Prototype Review (PC)

In Prototype, the mysterious out break of a horrific virus has the city of New York, more specifically Manhattan, in chaos. The military has been called in to restore order but the virus is turning people into savage mutants before their eyes. Prototype is an action packed sandbox style third person shooter that puts players in the role of one Alex Mercer as they try uncover the mysterious conspiracy behind the outbreak.

Game Details

• Genre: Action, Third Person Shooter
• Theme: Sci-Fi
• ESRB Rating: M for Mature
• Publisher: Activision
• Developer: Radical Entertainment
• Game Modes: Single player
• Pros: Nice assortment of abilities & attacks; Fast-paced action from beginning to end; Mysterious & fun storyline
• Cons: Difficult to control some moves/abilities; Not challenging enough even at hardest difficulty settings

Plot/Storyline

Prototype opens with the protagonist, Alex Mercer, waking up on a gurney in the basement of a genetic research facility owned by the GENTEK corporation. Dazed and confused, with no memory of how he wound up there, Alex sets out to uncover what's happened to him. Not only does Alex have amnesia but he also slowly discovers that his body has gone through some sort of change and now has super human abilities such as agility, speed and strength as well as the power to shape-shift and disguise his identity.

After making his way out into the city Alex discovers something's horribly wrong. Manhattan appears to be in a military lock down and a virus is spreading throughout the city turning the population into mutants. The opening sequence of Prototype serves as both a tutorial and introduction into the storyline as you try to begin to unlock Alex's memory and figure out what is going on and the mystery surrounding the virus. The story continues as Alex has encounters, mostly violent, with both a secret military unit know as the Blackwatch and the infected population.

The Prototype story does an excellent job of holding your attention and has a rather unique way of revealing both the game's story and Alex Mercer's background to the players. One of Alex's powers is the ability to consume persons, thus gaining either their appearance, skills or memory. The story and Alex's past is slowly revealed to players through this ability to consume and view the memory of certain targets. The story continues to unfold in this way eventually revealing the the cause of the virus and Alex's background.

Overall Prototype does an excellent job of keeping the story going while staying true to the freedom of a sand-box style game allowing players to explore Manhattan. In addition to having the ability to finish objectives in multiple was players can also complete side challenges that will test their abilities to perform all sorts of parkour style speed and agility moves.

Game-Play, Combat, Weapons & More

From the minute the game begins players are thrust into the action of Prototype; Sprinting at super human speeds, scaling buildings in seconds, shapeshifting and more. The game comes packed with parkour style moves, attacks, and abilities that make the game play both fun and exciting to play. The game's animation is excellent and movement is very smooth and fluid. You have the ability to scale and jump from building to building and make it clear across the game map in a matter of seconds.

Sprinting up the side of a building never seems to get old. At the same time however some of the special moves can be a little cumbersome and trying to repeat or perform them consistently over and over can be a challenge.

I went through Prototype playing a portion of the game with a keyboard/mouse and a portion with an Xbox 360 controller. While most PC gamers, myself included, feel that nothing can match precision and control you get with the keyboard/mouse combination Prototpe actually played much easier with the Xbox 360 controller. Even complex moves that involved multiple buttons and d-pad were relatively easy to repeat.

Prototype contains a lot of fast paced action and combat but also incorporates elements of stealth and disguise as well. The consume ability that Alex Mercer has allows him to take on the form of virtually anyone he encounters on the street. Once in this form players can then blend in with the rest of the population, civilian or military. How well he's blending in is based on the actions that he takes while in disguise, and is clearly measured by a meter that will tell players when he is in jeopardy of his cover being blown.

There's also a great deal of customization involved as you play and learn more about Alex. On top of the very cool shape-shifting ability, there's a fairly basic leveling system incorporated in Prototype. This allows players to pick and choose different attacks, weapons, defenses and more. Alex's shape-shifting ability is easily one of the nicest features found in Prototype and you'll be able to customize these as well with options to create knifelike claws, transform your arm into a razor sharp blade, armoured skin and more.

Bottom Line

Prototype comes packed with all sorts of features, excellent graphics & animation, and action packed game-play that all contribute to a fun, sound game. Add to that the intriguing story that's revealed as the game unfolds and you have a definate hit. Prototype is rated M for Mature for good reason, some of the combat and fight scenes can get pretty gruesome. While there are minor glitches with some of the combo moves and the lack of a multiplayer mode is a little disappointing these should not detract from putting this one on your wish list.