Prototype
Description
Prototype is a third-person open-world / action game released on 9 June 2009, is developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Activision Inc. The game places the player in the role of its protagonist, Alex Mercer, who is a genetically mutated man who has no memory of who he is, and is armed with shape-shifting abilities. Players hunt their way to discover their own history, to find out who created them and to avenge their act. The game is set in the densely populated contemporary city of New York.
Players assume the physical identity of those they consume, as well as their memory and abilities. Gameplay also sees the gamer going against Blackwatch (Military Special Force) and a viral outbreak known as the Infected, as they unravel over 40 years of history on the main character. Radical Entertainment is the developer behind Prototype™ who is also responsible for The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Simpsons Hit & Run and Scarface: The World is Yours and the game is based on Titanium game engine, and supports Neural 7.1 Surround™ Sound certified by THX for audio and video quality. The game has an ESRB: M rating.
Review
Prototype is a game that centers on the protagonist, Alex Mercer, who is a shape-shifter with powers of combat, destruction and deception. The game is a visually visceral game where Mercer literally consumes and absorbs any living person he comes into contact with while moving through the New York City backdrop. Players also absorb their memories, physical identity and any special abilities/powers they had, while trying to solve the conspiracy behind his existence. This ability also lets gamers mix and match genetic traits to create deadly biological weapons, such as razor sharp claws, blades, armored skin, shields and more. The movements of the Mercer are influenced by ‘Parkour’-style movements. This means gamers can move from one space to the other (such as vaulting over cars, running vertically on the sides of skyscrapers and scale distances with single jumps). Gamers are given the opportunity to blend in with the crowded population and covertly progress through the story. Or just bulldoze their way through New York City, shape-shift and consume enemies in plain sight on the street. The game also allows gamers to commandeer military vehicles, including Apache helicopters and Abrams tanks. Gameplay can get boring after a bit as it is far from being engaging. One can only go as far on a rampage through Manhattan before it gets routine.
While the storyline does involve 31 missions which includes seek and destroy missions to escort mission and outride pure combat, they are standard in design. This is an aspect common in many open-world games, and with the fact that there are no moral choices to be made here (unlike inFamous, another PS3 game), there are no ‘other choice’ that can give you variety in gameplay. It does offer some diversions that exist within the game. These come from the collection of memories of people that were hunted and consumed, and is revealed in sporadic visions that give the gamer some knowledge of the infection’s history. These memories then must be acted upon in mini diversions, such as infiltrating army bases to obtain weapon and skill upgrades. Another down side to the game is the poorly rendered game world. The only saviour on this aspect is the main protagonist himself. The environment is bland, with very few landmarks and generic buildings. This is also made worse by the fact that the environment is non-tactile. They can’t be destroyed, damage, nothing. You are only limited to damaging and destroying vehicles and pedestrians. It is even more laughable when your character has all this insanely cool powers. Prototype is a game that seems to be left hanging with many lose ends untied. This unfortunately makes it less of a great and memorable game. Even Alex Mercer’s absorbing and shape shifting powers may not be able to save the shortcoming of the game.
