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The Neon District, occasionally referred to as The Neon, was one of three distinct boroughs within Empire City. It was the south-most district of the city and the starting area for Cole MacGrath. It was originally controlled by the Reapers faction led by Sasha.

Description

Environment

The Neon District was the most generic borough. Most of it looked just like any bustling city. Buildings in this district were normally easy to climb due to the massive amounts of windows and neon fixtures adorning all of the buildings. There weren't as many electrical lines throughout this district compared to the others, because being the most modern district in the city, theoretically, most of the power would be underground. Its appearance took its cues from 'neon districts' in many of the world's larger cities, such as Soho in London and Times Square in New York.

The Neon District boasted a subway line that looped around the borders of the borough, and a park, as well as several public monuments. It was the commercial district of Empire City, as the majority of the buildings were offices and businesses. It was also the only district with direct access to the mainland, through Stampton Bridge.

History

Infamous: Post Blast

This section requires expansion.

Infamous

The Neon District fell under control of the Reapers, with Sasha as their leader. The Neon was the least affected district after The Blast and the safest place to live. The resident gang of this district was the Reapers, headed by Sasha. Since this was the starting district in the game, the Reapers were the easiest gang to defeat.

It was here that Cole MacGrath and his friend Zeke Dunbar attempted to flee town after the citizens heard the "truth" about Cole. However, the two returned to the Neon after a failed attempt to flee through the Stampton Bridge, where Cole met FBI agent Moya Jones, who promised to help clear his name.

Eventually, thanks to a Reaper mad bomber, the entire Neon District went dark due to a power outage. It was up to Cole to restore power to the entire district by traveling beneath the sewers and activating the substations. After power was restored to the entire district and the Reapers' territories was taken, Cole was prepared to confront Sasha. After navigating a long tunnel, Cole met her and engaged in a battle with her. Victorious, he tried to force some answers out of Sasha, shortly before the First Sons came and hauled her away. As the tunnel was falling apart, and with no way back to the Neon, Cole was forced to press on and enter the slums of the Warren.

With the help of two engineers, Cole was able to create a route back to the Neon by lowering the Stone Canal Bridge. Later on, the district fell victim to two gas balloons created by the First Sons. Civilians ended up becoming affected by the gas and would attack Cole on sight. Fortunately, this threat was countered by Cole.

Infamous (comics)

This section requires expansion.

Infamous 2

A month after Cole's confrontation with Kessler, the Beast appeared at Archer Square and began sucking civilians in the area into the wormhole formed from his palm. Along with the other districts of Empire City, the Neon no longer exists as a result of the destruction of Empire City caused by the Beast.

Infamous: Anarchy

This section requires expansion.

Locations

Archer Square

First Glimpse gameplay 1

Cole overlooking Archer Square

Archer Square was an iconic location within the Neon, and it was also featured in the introduction of Infamous 2. Encompassed by three connecting roads. it was a meeting place at the heart of the Neon. It was also home to a large statue featuring glazed pavilions on either side. There were also a host of planters and benches dotted around the square. Around the circling roads were a number of office buildings, stores, and even a museum, some of which had billboards and big screen televisions on top of them. After the Empire City Blast, the area became dangerous, as it was constantly crawling with Reapers.

Fremont Bridge

Fremont Bridge was one of the main traffic bridges in Empire City, connecting the Neon with Historic Districts. It was destroyed by Cole’s Lightning Storm shortly after the Blast.

Stampton Bridge

Stampton Bridge

Protestors in front of Stampton Bridge.

Stampton Bridge was the main routeway out of Empire City before the Blast. It was located on the southern end of the Neon District. The Stampton Bridge was very long and wide. After the Blast, it became the HQ of Moya Jones and the FBI, as well as a major part of the Empire City Quarantine. It was sealed with several reinforced doors and the bridgeway was barricaded with cargo tankers.

The bridge was then protected on one side by riot police who stopped the people of Empire City from crossing the bridge, and soldiers and machine guns were nested on the other end. Underneath the bridge was a series of pipes and structures that the Reapers were planning to sabotage.

Zeke's Roof

Main article: Zeke's Hideouts

Zeke owned a rooftop in the Neon. It featured a television which could be turned on any time using Cole's electricity against the junction box. It also featured mannequins lined up against the fences. Cole and Zeke would meet her often in between missions.

Empire Electric

464

Cole entering Empire Electrics

Empire Electric was the main source of power for all of Empire City. It was located in the southeast of the Neon District. During the quest "Blood Trail," Cole MacGrath followed the echo of Brandon Carey to this spot. Once there, Cole was ambushed by a group of Reapers. Afterwards, a Reaper Mad Bomber appeared and blew up the whole substation, causing the entire city to lose power. Due to the high number of generators, this was a good place for Cole to recharge.

