[BLOG] Prototype: A Review
I picked up Prototype on my PS3 a few days ago and spent the last few days playing it nonstop. I've completed the main questline now and had some time to get familiar with the game mechanics, so I thought I would do a write-up for the game. Keep in mind that the version that I am reviewing is Prototype for the Playstation 3, so there may be some differences aesthetically between the PS3, XBox 360, and PC versions of the game.
In Prototype, you play as Alex Mercer, a man who can't remember anything, but can turn his body into whatever - or whoever - he wants. His only goal now is to figure out what happened to him at all costs. Alex has the ability to consume people, which regenerates him, but more importantly it allows him to experience their memories. Consuming people and gaining their memories is how Alex is going to find out what happened to him and who else knows something substational about the people behind the strange military group Blackwatch and what they have to do with Alex's shapshifting abilities.
I'm going to be very simple here. The game is not pretty. Character models and textures lack any real detail. This is not neciciallary a problem, though, as Alex's model is pretty simple and you hardly see how undetailed his face is, as he wears a hood. This dosen't mean, though, that everyone else is pretty. Characters' faces look a little blocky, but the game moves so fast that the visual shortcomings of the game mostly go unnoticed. Enemies seem to look better when their guts are strewen all over the street. That being said, the animations are beautful. The sheer badassery of how Alex moves, jumps, and manuvers his mutated appendages is enough to make even the most jaded gamer go "Hey, that was pretty cool."
Alex has a veriety of tools in his form-chaning arsenal. He has claws, a whip, large rock-like appendages, and a sword, to name a few. He can use the different forms to chop (or crush) is opponets in many different ways. Each weapon is destince is both look and style and each has their own advantages and disadvantages, making all of them ideal under different curcumstances.
The game follows pretty much the same pattern of every other sandbox game. You can go around the city and cause chaos, take part in a veriety of side quests, or tackle the main story of the game. The side quests aren't really quests per se, but more like challenges. They all follow the form of 'kill so many enemies in the time limit' or 'hit all checkpoints in the time limit' or 'consume all targets in the time limit'. They're all pretty mundane, but the quick hack-n-slash combat and tight free-running controls still make them fun. One of the most interesting features, though, is a side quest that you're always on called the Web of Intrigue.
The Web of Intrigue is a matrix of people who have a connection to you and/or what you are. When you consume a Web of Intrigue target, it plays a short video of how they are connected to you and what they know. When Alex consumes a Web target, he also learns the names of other people who are involved with making him what he is, allowing you to get even more targets for your Web. These targets get marked on your mini-map when they are in short proximity of you, so you don't have to go around consuming the entire city to find your Web targets.
Gameplay is pretty simple, yet it's still enjoyable. You destroy people and vehicles with your shapshifting powers. Combat is all done with combos of the Square button for fast attacks and Triangle button for strong attacks (X button and Y button on a 360, respectively). The Circle button (B button on a 360) handles grabbing and Triangle consumes while you have a hold of somebody. Alex can also pick up vehicles and rocks and hurl them great distances. The lock-on system is pretty simple, but it gets the job done. You can lock on with L2 (I would assume Left Trigger on a 360) and cycle through targets with the left stick. Alex can hijack tanks and helicopters, too, but these only slow him down unless he is attacking a structure of some kind.
Combat is fast and brutal, with peices of people and blood flying every which way and vehicles being blown up as they are tossed hundreds of feet. It's all quite satisfying, and anyone who enjoys ultraviolence should get a kick out of it.
The free-running controls are nice and simple. Holding R2 (Assuming the 360 as the same button layout, Right Trigger) starts sprint mode, which allows Alex to run super fast. There is not need to jump small obstacles, like hedges and cars, manually, as the game will jump then for you. Small buildings, though, will still require you to press the jump button to clear it. Alex can also run up, down, and across the surface of buildings for as long as he wants with the graceful agility of Altair and the skill of Spiderman. He can also double- and triple-jump and hover, which can really make craveling the city easier and looks awesome. Fall damage is not a problem, as Alex can fall hundres of yards and still land on his feet, the only damage being to the ground and whatever is sent flying though the air at the impact zone.
