PC game review: Prototype

June 22, 5:53 PMPC Game ExaminerBryan Edge-Salois

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the PC Game Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

What do you get when you take one part Grand Theft Auto, one part Assassin's Creed, and a a whole lot of shape-shifting super-powered butt kicking? You get Prototype -- a bloody, visceral super-powered action game.

Prototype puts you in the role of Alex Mercer, a man who wakes up in a government lab with no memory and some angry para-military goons called the Blackwatch pointing guns at him. Fortunately, Alex quickly discovers his arsenal of shape-shifting super powers and makes a speedy getaway into the city. 

Carnage, carnage, and a side of carnage 

Alex's very cool shapeshifting powers and the ways he can use them to inflict collateral damage and bloody carnage are the stars of the show. Alex has many, many powers at his disposal, but most of them boil down to combat maneuvers, movement, and passive upgrades (Survivability) that give you more health or increase your regeneration rate.

Moving through the city is arguably some of the most fun in the game. Alex can travel quickly and gracefully via any combination of running (both horizontally and vertically up buildings), super-jumping, and even gliding. I was pleasantly surprised that movement was very easy with the mouse and keyboard, and doesn't require too much fancy finger work.

The combat -- and there's a lot of it -- is fast, frenetic, and bloody. Things can go from copacetic to 11 on the sh*t-hitting-the-fan meter very fast. The Blackwatch military die easily, but they're quick to call dozens of reinforcements, which includes tanks, and helicopters that pursue you with a vengeance.

Fortunately, Alex has no shortage of shape-shifting, butt-kicking combat moves. Shaping his limbs into claws, fists, shields and whips, he can carve, smash, and tear through enemies easily. Alex can also pick up almost anything -- like tanks, for example -- and hurl them at enemies, which is very effective for taking out helicopters (which reward you by blowing up reeeaal goood) or large groups of enemies.

The carnage is gloriously swift and brutal, though eventually you'll want to make a quick escape. Prototype makes it fairly easy to use all your superpowers with a mouse and keyboard, although after your arsenal grows it can be challenging to switch between them and use them effectively. Generally, you need to use hit-and-run tactics. Although Alex is tough and has a ridiculous number of superpowers, but he can die fast in a flurry of rockets, guns, and other attacks -- and your enemies are always very plentiful.

More than just combat 

After you complete the early stages of the game (the tutorial basically), Prototype plays a lot like Assassin's Creed and similar open-world games. You can pretty much go when and where you want and pursue your objectives however you see fit. There is always an objective point that you can visit in the city -- your 'home base' if you will -- to advance the story of the game. But in between major story points you're free to travel around the city and move in and out of the main story.

Although action takes center stage, Prototype also has some stealth elements. One of Alex's key abilities is 'consuming' victims. Once he has consumed someone, Alex can shapeshift into them -- an ability good for throwing pursuers off his scent. It also heals  him a little. More importantly, you can do things like infiltrate military bases by consuming the appropriate Blackwatch officer and then assuming his form. Other soldiers will even salute you.

In addition, certain targets for 'consumption' will pop-up on your 'radar' when you're just roaming the city.consuming certain enemies grants new or improved skills -- like the ability to drive a tank.  Consuming those targets rewards you with more information about Alex's past and the events unfolding in the city.

As you progress through the game, you'll earn  'EP' or Evolution Points. These are basically points for buying new skills and abilities for Alex -- including things like better regeneration rate, more health, and new attacks. You can gain more EP buy consuming special targets to reveal more of the game's back story, or by completing one of the game's many challenge missions waiting for you all over the city. Some of the challenges are things like timed rooftop runs through a series of checkpoints; others involve lots and lots of killing. there are also 50 'hints' and 200 'landmark collectibles' stashed all over the city -- you can earn EP by picking these up.

The Bad 

Most of Prototype's faults are forgivable because the game is so darn fun most of the time. But it does have its frustrating moments.

The first problem -- and one that is common to this genre of game -- is that the game play, for all its fun, starts to feel repetitive after a while. This would be even less of a problem if it didn't use a checkpoint-based save system.

In addition, Prototype's difficulty ramps up quickly, and it's not always 100% clear what you need to do or how you're supposed to do it to achieve an objective. And some missions crucial to advancing the story line are too easy to lose through no fault of your own. The soldiers shooting at you are as reckless about their environment as Alex is, which often results in objects or people vital to a mission getting waxed when you're supposed to be consuming or using them in some fashion. Mission failure sends you back to your last checkpoint, so you can end up playing extended sessions trying to meet  an objective or defeat a boss.

This isn't a big deal if it's just a challenge mission, which is never vital to advancing the game. But if it's crucial to advancing the story it can be very frustrating. 

The tutorials could have been handled a little better, because they frequently pop up in a rather jarring fashion, breaking up the flow of the game.

It also would have been nice if the game allowed you to NOT be a d*ck. Seriously, even just wandering around the city Alex shoves his way through crowds if he walks near them. And if you accidentally grab someone (maybe miss your intended target for consumption and grab a civilian (or a car), there's no way to put the civilian down nicely. I know Alex is a brooding, vengeance-minded anti-hero, but I like to try and play the good guy too.

Overall  8.5/10 

Prototype is visceral, adrenaline-pumping super-powered ride. Although it can be difficult, frustrating, and repetitive at times, I was generally quick to forgive it once I got past certain parts and could return to just enjoying the carnage.

Visit the Prototype home page for more info