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- Jan 2, 2007
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Hey, I'm back with another review! From here on out, I'm going to divide the review into sections, like GameSpot used to do or GameTrailers does now. I feel its a bit more organized. Take the poll and share your opinion.
Note: The version of the game I reviewed was the PC version, however it also is available for the PS3 and X-Box 360.
Story
Activision's Prototype is a new sandbox action game in which you play Alex Mercer, a man infected with a virus known as "BlackLight," a military experiment. In the past, BlackLight was only tested on women, where the virus incubated and eventually spread and spawned strange demons. Alex Mercer, considered a terrorist and the #1 most wanted, is the first male carrier of black light and is codenamed "Zeus." After being presumed dead, he awakens to find an elite military group is on his tail and a BlackLight queen has begun to infest New york City, causing a struggle between the infected and the military - with Alex caught in the middle while trying to get to the bottom of the military conspiracy and the cause for his mutation.
The story is at times interesting, at others it feels derivative. The biggest problem is while there's a lot of interesting stuff going on, there simply aren't any interesting characters. Alex has almost no personality other than "I want revenge!" His sister is a hacker with no background or personality, and even the two villains - Elizabeth Green and Stock Military General aren't all that memorable. Elizabeth Green had something going for her, but she's used so rarely that she doesn't seem all that menacing, and she should be considering she is the queen and the backbone of the devastating virus. There's some cool stuff going on, but the characters are uninteresting and so it makes it hard to get as immersed in the plot as you would want to. Story gets a 7
Graphics and Audio
Prototype visually isn't anything spectacular, but its not bad looking. The biggest problem visually is the character models, even the ones that speak seem flattened and have limited facial expressions, and the models on the civilians are cheap and poorly textured, although in fairness, they all animate well. Most of the world textures are good, but they will be going by so fast you won't really care. The special effects are the highlight of the visuals, and everything from slicing people down the middle to taking their skin and dissolving their bone is a nice, brutal touch, and the animations on Mercer's polymorphic weapons are slick and well detailed. The music is dynamic and will fit the pace of the game, but this is standard, but the music itself is fairly intense, and it pays compliment to the terrific sound effects full of booming, grunting, bullets flying, squishy dead bodies, and much much more. Everything sounds great. The only place where the audio truly fails is with the stiff voice acting from the story cinematics. Strange to think that the mini-cutscenes are better acted than the main story line. The game will run perfectly on most modern computers, and even on slightly older computers it should run smooth even if you have to turn down the detail.
Overall, the presentation gets a 8.5
Gameplay
As with any game, this is the most important aspect. Prototype pulls off the gameplay with finesse. The controls are smooth and makes use of the keyboards many buttons (You can use a 360 controller, but it makes it harder to play this way.) and you'll be using your massive repertoire of moves quickly and easily. The gameplay never slows down unless you want it to, otherwise the game is always fast paced, fierce, and most importantly FUN. In fact, I can safely say that I have had more fun with Prototype than any game released this year so far. There are tons and tons of moves that Alex can pull off, and as he continues through missions, side quests, challenges, and "take backs" he will gain experience. The aforementioned take backs are side quests in which you have to take back a heavily militarized area or a heavily infected area. Military areas rely on stealth more and require you to pick off guards, and you even get a healthy bonus for taking out all the soldiers stationed inside a military base. The stealth elements are a little easy, but its still satisfying to sneak up on someone and instantly drain their life force and then take their skin and use it as a disguise. Infected areas are tougher and more action based, and will require you to take out the hive in the center of town, which is easier said than done because you will be fighting tough infected monsters and zombies as well as the military.
You use experience gained from doing these things to buy upgrades, some that up Mercers stats and others that give him new moves and weapons. There is a huge list of moves and new polymorphic weapons, that get more and more brutal and more and more satisfying each time. It also adds a layer of strategy, because each enemy reacts differently to each weapon, and you need to choose wisely if you want to dispose of your foes quickly.
There is also a unique function called the "Web of intrigue," which allows you to steal the memories of certain targets which reveals more and more of the games story, and these are the few parts that actually get you interested in the plot.