I thought Prototype was an awesome game and definitely worth the buy. Despite its visual shortcomings and a glitch here and there, I throughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to completeing the challenges beyond the main story. You can beat the main story in about 12 hours if you don't bother doing side missions. It took me about 16 hours to complete the story. Overall, I would give it a 9/10.
In Prototype, you play as Alex Mercer, a man who can't remember anything, but can turn his body into whatever - or whoever - he wants. His only goal now is to figure out what happened to him at all costs. Alex has the ability to consume people, which regenerates him, but more importantly it allows him to experience their memories. Consuming people and gaining their memories is how Alex is going to find out what happened to him and who else knows something substational about the people behind the strange military group Blackwatch and what they have to do with Alex's shapshifting abilities.
I'm going to be very simple here. The game is not pretty. Character models and textures lack any real detail. This is not neciciallary a problem, though, as Alex's model is pretty simple and you hardly see how undetailed his face is, as he wears a hood. This dosen't mean, though, that everyone else is pretty. Characters' faces look a little blocky, but the game moves so fast that the visual shortcomings of the game mostly go unnoticed. Enemies seem to look better when their guts are strewen all over the street. That being said, the animations are beautful. The sheer badassery of how Alex moves, jumps, and manuvers his mutated appendages is enough to make even the most jaded gamer go "Hey, that was pretty cool."
Alex has a veriety of tools in his form-chaning arsenal. He has claws, a whip, large rock-like appendages, and a sword, to name a few. He can use the different forms to chop (or crush) is opponets in many different ways. Each weapon is destince is both look and style and each has their own advantages and disadvantages, making all of them ideal under different curcumstances.
The game follows pretty much the same pattern of every other sandbox game. You can go around the city and cause chaos, take part in a veriety of side quests, or tackle the main story of the game. The side quests aren't really quests per se, but more like challenges. They all follow the form of 'kill so many enemies in the time limit' or 'hit all checkpoints in the time limit' or 'consume all targets in the time limit'. They're all pretty mundane, but the quick hack-n-slash combat and tight free-running controls still make them fun. One of the most interesting features, though, is a side quest that you're always on called the Web of Intrigue.
The Web of Intrigue is a matrix of people who have a connection to you and/or what you are. When you consume a Web of Intrigue target, it plays a short video of how they are connected to you and what they know. When Alex consumes a Web target, he also learns the names of other people who are involved with making him what he is, allowing you to get even more targets for your Web. These targets get marked on your mini-map when they are in short proximity of you, so you don't have to go around consuming the entire city to find your Web targets.
Gameplay is pretty simple, yet it's still enjoyable. You destroy people and vehicles with your shapshifting powers. Combat is all done with combos of the Square button for fast attacks and Triangle button for strong attacks (X button and Y button on a 360, respectively). The Circle button (B button on a 360) handles grabbing and Triangle consumes while you have a hold of somebody. Alex can also pick up vehicles and rocks and hurl them great distances. The lock-on system is pretty simple, but it gets the job done. You can lock on with L2 (I would assume Left Trigger on a 360) and cycle through targets with the left stick. Alex can hijack tanks and helicopters, too, but these only slow him down unless he is attacking a structure of some kind.
Combat is fast and brutal, with peices of people and blood flying every which way and vehicles being blown up as they are tossed hundreds of feet. It's all quite satisfying, and anyone who enjoys ultraviolence should get a kick out of it.
The free-running controls are nice and simple. Holding R2 (Assuming the 360 as the same button layout, Right Trigger) starts sprint mode, which allows Alex to run super fast. There is not need to jump small obstacles, like hedges and cars, manually, as the game will jump then for you. Small buildings, though, will still require you to press the jump button to clear it. Alex can also run up, down, and across the surface of buildings for as long as he wants with the graceful agility of Altair and the skill of Spiderman. He can also double- and triple-jump and hover, which can really make craveling the city easier and looks awesome. Fall damage is not a problem, as Alex can fall hundres of yards and still land on his feet, the only damage being to the ground and whatever is sent flying though the air at the impact zone.
I thought Prototype was an awesome game and definitely worth the buy. Despite its visual shortcomings and a glitch here and there, I throughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to completeing the challenges beyond the main story. You can beat the main story in about 12 hours if you don't bother doing side missions. It took me about 16 hours to complete the story. Overall, I would give it a 9/10.
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