Infamous: Second Son Gameplay Hands-On: Offscreen At CES 2014

It's such a close release we can taste it – Infamous: Second Son from the folks at Sucker Punch, a title that'll bring a beast of an open-world set of elements to the PlayStation 4. At CES 2014 this week, this game looks and feels like an alternate-reality iteration of another open world release from last year: Saint's Row 4. Though were your super-powers in that title are based in a more Matrix film series type of hacker reality, here we're talking about a more physically sound system.

You'll be rolling with a single main character by the name of Deslin Rowe. This fellow works with a number of special powers throughout the game, including the main fire-from-forearms you've seen in the previews, but also a bit of the ol' neon in great strands, as well. You'll be pushed in a puff of smoke through a vent and gleaming through the environment with light lines you'll immediately associate with the likes of Tron.

Users will find the fluid nature of this environment to be more encompassing than in any game they've ever seen before. You aren't just collecting power-ups where they've landed randomly. You're not going to be moving through a linear sort of machine like in countless games of all genres in the past. Instead you're taking on the open world in a newly involved way.

In practice this means you'll be absorbing the fuel you need to keep your powers ignited. Through this virtual iteration of Seattle, your character Deslin will be absorbing neon from signs, power boxes, and odd spots aplenty. Head to your local convenience store and you'll find an abundance of the neon you need to cruise from their front-facing signs. Smoke comes from a whole lot of places – from the tops of buildings to the street's sewer vents, there's smoke.

The big difference between this and essentially the full PlayStation 4 game collection out today is the lively environment. Much closer to the Grand Theft Auto series are the streets here, full of humans ready to be clobbered. If that's your aim.

While not every single thing in the entire world is destructible here, there's a massive amount of stuff you can blast apart. As we realized very, very quickly, the amount of fun we can have rises exponentially with each new element in the environment we're able to destroy.

The character here, Deslin, is certainly a unique take on this genre. He's a hipster – there's no getting around it. His skateboarder look and feel really hits a familiar note, but not one we expected: playing this game makes us wish we could use a skateboard. This game reminds us of Tony Hawk, Pro Skateboarder, believe it or not. Maybe a DLC can remedy this odd need before 2015 – please?

We'll be seeing the full release of this game for PlayStation 4 starting in March. Until then we'll be continuing to roll out the PS4 blasts through our PlayStation 4 tag portal – and stick around for more Sucker Punch blasts as well – coming up!