Prototype is the open ended sandbox style video game from Radical Entertainment, published by Activision. The game uses the Titanium engine and takes place in New York City, where a seemingly forty-year old virus has been unleashed upon the townsfolk. The virus is a complex one, infecting some while mutating others into hideous abnormal looking, but from a gaming standpoint, amazing creatures.
We follow Alex Mercer, a man brought back to life by the deadly virus. Well, not quite. He can’t remember anything. All his memories, his experiences, his thoughts, are all gone. The virus has transformed him into this shape shifting, enemy absorbing entity, which can take memories, skills and abilities from his so called “victims”.
When we first heard of Prototype, we were a bit skeptical. We had our doubts, to say the least. Come on… Absorbing someone’s body mass is one thing, but taking their thoughts and memories? Come on! But when we popped in the Xbox 360 game disc, the Prototypous world came screaming at us with all that it had. The game starts off with an absolute bang. You are given a little taste of what is soon to follow. An absolutely blinding explosion of power and freedom. One after the other, Mercer is granted a few of his super-human, super-viral abilities and let loose on some baddies. Right from the get go, you see all the action that you could ever dream of, and a few regular enemies which promise to make your game life a living nightmare, or something that you’ve dreamed of in a game for as long as you could remember. The small sneak pre-play will have you salivating for more. And there’s a lots more to come.
Open-endedness like that in Prototype is something all game developers should strive to reproduce. There are no environments, just one huge environment, that of New York City. The entire game is played in this large, beautifully crafted rendition of NYC. No loading times, no stages, no levels. Jump, glide, air dash, cannonball your way around the environment. From tall skyscrapers stretching high into the sky, to an open area, everything gives the impression of a huge technologically advanced city. The game environment is quite impressive and can be damaged and deformed, if only for a short while. Still the environment is as much a part of the story as the rest of the game. Many aspects of the environment can be incorporated into battle, as Mercer picks up and throws wayside vehicles, destroyed tanks and helicopters, and even people, although they don’t do much damage. Environments get a resounding 9.8 on 10.
What we loved was the ability to shape shift into and take the form of anyone you have consumed. The catch is, and this got us down, that you can only take the form of the last person you have consumed. If the developers could make it such that we had a few slots available, to shape shift into a select few enemies from memory, that would be great. But as it is, that isn’t the case. Maybe as add-on content.
Similar to any sandbox style game, Prototype features a variety of side missions and events, in addition to the game’s main story missions. These side missions include various small battles and tasks to keep you busy enough for most part. And while they give you a break from absolute pandemonious action, they also prove useful in earning precious Experience Points, which can be exchanged to purchase all sorts of upgrades. Side missions range from gliding your way to within meters of a given target, to battling against the military and also with the military as a temporary ally. The story in the game draws you in with its intrigue and mystery. Who are you? Why have things played out the way they have? Why is the military after you? Who’s helping you and why? All these questions keep you fixated on the stunning, and sometimes, outright violent gameplay. Apart from the main story, Mercer can even consume certain web of intrigue targets, who have valuable knowledge about the virus and the outbreak, and its early beginnings. Consuming such targets, throws Mercer into a violent fit, in which he relives the memories of his victims. The story of the game pricks our government-science conspiracy interest that we’ve had ever since the very first episode of The X-Files, and gets 9.4 out of 10.
Mercer can take his human for (military or civilian) or choose from an awesome range of attacking appendages-cum-weapons, the Whipfist, Hammerfist, Muscle Mass, Claws and the Blade powers. There are also two defensive powers, the shield and the armor power, plus the infected vision and the thermal vision. Using the vision abilities, Alex can see the world through the eyes of an infected. Creatures carrying the virus light up as if seen through a thermal camera, while using these powers. The entire game hinges on these amazing powers, which we mortals could only dream of, and which the developer has beautifully brought out. Your attacking and defensive powers must be used wisely considering your opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. If they are quick and hard to get close to, the whipfist is your best bet. But if your opponents are powerful but not very agile, then a combination of the armor and the blade power prove the most effective. You can even jump into military tanks and helicopters, and use their on-board weapons, for a surefire deadly combination.
Gameplay is very open. There are hundreds of ways to do something. No restrictions there. The controls are very responsive and easy to use. The parkour styled gameplay is just a beauty to watch. While running, Mercer automatically performs acrobatic maneuvers to avoid and circumnavigate any obstacles, ranging from people to vehicles, to trees and other structures. These fluid parkour moves are exceptionally dramatic and so pleasing to watch. Running, jumping, even landing, and scaling tall buildings becomes a synch. And gliding and performing powerful air dashes, allow Mercer to cover large distance very quickly. These moves are also helpful in escaping enemies, dodging missiles, objects thrown and even devastator attacks by the “boss” creatures in the game. The vertical gameplay just blows you away, and you will be playing the game long, long after you finish the main story. Gameplay receives a 9.7 out of 10.
The Final Word: Prototype is an absolutely stunning game. It will hit you like nothing else, the powers, the moves, the upgrades, and the replayability. The game graphics bring out the gory and beautiful story, telling it in full graphic detail. Definitely one of the best games of present time.
Environments: 9.8/10.
Story: 9.4/10.
Gameplay: 9.7/10.
Overall (Not an average): 9.7/10.