Prototype. Tough game to review. I am simultaneously of two minds with Prototype, which is available on the PS3 and the XBox 360. On one hand, when I’m playing the game, it’s a lot of frantic melee fun. On the other hand, when I’m not playing, I can see the games many flaws very vividly. One thing I do know for sure is that this may be a fun game for dads, but it is something you definitely don’t want the kids playing. In fact, it should not even be stored with the other games. It should be hidden away where little eyes will never see it.
So, how does the story of Alex Mercer and his mysteriously devastating special powers stack up?
The Pros
- Prototype is fun. As the game progresses and the conflict ramps up, you’ll have two factions after you (and you can always attack pedestrians), so combat is constant, its frenetic and it’s gory. All of which adds up to fun.
- It earns its M rating. One area where the developers did not go conservative was in Prototype’s violence level. Whether you are crushing, smashing, slicing or dismembering enemies and innocents alike, it is brutal, bloody and oddly satisfying. And did I mention you regain health by consuming other people?
- The exploration mechanic is fun. Very similar to the developer’s previous Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Prototype lets you traverse the city in a number of fun ways. Run through streets or up skyscrapers, bound from rooftop to rooftop, or gliding over entire city blocks. And all of with ease and power.
- There is a good assortment of powers, and plenty of options to upgrade them. Not all of the powers are tremendously useful, and not all of the upgrades are required, but there’s still a lure to getting more points so you can upgrade your powers. It keeps you pushing through one more side mission or one more rampage through the streets.
- The Web of Intrigue is a great idea, and a well executed concept. While the sidequests and collection tasks are largely pointless, the Web of Intrigue lets you consume certain people and absorb snippets of their memories. Over time, these snippets flesh out the backstory of the game, and provides hints and what you will be facing in the future. Very cool, and a nice way of providing that backstory without endless exposition through cut scenes.
The Cons
- Alex Mercer: generic anti-hero. There’s nothing really about our hero/anti-hero that stands out. He just is.
- While the Web of Intrigue is a great addition to the game, the actual storyline is fairly generic. It does the job of setting things up, but not much beyond that.
- The graphics are decent, but nothing spectacular. It just looks like the a bit of dedicated graphics polish would have pushed it over the top, but as it is, it’s a pretty generic visual package.
- The variety of enemies is fairly limited. There are a handful of military skins, some monsters, several civilians and a small handful of vehicles. For a game that tries to have a big budget scope, it falls down on the number of enemies.
- The sound doesn’t really stand out. Right now, thinking about it, I can’t really remember anything from the games audio that was particularly noteworthy.
- The city itself is fairly generic. It’s only Manhattan because of the map, not by any particular New York feel in the game, or a wealth of distinctive landmarks. In a post GTA4 Liberty City world, you have to do a lot better if you’re making an open world city.
- The side missions are irrelevant. Say what you will about playing darts with Roman (my gold standard for lame side missions), at least it was set within the context of the game. Rather than compelling or even vaguely interesting side missions, Prototype’s alternate to the storyline is essentially skill challenges. Gliding from point a to point b, running from point a to point b, killing people, etc. They are acceptable skill challenges, and show off what your powers can do for you, but they lack any compelling reason to exist. Other than gaining more points to upgrade your abilities, there’s really no driving reason to play the. And with a character who is meant to be 100% bad ass, why not go with a more serious version of Saints Row 2′s anti-social side missions, or something that matches the characters alleged attitude to his wealth of powers.
So, what’s the final take? Prototype is a fun game, that’s for sure. But it’s far from perfect. The sad part is, the potential is there, but it seems to have gone unrealized. Which is too bad, because that lack of an extra push for quality is the difference between being a must own, and being a game you kinda wish you hadn’t blown $70 on. It feels like this COULD have been a legendary game, but the final product didn’t come close. Because it’s a better fit as a rental, I have to say that Prototype warrants a solid meh.
As a side note, you may notice I wrote this entire review without referring to inFamous, which I think is noteworthy. 
