How does it feel to be a god?
Prototype allows you to let loose your inner beast: you can do pretty much anything to anyone in an open world sandbox called Manhattan. Results are boring at the beginning, but in time it gets more and more satisfying and brutal.
FULL OF SHORT CUTSCENES
Alex Mercer wakes up in a morgue and has been infected by an unknown virus. This same infection is spreading all around Manhattan and turns people into monsters. Or in Mercer’s case gives them all new super powers. Of course you as Alex has to find out what was done to you and why. In the process you get to kill as many civilians as you please, because the game doesn’t encourage or punish you for doing so. Being a tyrantic monster god is almost too easy in Prototype.
Story is told via short cutscenes and there are many of them. Everything starts off really strong, but it flattens in the middle and luckily reaches a nice climax in the end. Around half of the story is told as a Web of Intrigue: there are 130 people around the game which you need to “consume” and this launches a short and interesting cutscene.
MANHATTAN SANDBOX
Prototype is an open world sandbox game played from a third person view and the whole island of Manhattan is open from the beginning. Structure of the game is very much like in a Grand Theft Auto game: there a points in which you launch a story mission and aside from those you can do side quests or just run wild around town causing mayhem or exploring places. Towards the end story missions get longer and longer, but luckily they have multiple checkpoints so things don’t get too frustrating. Unfortunately missions are usually variations of “go there and destroy that” –formula but they still contain a surprising amount of variety. There’s very little peaceful time in the game and usually there is someone or something hunting Alex.
EXPERIMENT WITH SUPER POWERS
Travelling in Manhattan is done by jumping, running and gliding. This might sound boring, but it’s fun and it just gets better as you progress. Towards the end you can also pilot a tank or a helicopter. Controls are good, but you need to give them time so that you can master them. Third person camera doesn’t always stay where the action is, but most of the time you can see what’s going on.
The reason why you should find pleasure in playing Prototype is Mercer’s super powers. There are just so much of them to play around with and it takes some time to figure out which ability is best in what occasion. Unfortunately selecting them is more difficult than it should be: you need to pick your choice in a wheel, but luckily you can also make quick buttons to your D-Pad. Buying new powers and upgrading old ones is done by buying them with EP or evolution points which you gain by completing missions.
INSANE ACTION
Graphics are the weakest link in Prototype and since Manhattan is a city the environment doesn’t change as you progress. Draw distance is not that great and some of the pedestrians’ animations look stupid. On the other hand the animation of Alex Mercer is superb and the frame rate stays solid even when action borders insane. Music stays in the background and creates a tone for the action. Sound effects are great with big explosions and screaming. Voice acting is good and I especially enjoyed Barry Pepper as the voive of Alex Mercer.
ONE MAN’S BRUTAL JOURNEY
Prototype doesn’t have any multiplayer so you should take it as a one man’s brutal journey. The action can get a bit repetitive so I recommend you to play it in small doses. It takes around 10 hours in your first playthrough and after that you can continue to do side missions or start a New Game +, which let’s you keep all Mercer’s gained powers and abilities.
Prototype is a game worth playing. Just remember to give it enough time while you learn the ropes.
