Gametard PC Review - Prototype

The sandbox super-hero game. Ever since Spider-Man 2 hit the shelves, we have seen quite a few of these over the years. This year is no different, with two being released within weeks of each other, Prototype and inFamous.

Prototype comes to us from Radical Entertainment, the minds behind the funtastic but short Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. They have brought their 'be godlike, destroy everything' mentality from that game, over to this one, which isn't a bad thing, really. Few games in the 'dudes with ultra-mega-powers' genre really let you go crazy and cause insane amounts of chaos.

STORY

Prototype stuffs you into the shoes of seeming everyman, Alex Mercer. From the start, he's an amnesiac with a large, tentacle-covered chip on his shoulder. The story is told from two perspectives; the apparent future, where Alex speaks with a shadowy figure about events that took place, and the present, where we live out said events. The game opens up at the beginning of the story, with Alex running from a lab, half-dead and just discovering his strange powers.

From there, the game twists, turns, friends become allies, allies become friends, and so on. The narrative isn't truly well-written, but the way it's presented is interesting, even if the story isn't original. The basic story, if one were to simply play through missions, is fairly straightforward, giving as little background as possible, save for important points.

However, it's the 'Web of Intrigue' system that really opens the story up. How it works, is that there are random people all throughout the city, each one tied to Alex's story in same way. If you consume them(which gains their memories), you learn little bits and pieces of the backstory to the over-arching world. It's an interesting way to tell a story, and these tend to be the most fun and satisfying of the various mini-games, as they add to the basic plot.

Gameplay

As a strange virus-man, Alex has a ton of abilities at his disposal. And I mean, a -ton-. After so many missions, you unlock a host of abilities, upwards of 20+, spread out between basic Powers, Movement abilities, Combat abilities, Survivability powers, Disguise abilities, and Weapon/Military abilities.

Powers are what changes Alex on a physical level, you gain Hammerfist, for instance, which turns his arms to large, Hulk-like fists which allow him to smash the ground and his enemies' faces. And then there is the Blade-arm, which turns his entire right arm into a deadly cutting blade, the strongest of his actual attack-powers.

Movement abilities change the way Alex moves through the environment, obviously. You can gain extra jumping height, faster sprinting, or even a snazzy Glide ability that makes moving through the city a blast.

Survivability are where you upgrade your health, your 'Critical Mass' that allows you to unleash extreme special attacks, and how fast your health regenerates. Combat obviously upgrades your various attacks, and allows you unlock the aforementioned extreme special attacks that can turn the tide of a war with an overpowered opponent.

The Disguise powers are what helps you when you consume others and 'become' them. Which you can do, to just about anyone. It can help you evade capture, or even sneak into a military base. Eventually, you gain the ability to consume in Stealth, allowing you to sneak-consume through a host of enemies to get to your objective.

Finally, the Weapon/Military powers tier are what you get when you absorb certain military personally. They upgrade your abilities with weaponry, as well as the various vehicles you can hijack, and allow you to even hijack them in the first place.

Overall, there are a crapload of powers to upgrade/unlock. And they're not easy to get, either. See, you gain 'EP', or, 'Evolution Points' for killing people, completing missions, side-quests, etc. Abilities start out at, say, 4000 EP. But by the end of the game, the big ones are a whopping 1.5 Million EP. Better start collecting early. Thankfully, there are a ton of diversions to keep your EP gain up.

There are Ally Missions, Kill Missions, Checkpoint Races, and Glide Challenges that unlock throughout the game, that allow you to earn EP. All have Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medals to unlock in them, and they scale in difficulty as time goes on.

Ally missions place you either on the side of the 'Infected' that are taking over the city, or on the side of the Military to stop said infected, giving you a certain time limit to help one or the other 'win' the area. Kill missions are simply that, killing as many enemies as you can within the time limit. Checkpoint races are, obviously, point-to-point races for you to complete as fast as possible. And Glide challenges are where you glide towards a target, trying to get as close to the center as possible. All in all, quite a variety, with some guaranteed to have you pulling your hair out until you figure out exactly what you need to do.

Being a sandbox game, there aren't really a great many bosses to be had. What it does have are three that are suitable frustrating. In a game where you are virtually a god, making the enemies you fight virtually invincible is a little odd. Most bosses become either an excersize in throwing things, or utilizing the military vehicles nearby(which are rather overpowered). However, they don't take away from the game, really, as there are, again, only three bosses at all.

The most fun to be had is, truly, from just running around the city. Alex automatically runs over or through objects in his way, and he'll sprint up buildings if you hold the sprint button. To jump high you just charge your jumps to shoot upwards, and gliding is a blast. You even get a double-airdash to propel you forward. All in all, some of the best game movement available in a game like this.

Oh. And Alex can't swim. But he doesn't die when he touches water! He merely leaps back to shore, automatically.

Visuals

I'm just gonna get this right out of the way. Prototype isn't a pretty game. Even at max settings. The textures are like something pre-2005, the draw distance is very, very short, and there are a LOT of repeated characters. That said, the game is at it's best when in motion. Alex's movements are generally pretty fluid, things are blowing up everywhere, and there's a ton of stuff going on. So, though it doesn't have the best looks, it makes up for it in style. And the scale is better than most games of this type. The buildings feel huge, and sailing from the top of the tallest building is amazing. Game runs pretty damned smooth, even without a bunch of tweaking options like most PC games. You can kinda tell this is a console port.

Audio

Not much to say about this, really. Voice acting is alright, though Alex is a little bit 'dark brooding anti-hero' for my tastes. Explosions sound good, and the various sounds of the city all go together well and don't drown eachother out. You'll -know- when a Strike Team is inbound. You'll -know- when a Hunter is breathing down your neck. Overall, the sound is pretty good, though it doesn't break any new ground.

Closing

I have to say, I really enjoyed Prototype. Even at it's most frustrating, the game didn't fail to deliver the fun. Just when things get teeth-grinding annoying, you unlock a new ability that opens the game up, or you get a new attack that makes you slightly more unstoppable. There's plenty of action, and you're never really left to twiddle your thumbs. While the story isn't anything to write home about, the execution is something new and worth exploring just for that. If I had to sum up the game in one word.. I think I'd use 'Satisfying'. Blowing shit up has never been more fun. And the game allows you to continue after you finish it, which is a nice bonus. On to the ratings:

Story 4/5 - Not a groundbreaking story, but the way it's presented might be.

Gameplay 4/5 - Funtastic is the operative word, here. Blowing stuff up = Fun.

Graphics 3/5 - Mediocre, at best. When in motion, game looks great. Plays smoothly.

Audio 4/5 - Everything is clear, everything is loud when it blows up.

Replay 4/5 - Can continue after the end. Plenty of side-stuff to do. 250 Orbs to collect.

FINAL SCORE - 4 out of 5