Prototype

"Zombies, soldiers, and helicopters -- but what color is Alex Mercer's hair?"

I can easily understand why many people have rated this game higher than me, the problems that exist within it are easily swept aside by people who really enjoy this style of game and are good at it. But unless you're a big fan of superhero games, typical sandbox ingame events (think GTA + Crackdown), and aren't an art snob, you're probably not going to like this very much.

On to the details!

Graphics: 7/10
I struggled not to give this one a lower score. By many people's estimations I'm sure it deserves one. Let me be clear, the graphics aren't very pretty for a 360 game outside of the well done cut scenes. Characters walking on the street feel straight out of a GTA3 (yes, not even 4) and they don't even blink. Alex's basic model is extremely static, his hoodie he wears nonstop doesn't even ruffle in the wind, after playing 20 hours I still don't know what color his hair is. The city is non-descriptive, there are no beautiful sights to see, or impressive landmarks to recognize.

But all of this serves the game's only real graphical boon which in my opinion raises the score from a 4 or a 5 to a 7: as the game further races towards apocalypse the city itself changes. The skies become red, fires break out, reddish signs of infection begin appearing all over. Better still, the game can laglessly render what seems like hundreds and hundreds of objects on screen at once (I say seems because I didn't get an actual count, it may actually BE hundreds). I've never seen a game do a better job of creating a feeling of "uh oh, the Zombie Apolcalypse is here." Granted at the same time you're an awesomely powerful demigod which alleviates the fun that could've been gotten from a typical zombie-styled game, but I was impressed by the power of the game's engine to show so much at once.

Even when there isn't an infection going on, there's still a lot of cars, people walking, lights, etc. There's just so much going on that the graphics had to be toned down for the 360 to render it. They still could've polished things a lot more. And it's nearly impossible to see the tutorials on controls on a standard definition screen.

Controls: 8/10
The helicopter controls are amazing. The movement controls are good too. There's no real problem with the combat controls (other than the antiquated lock on system for when you pick up a gun off the ground you got from a dead soldier). It does get tiring holding down the sprint button constantly, but that's my only real complaint. Bottom line is: I rarely found Alex doing anything I didn't command him to do with my controller.

I did however find some of the quick time events to be exceedingly difficult or annoying to do. Especially the tank hijacking mini-game or the "shutdown" (avoiding giving more details because of a spoiler) mini-game. They just aren't timed well, in my opinion they're a bit too difficult for normal mode (which is what I played on).

Gameplay: 6/10
I have a feeling if you really like this game and you see this score you're writhing in your seat. I imagine there are some people who would score this much higher, but I just don't see how its deserved. The lock-on based combat reminds me of crackdown and other games in many instances. The events scattered throughout the city for the most part are straight out of other sandbox games. Rooftop racing from crackdown, rampages from the GTA games, etc. I would've at least given the game a 7 if it wasn't for the sudden jump in difficulty that occurs in the middle of the game. It goes from being extremely easy to being extremely hard in no time.

The power wheel isn't as cumbersome as some have led you to believe. I think that part's actually well done. As is the upgrading system which isn't quite awesome, but is a feature I liked. The only thing that's really new here is the ability to consume others to take on their form. It works will with the stealth mechanic, which also isn't as broken as I heard before I played the game. The non-combat parts of gameplay aren't terrible, but the game has too many frustrating points.

However, the controls and gameplay certainly do create a feeling that you're playing a demigod. You can crush hordes of zombies, destroy blackwatch troops by the hundreds, invade enemy bases, and break tanks in two with your fists. It's just unfortunate that you go from being nearly invincible the first half of the game to getting trounced the second half. To win a lot of the boss battles I had to resort to incredibly cheap tactics, and I found that one of the powers you receive automatically later in the game alleviates the need for many of the other powers I previously actually paid evolution points for. That was frustrating.

While you'll have a lot of moves at your disposal, by the end there's few you'll actually use. That seems to be an overall problem for the game, as many of the options are simply inferior and not worth the EP (or if they are, it's only temporary). I was hoping for more of a rock-paper-scissors style of power usage. It seemed to be that way up until about the midway point.

Sound: 7/10
The music and sound effects are appropriate but unremarkable. I wish I could say more beyond that, but that's all I really have there. By the end of the game I had them muted and played my own music instead of listening to what they had to offer because it simply wasn't very interesting to me.

But the voice acting and general cutscene sound is very good. I was especially pleased by Alex's monologues. They do a great job of delivering the strong storyline. The sound during the "memory" events is also very, very good.

Story: 8.5/10
It's not amazingly original but it is well done and the only thing that kept me playing through the game. The web of secrets is brilliant, and an actual innovation for the game. I don't want to say much, just that I really enjoyed this game's story, and how it was expressed, which is saying a lot because I'm an RPG gamer who's rather picky about stuff like that.

The story begins with Alex in a morgue, knowing absolutely nothing about what happened to him to get him there. Over the course of the game you figure out everything behind the whole sordid affair over the backdrop of a city in chaos. I praised the graphics so much because they really add to the feeling of the story and create an enjoyable experience.

Overall: 7/10
I know this doesn't average out to a 7, but it's close enough, and I feel the game is deserving of a flat 7. If you buy it, you'll probably regret it, but you won't regret renting it. It has about 15 hours of straight-through content. If you try and get every achievement, every upgrade, finish every event, etc. you'll probably dump 30-40 hours into it, give or take a little.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/09

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