Prototype

"Radical Entertainment's Prototype is this years Summer hit!"

Prototype sets itself apart from many sandbox games purely due to Alex Mercer's amazing shape-shifting powers of destruction. He's like the Hulk in a humanoid form who doesn't give a crap about who gets in his way. That alone makes him a dangerous fellow and over the top one man wrecking crew. I think Radical Entertainment definitely tried to do something out of the ordinary and it shows!

Gameplay: 8/10
Alex Mercer right away is a God among men who is able to consume and take the form of anyone who crosses his path while regaining all their memories as well as abilities. Since Alex has no memory of his past, this is used to further tell the story and stealth tactics to sneak into military bases. What makes this game a success is neither the graphics nor the unique storytelling, but rather the feeling of immense power. He can pick up a taxi and chuck it at the nearest strike team helicopter or manifest spikes from underneath the ground to impale his foes. Every action that Alex does to his enemies is bound to be gruesome. One of my personal favorite weapons is the Hammerfist because elbow dropping on a tank is ridiculously fun and always puts a smile on my face. Using Musclemass to turn enemies into mush is not so bad either. Those sorts of experiences you rarely receive with most action games.

Alex's shape-shifting powers (Similar to Terminator 2's T-1000) can change his body into an arsenal of nasty weapons that can be used on the infected and military soldiers. From claws, whips, shields, defensive Guyver like bodysuit to a makeshift boxing gloves that are meant to bring some serious pain. Radical Entertainment was certainly not shy about showing blood because there is buckets of it. After plowing through armies of civilians, rampaging infected and soldiers you'll see body parts flying all over the place. Want to see a torso ripped in half? Done. How about streams of giblets after blowing up an opponent by a grenade launcher? Done. Killing civilians is practically mandatory because Alex gains much needed health from absorbing them. With the amount of enemies on screen, a good guy persona is almost out of the question. Besides, why would you want to?

Alex is also capable of hijacking vehicles. He can take over helicopters and tanks that obviously are fun to use, but are not the highlight of the game. A few firearms that can be picked up from dead soldiers are included like rocket launcher, machine gun, assault rifle and finally a grenade launcher. They're nice to use in a pinch and do add variety to the gameplay, but none of them compare to Alex's vast array of powers. Why use a machine gun, when you can hack off limbs in an instant using a long tentacle arm? Yeah, kind of redundant.

There is an extensive list of upgrades that can be purchased from completing missions and events. Like boosting Alex's running speed, buying new powers and combat moves, and increasing Alex's health. Want a move to dive off the top of a building and nose dive straight into the ground producing a mini earthquake? Yup, they have that too! Want to call in a airstrike to rain death from above? You definitely can. The amount of moves they crammed in this game is astonishing. So expect a lot of nights dreaming up ways to dismember and destroy the city because they've nearly done it all.

I must admit, the game is not perfect and does have issues that hold it back from being the best of the best. For example, the dodging system feels a bit awkward at times. Sometimes it looks like you avoided an attack from a Hunter, but instead still take damage. That can be infuriating because the Hunters travel in packs and refuse to let up. So dodging can be really difficult and are forced to run away to reassess the situation. You'll be doing plenty of running in Prototype because strike teams are easily alerted to Alex's presence later on in the game. I'm still confused at how those super solders (large ones in white) can still detect Alex in his disguise. Honestly, it kind of ruins the flow of the game being found out every two seconds from those floating UAV viral detectors.

A few moments in the game were frustrating, in particular the boss fights. First time I encountered them, I wanted to pull my hair out! After awhile of understanding the game you'll eventually will figure out how to defeat them. Just be prepared to be discouraged. Since there is so much activity going on, the targeting system can be rather irritating trying to precisely pick who you want in the crowd. Thankfully, they added slow-mo while shifting through enemies. Overall, the feature is not too bad.

You'll be doing missions that will send you around Manhattan. The missions themselves are nothing spectacular, but still are fun because of the solid mechanics of the combat system. Alex will be asked to take out infected water towers, locate and consume a specific target, destroy a particular building, eliminate a group of Blackwatch members, take disguise of a commander to infiltrate a base etc. These missions we've all seen before in past games and do nothing to strengthen the story.

Graphics: 6/10
Soon as I fired up the game, I knew the graphics seemed pretty flat. Get up on top of any skyscraper and you'll witness how everything looks "blah" and totally lacks detail. I never felt like I was roaming around New York City, merely just a city with a lot of tall buildings. Alex himself looks good and his animation is superb, but general detail is still unconvincing. What was really atrocious were the explosions. They all seemed like cardboard cutouts. Granted, it was not a big deal at all but still quite noticeable. I'm not a graphics junkie so little things like that do not affect my decision on the overall quality of the game. When a game is this fun, it is kind of hard to care if the graphics look perfect. or just average.

Sound: 7/10
The voice acting is decent and does not grind on my nerves unlike some games. Alex has a deep almost grunting voice when he speaks. Screams of chaos flowing through the streets and strike teams searching for you help drive the action. Hearing a helicopter pilot say "where did he go?" as you cleverly disguise yourself as a innocent civilian is awesome. What is also cool is hearing helicopters roaring overhead as you try to make your escape can really get the heart pumping. The music itself did not generate any emotion in me and the soundtrack more than likely won't be putting you on the edge of your seat. It was forgettable, but not remotely bothersome.

Story: 8/10
Prototype is broken up into small segments. As Alex continues consuming targets, he will gather information about his past and how the military plans on handling the infected population. This makes it more action driven because there is no overly drawn out cinematic that might have turned it into a snoozefest. You can either skip them or dig deeper by finding optional web of intrigue targets that further the story. There is 131 web of intrigue targets to be found, so good luck hunting! Overall, I found it pretty interesting and a novel approach to storytelling.

Replay Value: 9/10
After finishing the game you either have the choice to replay it all over again with Alex's upgrades or continue on to completing events scattered around the city. There is quite a bit to do in Prototype long after the main story is over with. Can start collecting landmark orbs that are strategically placed or do closest kill event to take out as many helicopters with a rocket launcher as possible. There are tons of activities to do like glide events where Alex must race to the next waypoint or war events where he'll be allied with infected or military troops to assist in killing the other side. You'll be handsomely awarded with EP (Evolution Points) to buy upgrades with. So there is at least incentive in doing these somewhat repetitious side missions. Can even clear out the city of infested hive buildings or get a tank and tear down military bases into chunks of rubble. Loads of fun!

Final Verdict: 8/10
Prototype is an excellent action game that delivers on the promise of playing an almost unstoppable killing machine. This is a must buy for people who love total carnage and wanting to feel insanely powerful while crushing truckloads of enemies. Sure, there are flaws, but what game doesn't? Don't let that prevent you from enjoying this fantastic game. Two thumbs way up!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/09

Game Release: Prototype (US, 06/09/09)