sucker Punch will, no doubt, have good reason to get started on the next inFamous series sequel. Still, in spite of all the game's features, which continue to expand thanks to the studio's commitment to stamping out bugs and introducing new options (especially for photo-savvy players), it's hard not to wonder what ideas, characters, and missions failed to make the final cut?

Now, thanks to a posting over at Second Son concept artist Levi Hopkins' personal portfolio, inFamous fans are getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse at a few additional powers that were, at the very least, pitched as possible additions to Delsin's arsenal.

According to the images, Smoke, Neon, and [a power we won't spoil here] were not the only conduit abilities that Sucker Punch had considered - since Hopkins' drew-up mock powers for Glass and Wires as well.

Check out the images below (click to enlarge):

The images provide interesting insight into the game's development process - especially given similarities between the Wire and Neon powers as well as Glass and Brooke Augustine's Concrete ability (also the weapon of choice for D.U.P. officers). It's certainly possible that early in the design process, Sucker Punch had an idea of the kind of materials they'd like to see included in the game, along with how each should function in combat, ultimately choosing elements that could be blown-out for more variety as well as look stunning on the next-gen PS4 hardware.

Based on the drawings, both the Glass and Wire powers look exceptionally cool. Glass follows a lot of the same gameplay principles that have been present since the beginning of the series in inFamous - with projectile shards, bomb-like caltrops, and a fortifying cocoon shield, wrapped up in a slick green-crystal visual aesthetic. Yet, Wires is probably the more regrettable reject, given that the snaking design could have opened-up new avenues for gameplay. The drawings seem to indicate that Wire creations might have allowed Delsin to melee from a great distance or even root-out enemies that were entrenched behind cover.

inFAMOUS Second Son - neon power

Whether these designs were simply a first step in evolution of the finalized conduit abilities or actual powers that Sucker Punch planned to include late into development is unclear but, without a doubt, there are some genuinely inventive ideas depicted in the images. Hopefully, Sucker Punch can revisit one (or both) whenever they fire-up development on the next inFamous title.

In the meantime, make sure to check out the rest of the inFamous: Second Son gallery at Hopkins' personal page - which features a glimpse at early renderings for several familiar in-game assets.

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MORE: Read our inFamous: Second Son Review

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inFamous: Second Son is now available exclusively for the PS4.

Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick.

Source: Levi Hopkins [via VG24/7]