Xbox360Heroes.com

Reviewed by: Tenaciousdave

There was a time back in the days of the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and before it, when games were named exactly what they were. A baseball game was just called Baseball and a hockey game was called Hockey. You don’t see this too often anymore but Prototype definitely falls under that literal naming category. It is most certainly a fun game to play but it has some sadly unpolished aspects about it that almost comically parody its own name.

The game takes place in an infected New York City where the crap has already hit the fan in some rather large quantities. You play Alex Mercer who wakes up on a slab with no memory of what got him there or why he is suddenly super powered. Granted this is a horribly over used, and kind of lazy in my opinion, concept in the world of video games but the way they handle the protagonists amnesia is a lot more interesting then all the previous iterations of this tired gameplay crutch. You’re actually tasked with filling in a massive Web of Intrigue by absorbing other people who know more then you do. It’s a cool puzzle like way of seeing the whole story and I found it quite satisfying. 

Graphically the game holds up ok but there is some gripes holding it back. One of the biggest issues being just how shiny Alex’s model is at times. In certain areas it looked like he was made of plastic, laminated and was given a serious wax and buff. It can get a little distracting at times. I’m pretty sure hoodies aren’t supposed to reflect light like a mirror. Outside of our almost luminescent main character the city comes off a little bland. I understand it’s supposed to be a representation of New York but it does get a little boring at times. Plus the city seems to have an extra thick layer of fog which I’m sure was used to help hide some pop in but with the overall level of detail in the characters and environment being so low they shouldn’t have needed a little trick like that. However all the little sacrifices made to the over all look of the game has its good points. The first being a frame rate that stays solid most of the time and the second being the ability to pack a large amount of enemies on the screen at once.

The actual gameplay is where Prototype makes it magic though. You start out only slightly more super then your average man but by the end of the game you are a force of destruction so massive that nary a thing can stop you. The large amount of upgrades available to you is staggering and it will take a pretty long time to acquire them all. Most are bought using Evolution Points but handfuls are obtained through absorbing various people or infected creatures. Evolution Points are obtained through just about everything you do so you will almost always be upgrading something. In fact in some ways there are almost too many upgrades and powers. It can be a little overwhelming at times but I can’t really complain about being given so many choices in how to destroy things though. Some of the powers seem a little too powerful though. Like the Whipfist weapon that causes massive damage at long range. I actually found my self using it the most because of just how strong it was. 

The presentation overall is very strong and the many menus open to you are well designed. The Web of Intrigue interface is a high point and lets you navigate the many story elements you will have unlocked over the course of the game. There is also a nice stat section letting you view just how much damage you have caused or what enemy type has killed you the most to any of many other elements in the game. There is a problem with the upgrades menu though where the loud high pitched beeping noise as you move between the various upgrades gets very annoying when scrolling down to some of the later powers. 

If you’re looking to get some real value for your money you can’t really go wrong here. There is a ton of things to do. From collecting the many Evolution Point granting orbs in the form of Landmark and Hint collectables to filling in the 131 nodes of the Web of Intrigue to doing the many side missions. And there are a lot of side missions strewn across the entire island that are slowly unlocked as you complete the 31 story missions. 31 story missions may sound small but I have currently dumped more then 14 hours into the game and I still haven’t done everything the game has to offer. It’s worth pointing out however that many of the side missions can be boiled down to the same basic activities. Where you basically go somewhere and either kill something or absorb someone. But when it’s so much fun to kill things and you have so many ways to do it you won’t find this too much of a problem. And once you complete the game you can go through again with all your powers unlocked on one of the other difficulties with the New Game+ option. There is even some tough achievements to chase like completing the game without dying. 

The sound is about as mediocre as it can get without being bad. Although the constant swearing throughout most of the cut scenes gets old fast and sounds pretty forced most of the time. I know you have an M rating on the box but that doesn’t make it necessary to shout as many four letter words as possible at your players. The music has it’s moments during battles but overall it just kind of blends into the background. The voice acting follows suit as most of it is just there and some parts of it are pretty terrible with a few cringe worthy deliveries coming from some of the voice actors. 

Prototype is a strong but slightly flawed installment into the surprisingly busy open world action game genre this summer. But its strong points help to keep it separate from the other games out there and if you’re looking to cause some serious carnage you could do a lot worse then Prototype. If you’re willing to ignore some of the minor issues it has you will find an amusing game with plenty of replay value. 

A collection of Prototype reviews at TestFreaks.com