Infamous is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective where the player controls Cole and primarily interacts with the world of Empire City through Cole's newly gained electricity-based powers; these are used for movement, offense and defense in combat, and either for better or worse in dealing with the citizens of Empire City. In order for Cole to use his powers, he must have stored electrical power, represented by a node meter on the player's heads up display (HUD). The player can recharge Cole by draining electricity from powered sources or from living beings; recharging also restores Cole's health, which is indicated by blood splattering onto the screen. The more damage that Cole takes, the more blood that covers the screen. When Cole's health is at a critical level, the screen will turn black and white, and if Cole takes a little bit more damage while the screen is black and white, a heartbeat will be heard and will get slower and slower as Cole takes more damage, until it is beating dangerously slow. At this point, further damage to Cole will kill him. If the player stays out of battle long enough, Cole's health will regenerate over time. The game features seventeen different electrical powers, ranging from simple bolts that do not consume Cole's energy to wide-field lightning storms that drain most of Cole's energy. The player can use such powers, giving the player options in certain situations. For example, the player may fire at a generator near foes to cause it to explode and cripple his opponents, then restrain them or fire at the body to kill the enemy.