Title: Prototype
Release: June 9, 2009
Genre: 3 Person Action
Developer: Radical Entertainment
Publisher: Activision
Platform: Xbox 360
Rating: M (Mature)
Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/PROTOTYPE-Xbox-360/dp/B000WQWPOQ/ref=tag_stp_st_edpp_url
Website: http://www.prototypegame.com/us/index.html
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When this game was first announced, many people made the comparison between Prototype and another game for the PS3 called InFamous. Both games promised a superhero adventure set in a large scale city with super powers, upgrades and bouts with amnesia. After playing both titles, it is easy to lump both games into the same category but only one stands as the superior game. Much of the following review will continue to compare both titles. This is not an Xbox360 versus PS3 rag but a logical comparison between two very similar games.
The look of the game is too clean. Buildings appear identical and smooth as you bound from one to the other. There are no distinctions or character in the surroundings that make the game feel lived in. The animations tend to repeat themselves excessively while other animations, such as running while holding a citizen, look laughably bad. The character design is a little more interesting than the main protagonist from InFamous, but that is not saying much. Leather jacket, jeans and a hood—call it a day, we have our hero. The morphing effects are quite crisp and fluid. Keep in mind that your character is constantly changing shape, running through a city and fighting hordes of soldiers without a hint of slowdown. The game does suffer from pop-ups in the scenery and an annoying duration of loading despite having saved the game to the hard drive. InFamous had virtually no loading.
The sound effects do a decent job of highlighting the action and fighting aspects of the game but the music tends to stick to one or two tracks throughout the game. The story is simple and rife with holes. The voice acting and dialogue plow through the story with nonsense and the “F” word over and over again. Anyone looking for a sophisticated graphic novel story with thought and a high pedigree should look elsewhere.
From the moment you start playing, the game plays suspiciously like the Incredible Hulk game released a few years back. It almost seems as if the developer were working on another game entirely before they slapped a new design on it and called it Prototype or even worse, they recycled code from an older game to save time. The controls feels like you are piloting a jet through downtown New York. Your character actually flies through the game literally after a sufficient amount of upgrading. You are able to augment defense, speed, add aerial maneuvers, new attacks, upgrade attack damage and quicken the time needed to gain energy from foes. The main problem with the upgrade system is that it can snowball out of control rather early in the game. Upgrades are purchased with experience that you earn by attacking pretty much anything and completing story missions. Theoretically, one could build up a pool of experience early on and constantly upgrade oneself until they became godlike and thus making the game boring. There are many side missions with challenges associated with them, but these are often trivial and get in the way of continuing the story.
Prototype does mimic a comic book aesthetic, yet nothing about the game feels authentically built from the ground up for the Prototype IP. InFamous did a much more convincing job of conveying a living, breathing world that was sinister and dark. Prototype lacks that spark of originality and substance. This title will be the only choice for PC and Xbox360 users, but those who have a PS3 should consider Prototype only after they have finished playing InFamous.
Overall Rating: * * ½ / 5
M. Michael Chwedyk "The Gamekok" - MuzikReviews.com Sr. Video Game Reviewer
July 25, 2009
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