Prototype

THE GOOD:
- Fun Powers
- Free Roaming Is A Blast
- Interesting Web of Intrigue Plot
- Neat Environmental Effects
- Tons Of Stuff To Do And Unlock

THE BAD:
- Ocasionally Annoying Enemies
- Annoying Auto Lock-On
- Plot Insists On Spoiling Itself
- Not Much Reason To Replay The Game

SUMMARY:
Prototype is an open world game in which players take on the role of Alex Mercer. Alex, for some reason or other, has incredible powers which he can use to his advantage in the city. The game consists of a lot of free roaming combined with some pretty exiting combat and missions that will force you to figure out which powers work best for which situations. The game is set in New York City.

Controls

The controls for the game can be a little difficult at first. Alex’s movement speed in the game is pretty insane, which can occasionally make it hard to get him to stop where you want him to. This can become a pain in movement events, which require you to quickly hit precise points in the area. Aside from that, the controls are fairly simple to learn and master. The directional pad allows you quick access to Alex’s most recently used powers, and the left bumper lets you choose from any of them. When using a military disguise, a couple of more powers become available. There are buttons for basic attacks and special attacks which allow you to build combos during battle. There are also many special attacks that can be unlocked as you play through the game. Alex can also charge his jump in order to leap incredible distances, as well as pick up objects in the environment. Unfortunately, picking up objects can be quite a pain at times, particularly when moving quickly, as Alex simply doesn’t respond to what you’re telling him to do. Also, there is an auto lock-on system in the game which can get annoying at times. Like pretty much every auto lock-on system in existence, it has a hilarious idea to target an enemy a mile away that isn’t even a threat instead of the one that’s right in your face. Thankfully you can be very effective in combat without using the system, so it isn’t required very often. In addition to the lock-on system, combat can sometimes get a little irritating when enemies use combos against you. The reason this is annoying is because the enemy is entirely invincible while using said combo. The lock-on system is mainly useful for the boss battles. Thankfully the system usually does consider the boss to be the biggest threat in the area and presents no problems. Speaking of the bosses though, one of them is just one of the game’s normal enemies that the game called a “boss” for some reason. Also, two of them are basically clones of each other.

Combat

The combat in the game is pretty fun, aside from when the auto lock-on system screws up and enemies become invincible which I already mentioned. To assist yourself in combat you can use Alex’s offensive or defensive powers. Without spoiling them all, you can select from things such as shields, claws, and a blade. Alex also has vision powers (though they’re really quite useless aside from one instance in the game where you have to use them) and a disguise ability which comes in handy when the heat is on. As I already mentioned, Alex can use various forms of attacks to build combos in battle allowing him to destroy multiple enemies in a single combo chain. The special upgrades unlocked later in the game can be quite devastating against normal enemies, and they can even do some pretty heavy damage against the boss enemies. Alex’s normal attacks will be sufficient at the beginning of the game, where enemies usually die from one hit anyway, but later in the game purchasing upgrades will become a necessity. Combat upgrades (as well as upgrades for Alex’s powers, movement, and so on) are purchased with Evolution Points, which can be obtained by completing missions, completing events (side missions scattered around the city that require Alex to complete a specific task in the allotted time or whatever), or by defeating enemies. Alex can also use enemy vehicles in combat, which can be very effective. They are particularly useful in instances where Alex must destroy an enemy base. Finally, Alex can also use devastator attacks. Alex builds up energy for these by absorbing the people around him into his own body. When the health bar begins flashing, Alex is ready to use a devastator. These attacks can obliterate the enemies around him.

Free Roaming and Stealth

Prototype is an open world game and all of the city is unlocked from the beginning, meaning Alex can go where he wants at pretty much any time. Alex automatically moves over any obstacle he comes across on the streets or on the rooftops. Alex’s sprint and jump abilities can be upgraded throughout the game, and he can also gain new abilities such as a glide power. Many events scattered around the city require Alex to make the best use possible of his movement abilities. They also come in handy during instances when the military is alerted. There are also collectible orbs scattered around the city that Alex can find during his free roaming adventures.

Stealth basically consists of not drawing attention to yourself and using the disguise ability. Alex will not attract attention under usual circumstances as long as he doesn’t do anything super-powered in front of the military (although Alex can still sprint up walls without drawing attention somehow). There are two exceptions to this. If Alex enters a military base without a military disguise, they will automatically become alerted. Also, if Alex goes near any device that can detect the virus he is infected with, the military will automatically be alerted. The disguise power comes in handy to get the military off of Alex, although he must first break their line of site before he can disguise himself effectively. The disguise power also comes in handy for infiltrating military bases. Getting inside the base requires Alex to disguise himself as the military commander.

Plot

The plot basically consists of Alex trying to find out how he got his powers as well as the secret behind what is happening to the city. Alex has a few allies by his side during his adventure, but also has many enemies attempting to hunt him down. The game begins near the ending of the story (18 days after he gets his powers) with all of Alex’s powers unlocked. This acts as a tutorial which teaches the player how to use a few of Alex’s powers. The game then goes back to the beginning of the story where Alex wakes up with no memory of his past and discovers that he has incredible powers. From time to time the game skips back to the “18 days later” point that it started at and shows Alex talking to an unknown ally. This is actually one of my biggest complaints with the game. During these moments, Alex basically reveals the things that will happen in the main story before you actually see them happen. The game pretty much spoils itself. Another complaint I had with the plot is that later in the game two of the major characters just drop off the world never to be heard from again.

Cutscenes and whatnot aside, a large portion of the plot is told through the Web of Intrigue. This is basically a collection of memories inside Alex’s head. Alex can absorb anyone in the city into his own body (the game calls this consuming). After doing so he gains access to their memories and he can also take on their appearance, if he wishes (this is also how the player regains health in the game). There are 131 people in the city whose memories will open up a node of the Web of Intrigue. The memories sometimes show things that happened to Alex in the past, things to do with the military, things to do with the city, etc. There are also specific memories Alex can use to learn how to operate, and improve his skills with, military vehicles and weapons.

Presentation

Prototype looks pretty good, like most every game you’ll see these days. It looks a lot better in cut scenes than it does in the actual game, but the in-game graphics are pretty decent. There’s some neat effects present when Alex is running around the city, such as craters he leaves in the ground when falling a great distance, or the fact that windows break if his foot hits them while running up a building. Trees will also break and fall when hit with appropriate force. The enemies are also appropriately cut up (or in half) when his by Alex’s blade or claw powers, and pieces of them go flying when they’re hit by a missile launcher. The game certainly looks good enough to be a fairly immersive experience.

Replay Value
Prototype doesn’t really have anything special to offer in a second play through. That’s not to say it isn’t worth playing ever again, but you won’t be finding bonus modes or any extra side missions or anything. After finishing the main story, you can continue completing events, collecting orbs, collecting Web of Intrigue targets, or running around like a maniac for no reason. You can also start a new game on the difficulty you completed with all your current powers unlocked. Aside from that, if you completed the game on medium difficulty, you will unlock hard mode which will get you an achievement if you complete it.

Overall Prototype is a fun game with a few fairly minor flaws. If you can overlook things such as a questionable lock-on system, some annoying enemies, slightly difficult movement, and a plot that spoils itself then you should have a pretty fun experience with the game. I think it’s certainly worth playing at least once, and I felt it was worth a buy. The game will last you quite a while if you try to unlock everything and complete all of the events. I got the game two days after release, and I’m still not done with the events.