Smith Fountain

SmithFountain

Smith Fountain from the comics

The Smith Fountain was a large fountain that consisted of three curved metal archways with a ball at its center. Neon lights were attached around the edgings of the metal decorations, and below the structure were two platforms where the water flowed. Cole MacGrath visited the structure once when Moya Jones informed him of the water contamination caused by the Reapers. Several civilians would often visit the area, and when the Reapers induced the water line with black tar, it made them sick. Trish Dailey was seen trying to help the sick civilians around the fountain.[1]

Memorial Park

Empire Neon Park

Cole overlooks Memorial Park

Memorial Park was located near the center of the Neon District. It was easily identifiable on the world map, as it was the only grassy area in the Neon. It had a large pond and two gazebos linked with a bridge, dividing the park roughly in half.

In the mission "Mind Games," Cole must shut off contaminated water mains that running under the park. Every time he turns the valve, the Black Tar in the water gets in Cole’s eyes, causing him to hallucinate.

When Cole needs to lower the drawbridge between the Neon and Warren districts in the An Old Friend mission, Cole must rescue a local engineer who is being held hostage by the Reapers. Cole find's him in the park, the Reapers were hoping to trade him with the Dust Men who were forcibly recruiting engineers to build their tower.

Cole also visits the park in the mission The Imposter, where Cole must locate and defeat a Reaper Conduit who is disguised as a pedestrian.

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf was situated in the southwest of the Neon District. It was a large wharf, which served as storage for shipping crates. It was easily identifiable with the large neon sign over the southern alley.

The area was one of many within the district that was briefly powered down.[2] After power was restored to this area,[3] it became the central focus point for the mission, "Trish Reaches Out," where Cole MacGrath had to defend a crate full of medical supplies from a Reaper assault.

Fisherman's Wharf was featured once again, as Cole was heading to a boat there when the Beast destroyed Empire City.

Reaper compound

ReaperCompound

Concept art of the Reaper Compound.

The Reaper Compound was located on the western edge of the Neon, above the Jefferson Tunnel, which leads to the Warren.

Constructed on the site of an old dock and warehouse, the Reaper Compound was a maze of shipping containers, fortified with wire gates, barbed-wire and machine gun turrets. As one of their strongholds in the Neon District, many Reapers were found patrolling the inside of the compound, including several Reaper bombers. High powered spotlights were attached to the two watchtowers which overlook the road in front of the compound. The watchtower on the right (as viewed from the Neon District) has a lever which, when used, opened the metal gate covering the entrance into the Jefferson Tunnel and Sasha's lair, located below the compound. Outside of the compound were two more turrets, both manned by Reapers who opened fire on any trespassers.

The compound can be accessed at any time in the game, however it will be empty until the aforementioned mission starts. Cole cannot open the gate leading into the Jefferson Tunnel before or after the mission is completed.

Also, there is a glitch involved with this area, in which you can clip through the door of the compound and go through the door prematurely. If you do this during the mission, and die in Sasha's 'room', you will start back at the beginning of the mission, but Sasha will have been defeated, and the dialogue that normally plays after will start to play.

Jefferson Tunnel

Main article: Jefferson Tunnel

The Jefferson Tunnel was located on the western edge of the Neon, right below the Reapers' compound. It was a long, junk-filled tunnel that led to the Warren. It was also home to Sasha, and it was here Cole vanquished Sasha, before entering the Warren.

Trivia

  • When Cole has Good karma, his only enemies will be the Reapers in this district. However, if Cole has Evil karma, he'll also encounter police officers that are hunting him down.
    • Although, encountering policemen during gameplay is rare and almost impossible to find and track down.
  • There is a Sly Cooper insignia in the center of the map, which is the park's fountain.
  • Some players have had occurrences of pedestrians on rooftops throwing rocks, instead of Reapers.
  • As seen in the opening of Infamous 2, the Neon District, as well as Empire City as a whole, appears much larger than it did in the original Infamous. This may have been due to graphical limitations at the time, since the comics, cutscenes, and promotional trailers also depict Empire City much larger than it was portrayed in Infamous.
  • Every rounded gravestone in Memorial Park reads as follows: Here rests Obidiah Wood/Died at age 36/Wood was his life/Now in wood he stays.
    • Also, one of the wooden crosses has a child's drawing of a fireman scaling a fire truck ladder with, "I Love Daddy" written at the bottom.

Gallery

References

  1. Mission: Mind Games. Infamous.
  2. Mission: Blood Trail. Infamous.
  3. Mission: No Protection. InFamous.
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