Story
A strange virus has spread across Manhattan and you play as Alex Mercer who wakes up in the middle of this ordeal with a touch of memory loss. It isn't long before he discovers he has some extraordinary powers which he uses to his advantage to try and uncover the truth of what has happened to both him and the rest of the city. Manhattan is a full scale war between the military and the infected as they try to take control which Alex finds himself caught in the middle as he pursues for answers. Alex has the ability to consume people in the city which will sometimes trigger a cut scene and reveal little bits of what has happened which is then stored in something called the "web of intrigue". The cut scenes are very well presented and is a great way of progressing the story as bits of information are revealed when Alex consumes someone. That said the story isn't the games strong point and wouldn't be a defining reason for a purchase.
Gameplay
What really shines in Prototype is the gameplay. You can run up buildings with great ease and the ability to glide in the air makes getting around the city a breeze. In fact the gliding mechanic in the game is so precise that you can land on rooftops with pin point accuracy.
You have a ton of powers at your disposal ranging from shockwaves using giant hammer fists to causing spikes to come up from the ground and impaling nearby enemies. And yes you can elbow drop from buildings onto unsuspecting passers by. Most of the moves however need to be unlocked using experience points which are gained by doing pretty much anything. The shear depth in which you can upgrade your powers is staggering and allows you to personalise Alex into your own superhero. Different abilities are best suited for different situations for example the Whipfist power is good for taking out long range enemies such as helicopters and allows you to later upgrade and give you the ability to hijack them whilst they're in the air. The Blade on the other hand is better suited for destroying tanks as it is devastating with short range attacks. Remembering each move is hard work because there are so many of them that they all have to be crammed onto the controller so many moves will require you to pull off sometimes tricky button combinations.
The story missions are so varied that no two missions are alike and range from infiltrating a military complex by consuming a soldier and shape-shifting into them, to defending military convoys. The game play in Prototype is fast paced and relentless. Using your powers is extremly satisfying and picking up a car and using it as a battering ram through pedestrians never gets old. But you never feel too overpowered, as you progress through the missions and gain more powers you are presented with tougher enemies and so the balance is always kept just right.
Presentation
The huge open city and endless amounts of traffic, pedestrians and enemies means that the visuals had to be sacraficed to an extent. The city as a whole doesn't seem to have the same amount of polish other games have this generation and the scenery starts to look the same after a while and the textures look flat and bland. Apparently the PC version has the best visuals and is the version I played but don't expect Crysis levels of detail. But that said, the excellent gameplay makes the poor graphics easy to overlook.
Prototype is a ton of fun and the varied missions makes this game well worth the purchase. This is a very ambitious game with a heap of promises which were hard to keep but somehow they have managed to keep every single one of them making this my favourite superhero game I have played. Don't be put off the visuals because this game is well worth buying.
8.5/10
Click Here To Go To Prototype Metacritic Score
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