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How does he scratch his nose with an arm like that? |
Developer: Radical Entertainment
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: PC, XBOX 360, PS3. PS3 ver. played.
Release date (AU): 10/6/2009
Released in 2009 two weeks after Sucker Punch’s InFamous, the two games were naturally compared to each other; both open world games featuring super-powered nigh unstoppable protagonists, and a dash of Parkour. I will not be comparing the two games; both are quite different from each other and stand alone well enough.
The story of Prototype kicks off in the city of Manhattan, as Alex Mercer wakes up in a morgue just before the doctors were about to check what colour his lungs are. After breaking out of the morgue Alex is spotted by some military dudes who decide to shoot first and ask questions later. Luckily, Alex’es powers can heal him, and he runs off jumping over a wall which no man could. Facing off against two factions; the United States military, and a covert group of badasses known as BLACKWATCH, Alex must flee from, fight, or consume his enemies if he is to find out what happened to him. Oh and the city’s filled with people who are infected with some kind of mutating super virus which gives them some mild cases of super powers.
The gameplay revolves around free-roaming through the city, either completing optional side missions or following the story based missions. Mercer gains the ability to unlock new moves at key points in the story, and other abilities can be purchased using ‘Evolution Points’. EP is earned either by completing missions, finding ‘hint orbs’ and ‘landmark orbs’ (big glowing collectibles), or in combat. Combat in the game is fluid with the player having the option of using Alex’es wide range of powers at their disposal, or using military weapons and vehicles at their leisure. Players also have the ability to consume their enemies, regaining health (or biomass). Once Alex is storing a certain amount of Biomass he can use ‘devastators’; powerful attacks which affect the area around Alex, dealing out a devastating amount of damage.
Sounds cool? It is…for a while; running around killing enemies and exploring the city gets old fast and most of Alex’es attacks become redundant in favor of a few trusty powers and moves. The missions themselves are repetitive and the plot…well I don’t know exactly what was missing but I just couldn’t care about the characters. Was it to dark? Were the characters too flat and one dimensional? Well yes, and towards the end of the game I found myself playing just because I wanted to finish the game, not because I enjoyed the game. It’s a shame really, what could have been a classic game just ends up being another disk case in my drawer.
Edit: Originally written for Comikkazee. For more whacky shenanigans (well, not really)
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| Superpowers include inhuman durability, super strength, and in the case of this guy, being butt-ugly. |
The gameplay revolves around free-roaming through the city, either completing optional side missions or following the story based missions. Mercer gains the ability to unlock new moves at key points in the story, and other abilities can be purchased using ‘Evolution Points’. EP is earned either by completing missions, finding ‘hint orbs’ and ‘landmark orbs’ (big glowing collectibles), or in combat. Combat in the game is fluid with the player having the option of using Alex’es wide range of powers at their disposal, or using military weapons and vehicles at their leisure. Players also have the ability to consume their enemies, regaining health (or biomass). Once Alex is storing a certain amount of Biomass he can use ‘devastators’; powerful attacks which affect the area around Alex, dealing out a devastating amount of damage.
Sounds cool? It is…for a while; running around killing enemies and exploring the city gets old fast and most of Alex’es attacks become redundant in favor of a few trusty powers and moves. The missions themselves are repetitive and the plot…well I don’t know exactly what was missing but I just couldn’t care about the characters. Was it to dark? Were the characters too flat and one dimensional? Well yes, and towards the end of the game I found myself playing just because I wanted to finish the game, not because I enjoyed the game. It’s a shame really, what could have been a classic game just ends up being another disk case in my drawer.
Edit: Originally written for Comikkazee. For more whacky shenanigans (well, not really)
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