MCP Review: Prototype

The only thing I preferred about inFamous was the quality of the textures.

Great review. Sums up how I feel about this thing. It's a dangerously fun sandbox game that veers slightly towards repetitive, then throws you off a building and stomps on your head to remind you otherwise.

Does explain the controversy over this review!

Prototype is really amazing, but I just found myself beaten over the head around the six hour point. I think John Davison said it best on 1ups Listen Up, when he said that the game cranks everything up to 11 and leaves nothing as a treat.

The first few minutes when you're fully powered and pretty much god, and all of New York is in chaos are awesome, but it lost my interest before I could find myself back there.

Great review, Alex. I too preferred this to inFamous. There was just a feeling of more power to this than the progression in inFamous. Plus I threw an old lady into some helicopter blades. Can't do that every day.

Nice review. I completely agree when it comes to inFamous - I played it at my friend's place the other day to test it out, and after playing Prototype there was no way that game was going to seem fun. Although I think that Prototype does lose a little bit due to lack or replay value, and the experience does fly by fairly quickly because of how much fun it is. I know that seems like a weird complaint but if you played it you might know what I mean.

Great Review, Alex!
Loving the game so far, and its one of the few games were I can abide by the protagonist being a psychopath/asshole.
Penny Arcade be damned, doing a flying kick on a helicopter is awesome.

Thanks for the review Alex, good stuff, pretty much sums up my thoughts on it as well. It's one of the very best games I've played this gen,it's just insanely fun and addictive. But I do agree with Domingo that the difficulty spikes can be a serious pain in the balls at times. That especially goes for the Elizabeth Greene boss battle,which is very fucking frustrating and almost at a Ninja Gaiden 2 level of cheapness.

I don't understand why people are still comparing this with Infamous,though. Other than the fact that both are superpower sandbox games, they are absolutely nothing alike. A much better comparison for Prototype(except for obviously Hulk: UD and Crackdown) would be Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. Actually, anyone that's played Web of Shadows will tell you that there's an incredible amount of similarities between the two-both in terms of the story and some of the gameplay mechanics.

I have yet to finish this, but to me it just has very little replay value. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but i'm not blown away by it, especially after what I expected it to be when it was announced.

The combat in inFamous is way better, the building textures (especially explosions...wow do they look bad) in Prototype are mediocre, and the controls are very cumbersome. Without beating this, inFamous just absolutely walks all over it in terms of presentaton.

The character models are great, and there's nothing like grabbing someone, running to the top of a building, consuming them, and flying over the city as them. But when I play this game that's all I do. It's fun, but the missions aren't exactly captivating, at least not yet.

I got it the day it came out and i've just been bored with it. Then again, these days i'm pretty "been there, seen that" with every game so I could be jaded altogether.

I hear this has a twist at the end, but the twist at the end of inFamous is impossible to top.

Agree to disagree, I suppose.

Prototype is brash, in-your-face and devoid of finesse.

The controls are lumpy, the missions bland and for all of Alex's supposed power he goes down like a chump when the mutants and airstrikes bear down on him.

You have so many moves and options that half of them are rendered useless. You quickly realise that the tentacle and blade are the only ones worth a damn and you stick to them.

The visuals are awful and basic, and quite frankly I cannot see how anyone can defend them. The story is not compelling, either.

Quite frankly, I thought Prototype was a mess. It's fun for a few minutes while you run around murdering everyone, but nothing about it is refined.

I hate playing the 'comparison game' but InFamous is infinitely superior and is almost the antithesis of prototype - tight, focused and thoughtful.

Oddly the abilities weren't all that different. They needed to space them apart just a nudge more I think. Honestly, is there really a difference between the arm blade and the claws?

Shit, I might have to give this a go.

Unfortunately, the fact that Activision made it means I have to find someway of finagling it for free.

Still, great review Alex.

The review sums up my experiences with the game. I ended up wandering round the city and doing side missions rather than following the main story. Most of the time I only got back onto the main missions when ran out of things to do and/or need to progress further into the game so that it'd unlock further upgrades for me to purchase.
I literally spent half an hour zig zagging the city in an Apache helicopter looking for the last two Webs of Intrigue in the city before going on to what I take to be the last last mission in the game.

So in the end I racked up a whopping 32 hours before I finished the game, just last night.

As opposed to Cole, who can go down very quickly under the attack of a few drug addicts and hobos with guns and makeshift melee weapons. Usually for Alex to die it'll take an entire fleet of gunship helicopters,a couple tanks and a few giant mutants. Yeah, what a fucking pussy that guy is... Oh yeah Cole can't climb a damn fence, Alex can.

As for Prototype's graphics, it's pretty clear Radical had performance,immersion and gameplay in mind rather than eyecandy. And they achieved what they set out for,because this game performs extremely well. When you're running around, at any second you can come accross hundreds upon hundreds of characters;dozens of vehicles;tons of particle effects;flying body parts etc etc'. There is no possible way(even with today's technology) this game would have been able to have high quality textures and character models while simultaneously handling a ridiculous amount of onscreen and keeping a consistantly rock-solid framrate.

