Prototype

For not finding its trappings in a comic book legacy, Prototype certaintly earns points for being an original title in which you don the hoodie of the amnesiac superhero/villain Alex Mercer. But Prototype Isn't just trying to be original with its intriguing use of the Manhattan setting but also goes out of its way to provide an over-the-top and extremely chaotic sandbox experience in which you get to use a vast variety of different powers and undertake a ton of missions and extracurricular side-activities, and save for a few flaws, Prototype provides just that.

The story takes place in Manhattan, which is currently trying to contain a viral outbreak and the central conflict between the "Blackwatch" military and the ravaging infected is a big part of Prototype´s story. Caught in the crossfire as Alex Mercer, you wake up in the morgue inexplicably alive and with no memory who you are and what´s going on. From there, Prototype lays on the theme of revenge very thick as Mercer immediately sets out to hunt down those responsible for turning him into the walking biochemical weapon he is. The story works because its presented in a unique way, seeing how you'll have to piece together your past by absorbing memories of people whom you shared some connection with prior to the virus being unleashed on Manhattan. These brief video snippets are then stored in the "Web of intrigue" archive where you can go in and rewatch any of the memories you have acquired during the game. Voice acting is mostly solid but the cutscenes could certaintly use some work.

So he may lack knowledge but he´s got no shortage of ways to wage chaos over the entire city. Prototype was developed by Free Radical who also made the Incredible Hulk games, and it shows. The amount of rampage you'll cause is almost unmatched and so are the amount of ways you can do so. As you kill enemies, complete missions and perform other feats, you'll earn evolution points (EP for short) which you can then spend on an enormous list of different moves, abilities and upgrades. Claws, Blades, Fists and Shields are some of the powers and each of these powers also have numerous upgrades and enhancements. Your claws are powerful in decapitating enemies left, right and center but can be upgraded to give you the ability to ram them into the ground and cause huge groundspikes to errupt from beneath enemies--impaling them to great effect. But the upgrades aren't just limited to your powers as you can upgrade everything from your health, sprint speed, jump distance, efficiency with conventional weapons and much, much more. Developing your character as you progress is one of the best parts about Prototype and is a great incentive to keep playing and to complete many of the sidemissions.

Where the actual combat is concerned its hectic to say the least. Enemies swarm onto the screen in large numbers so

remembering what combination of powers, moves and techniques almost become a challenge in it of itself. Prototype uses an auto-targeting system which works well, since the game will always lock-on to the most appropriate threat and its easy to cycle between enemies. Another great aspect about the combat is in the way you regenerate health. While the game uses a traditional rebounding health meter system, it wont save you one bit. Instead, you'll have to consume either civilians or enemies by grabbing them and absorbing them by means of brutally killing them. This means that you are going to have to retreat quite a bit and it also makes the presence of civilians seem a lot more necessary than in most other open world titles. You aren't just limited to besieging enemies by foot though as you can hop in to APC´s, tanks and attack helicopters. The controls feel tight and responsive enough to make operating them a breeze, though the constant button mashing you'll have to perform when hijacking them wears off quickly.

As good as the driving controls are, there are a few issues where the combat is concerned. Numerous times i found myself being stunned by rocket projectiles and i was helplessly flying all over the screen and the action occasionally just boil over into absolute madness where you'll have no choice but to run away. Also problematic is the act of grabbing enemies or civilians in order to consume them for health. It works in the way that you grab them with the press of the B/circle button and you then consume them with the Y/triangle button and since you'll have to be right up-close to someone in order to grab them you sometimes just wind up throwing off powers or attacks or end up grabbing other objects in the scenery and since you are usually being chased by large groups of enemies, this can result in some very cheap deaths.

Traversing and exploring the city on the other hand works great. You sprint extremely fast and you can scale walls and leap off tall buildings with little effort and there is no such fall that hurts you. You can also glide through the air and pickup boost by dashing forward and just flying around the city without a care in the world is surprisingly fun and habit forming. There are also plenty of upgrades to your repetoar of exploration techniques and much like the combat in Prototype--exploring and getting your way around the city becomes more fun the more you play.

With such a large world, comes missions. The mission structure in Prototype is very varied and fun, with plenty of objectives and stuff to do outside of the story. Some missions involve chase sequences, others involve escort or defending while some encourage you to wreak havoc as much as you can. The best ones are without a doubt those in which you must consume a target and assume his or her identity. When you kill someone, you can usually take on their form as a disguise and use it to slip past guards and checkpoints. There is a solid stealth mechanic built in--letting you know how hidden you are and how likely you are to be seen by enemies. One good example of this mission type is one where you must consume and disguise yourself as a helicopter pilot, then play along and help out the military by evacuating troops and helping them fight off enemies. Or one where you infiltrate a base disguised as a commander, trying to consume a web of intrigue target. There is usually enough variations of different mission types to keep you guessing and most of them are quite challenging but without being frustrating.

There also events that you can try and complete as well. These act as challenges that score your performance through a medal system and earns you a good amount of EP if you do well. There are gliding challenges, some where you'll consume or kill targets within a time limit and much else. These provide great distractions but dont quite fit within the context of the story, but are fun nonetheless. There are also collectibles in the form of landmark and hint orbs strewn about the city, encouraging exploration.

Technically, Prototype is nothing spectacular. While the animations look great and the game incredibly brutal, the city looks dull and underdeveloped. Its open right from the get-go and never evolves and there is no day-and-night cycle and the scenery never changes. Impressive though is the fact there are so much going on at once and yet the frame rate never slows down though there is some texture pop-in here and there. The soundtrack is cool though and the sound design as a whole is good, and actor Barry Pepper lends his voice well to Mercer who avoids being a one-dimensional, conflicted superhero stereotype.

Prototype is a wild and chaotic sandbox title that is absolutetly relentless. Sure, the world itself looks plain and somewhat drab and the controls will backfire on you from time to time, but flaws aside, Prototype is a highly enjoyable and action-packed adventure that provides a ton of stuff to do, see and kill in just about every conceivable way. So if you like your open-world action game explosive and intriguing, then pay yourself a visit to Manhattan where nothing is safe from chaos.