Other than the awkward implementation of the power wheel, I've had no problems with the controls at all. In fact I think they're quite responsive and accessible. Maybe it's because I play alot of hack-n-slash,beat-em-up and fighting games, but it's very easy for me to pick up and play.

^ I don't want to get into a geek-war, but Cole McGrath isn't biologically enhanced and doesn't really have super-strength. He's basically an ordinary guy who can survive big falls and shoot electricity from his fingers.

Alex Mercer is meant to be this ultimate weapon, but the game rapes you constantly with Hunters and military attacks to the extent that half the time you don't even know where you're being hit from. My main point is that the whole thing is a bit schizophrenic.

You can say that Radical was going for performance and immersion and what have you, but the game is butt ugly in terms of its tech and its art direction. End of story.

Excellent review, Alex. I liked inFamous, but it's nowhere near as fun as this.

Perhaps you're not understanding what I said. This game was never going to look pretty. The graphics engine wasn't built to look pretty, it was built for the gameplay; to handle an insane amount onscreen action in an open-world setting, and to keep a consistent framerate in the process. It's really not a difficult concept to grasp. The tech is asking for a lot from the systems, it just has nothing to do with detailed textures or fancy water effects.

Just a bit of advice, btw. Saying "end of story" really doesn't help prove a point and it certainly doesn't make your opinion a fact.

..and some advice right back at you: I don't need to 'prove a point' when it comes to Prototype's visuals. I concede that visuals are hardly the most important aspect of a game, but Prototype is hideously ugly. End of story. It's art design is bland and uninteresting. End of story.

We can agree to disagree as to the merits of the gameplay, but it's an aesthetic nightmare no matter how many thousands of hideously-ugly cloned civilians are running around the place.

Just because the game wasn't built to look pretty doesn't mean that the poor presentation isn't a fault - and none of that has anything to do with the awful artistic direction. The boss in Times Square is one of the lamest, ugliest, least-impresive blobby enemies I have ever encountered. It's laughable.

Prototype is a pretty good game that's helping me pass the time before some really kickass stuff comes out, but I'll be selling it after I finish it. End of story.

I find it fascinating that people are hung up on how this looks. I've not found anything particularly ugly about it, or anything particularly stunning.

But it's what the engine allows that makes it fun. I was wrestlin' with one of those beasts on top of a skyscraper, only for the bastard to kick me off the side and continue punching me on the way down until I hit the floor hard with that wonderful crunch.

It's fluid.

The real gripe is the counterintuitive combat. Most attacks are more effective following a jump, simply because they seem restricted in range if used without. By default, an attack should at least lunge you at the targetted foe with a single button press, not a combination of the two. It ends up turning into a simple jump/kick-fest for best results against multiple foes, since you've no time to charge ranged attacks.

Which is a shame, since the movement is just so wonderful.

Spot On...hell, "Prototype"'s engine keeps fluid and frame rate drop free even when there's absolute chaos onscreen...any hive vs military battle would have made another engine collapse; its not pretty or awe inspiring in the looks department, but it fits the gameplay and the game's story/aesthethic, so why complain?

The arm blade's waaaaaay more powerful.

I can see this debate raging for quite a while, which is the best superhero sandbox game? I played Prototype at a friends. While, I have bought it, I want to finish Infamous first.

I played it very briefly, but I found Prototype, to be more of a beat em up hack slasher superhero game, and Infamous more of a superhero shooter.

Then why give me claws? Why bother with the option?

Because you build up to the arm blade. It's not immediately available.

The claws have a special attack that's pretty damn good and ranged.

I think clearly my problem is I haven't given the game enough of a chance to let the abilities fully upgrade and let the city become more zombiefied.

If you like action in your video games, I simply can't understand how you could not like this game. Good review, alex. The game deserves all the love and success it can garner. And it requires a sequel that isn't a quick cash in. Looking at you, activision.

Okay, I'm playing this and I have a question? Why is Alex Mercer trying so hard to find the people that DID THIS TO HIM? Is he going to bake them cookies or get them laid or just offer his eternal gratitude?

Because if due to an experiment I was suddenly able to run up buildings, glide through the air, punch tanks and fucking drop-kick helicopters, that's what I would have done.

Emo bitch.

I made that point earlier, apparantly the reason is that he's pissed people are trying to kill him.

Prototype makes me feel more like a supervillain but it's definitely the better sandbox game.

Without question. After Prototype, inFamous feels downright boring by comparison. The fact that you're encouraged to be a psychopath is a good thing.

The feud gets real. I guess we can put it to bed now.

inFamous feels downright refined after Prototype. Sure, you can do a million different crazy things in Prototype which are awesome in theory, but each of your abilities feels sloppy and haphazard. Ooh, I have claws and blades and whips and can impersonate people and *list goes on and on* but the missions are unimaginative to the point of absurdity and the sheen of the ultraviolence wears off quickly.

There's nothing engaging here; just a rabid, kitchen-sink, grab-bag assortment of violence and abilities with no thought as to progression or fun. Prototype is decent, short-lived fun in a 'screw around, hacking things up' kind of way, but it will be quickly forgotten about.

To me, it's like saying Transformers 2 is better than Terminator 2 (or that Terminator 2 is 'boring by comparison') simply because it has more action, more humour, better effects, etc. More does not equal better at all.

I liked inFamous, but I really don't find it any more refined than Prototype. There might be a higher volume of superfluous powers in Prototype, but the thing is this - you don't have to play through the fucking thing twice to see them all. Also, the core storyline in inFamous is just as dumb and hackneyed as the one in Prototype, so if you're playing either of these for the story, you lose. Ultraviolence might not be substantive, but it's still fun.

The Prototype events aren't all winners, but there wasn't a lot of repetition in Prototype's main missions. inFamous, on the other hand, had no less than ten slogs through nearly identical sewers, and that's not even getting into the repetitive side missions.

So what makes inFamous more refined?

Well, to answer your question:

-inFamous has tight, responsive controls which work just as you want them to. No fumbling around with awful lock-on mechanics, a spasmodic camera, unwieldy animations which fling you around, etc. inFamous just feels smoother and better to me.

-inFamous looks better and has a consistent art style. The city in Prototype is supposed to be New York, but reeks of studio backlot.

-inFamous has a hokey story, but at least it is delivered with style. The comic book panels are gorgeous and while the whole thing doesn't go anywhere special, at least you can follow it and go along with it. Prototype is just a shamozzle - flash frames and reams of boring exposition tired me out less than twenty minutes in. After that point, I just got bored. Neither game is a narrative triumph but I think inFamous beats it in this regard, hands down.

-inFamous is stripped down and lean. Prototype, as everyone acknowledges, is packed with redundant power ups and abilities which add little except clutter.

-inFamous has better side missions and shard hunting is actually fun. At least to me. I much prefer the side missions in inFamous to the random missions in Prototype which were completely lacking in context.

-the missions in Prototype are extremely repetitive. Everything is KILL, IMPERSONATE THEN KILL, HIJACK THEN KILL, etc. With an emphasis on 'kill'. InFamous is combat-heavy, but at least it has the tight, awesome platforming to break things up.

Look, inFamous is far from perfect, but Prototype felt rushed and messy to me. If not for the ultra-violence, it wouldn't be worth much. I liked the game better when it was called Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and had some personality.

The lock-on isn't always great, but I vastly preferred jetting around Prototype's world to hopping around for ledges.

It might have better textures, but if anything, inFamous' three islands and numerous sewers all look too similar. Consistent, yes, but I'm not sure what kind of mileage I'm getting out of that.

inFamous wins the special olympics.

I'm not sure how inFamous is lean - there certainly feels like there's less to do, and there are far fewer powers, but like I said - you have to play through what's essentially an identical game to see everything. That's not bloated?

I gave up on the shard hunting after the first island because the marginal utility of adding another blast core became too slight after you've already added a few. When you're hunting for 40 of these to add a single core, it becomes way more of a chore than it's worth. I didn't care for the platforming very much, either. There's a disconnect when you go from an open world battle into a rotating platform jumping puzzle.

And inFamous' side missions were the weakest part of the game.

I would say the animation, textures, physics, and collision dectection are all more refined on Infamous. Although, the side missions in Infamous are certainly repetitive. Probably the weakest part of the game.

Shard hunting is someting I'm much more confilicted about, in theory its a cool facet to the game, an interesting way to break up the gameplay from becoming too repetitive. And embracing it does make the game better, but on the second Island it starts becoming frustrating.

I haven't finished Infamous yet, but I couldn't help myself and I fired up Prototype, and I gotta say its simply a blast. After you see your man run up buildings, jumping from ledge to ledge to get to the top of one, seems a little clunky.

Why can't they just hire a real comic book writer to bang out a story for these games? Imagine how awesome it'd be if they got Warren Ellis to write one of the stories. Considering the budget of these games, I doubt cost is a factor.

Having an absolute blast playing Prototype. Like how the city is slowly descending into chaos as the days advance.

Good fun.

Rorschach?

Prototype is the Deal of the Day at Amazon, on sale for $39.98 for the console versions and $29.98 for the PC version.

Okay, I'm 50% through and I'm done with it. Although I love the movement through the city, the game really falls short on mission design. It's either a cakewalk that's over in thirty seconds or a half an hour grindfest of killing the same endlessly respawning enemies. If they fine tune their game design for the next one, it's really going to be something special.