Even when there is no action, the smooth controls make it fun just to dash around the city, fly, and leap from building to building. Prototype is just plain fun. I said it once, and I'll say it again: I've had more fun with prototype than any game this year so far. I award the gameplay a 9.5
Overall
Get Prototype. Get it now. If you want a brutal, cathartic, fun, and unique twist on the sandbox genre, Prototype is the game for you. It has flaws in many ways, but the gameplay is way to fun and enjoyable to really care about those flaws.
I give Prototype a 9.3 out of 10 and two thumbs up. :thumbup:
Note: The version of the game I reviewed was the PC version, however it also is available for the PS3 and X-Box 360.
Story
Activision's Prototype is a new sandbox action game in which you play Alex Mercer, a man infected with a virus known as "BlackLight," a military experiment. In the past, BlackLight was only tested on women, where the virus incubated and eventually spread and spawned strange demons. Alex Mercer, considered a terrorist and the #1 most wanted, is the first male carrier of black light and is codenamed "Zeus." After being presumed dead, he awakens to find an elite military group is on his tail and a BlackLight queen has begun to infest New york City, causing a struggle between the infected and the military - with Alex caught in the middle while trying to get to the bottom of the military conspiracy and the cause for his mutation.
The story is at times interesting, at others it feels derivative. The biggest problem is while there's a lot of interesting stuff going on, there simply aren't any interesting characters. Alex has almost no personality other than "I want revenge!" His sister is a hacker with no background or personality, and even the two villains - Elizabeth Green and Stock Military General aren't all that memorable. Elizabeth Green had something going for her, but she's used so rarely that she doesn't seem all that menacing, and she should be considering she is the queen and the backbone of the devastating virus. There's some cool stuff going on, but the characters are uninteresting and so it makes it hard to get as immersed in the plot as you would want to. Story gets a 7
Graphics and Audio
Prototype visually isn't anything spectacular, but its not bad looking. The biggest problem visually is the character models, even the ones that speak seem flattened and have limited facial expressions, and the models on the civilians are cheap and poorly textured, although in fairness, they all animate well. Most of the world textures are good, but they will be going by so fast you won't really care. The special effects are the highlight of the visuals, and everything from slicing people down the middle to taking their skin and dissolving their bone is a nice, brutal touch, and the animations on Mercer's polymorphic weapons are slick and well detailed. The music is dynamic and will fit the pace of the game, but this is standard, but the music itself is fairly intense, and it pays compliment to the terrific sound effects full of booming, grunting, bullets flying, squishy dead bodies, and much much more. Everything sounds great. The only place where the audio truly fails is with the stiff voice acting from the story cinematics. Strange to think that the mini-cutscenes are better acted than the main story line. The game will run perfectly on most modern computers, and even on slightly older computers it should run smooth even if you have to turn down the detail.
Overall, the presentation gets a 8.5
Gameplay
As with any game, this is the most important aspect. Prototype pulls off the gameplay with finesse. The controls are smooth and makes use of the keyboards many buttons (You can use a 360 controller, but it makes it harder to play this way.) and you'll be using your massive repertoire of moves quickly and easily. The gameplay never slows down unless you want it to, otherwise the game is always fast paced, fierce, and most importantly FUN. In fact, I can safely say that I have had more fun with Prototype than any game released this year so far. There are tons and tons of moves that Alex can pull off, and as he continues through missions, side quests, challenges, and "take backs" he will gain experience. The aforementioned take backs are side quests in which you have to take back a heavily militarized area or a heavily infected area. Military areas rely on stealth more and require you to pick off guards, and you even get a healthy bonus for taking out all the soldiers stationed inside a military base. The stealth elements are a little easy, but its still satisfying to sneak up on someone and instantly drain their life force and then take their skin and use it as a disguise. Infected areas are tougher and more action based, and will require you to take out the hive in the center of town, which is easier said than done because you will be fighting tough infected monsters and zombies as well as the military.
You use experience gained from doing these things to buy upgrades, some that up Mercers stats and others that give him new moves and weapons. There is a huge list of moves and new polymorphic weapons, that get more and more brutal and more and more satisfying each time. It also adds a layer of strategy, because each enemy reacts differently to each weapon, and you need to choose wisely if you want to dispose of your foes quickly.
There is also a unique function called the "Web of intrigue," which allows you to steal the memories of certain targets which reveals more and more of the games story, and these are the few parts that actually get you interested in the plot.
Even when there is no action, the smooth controls make it fun just to dash around the city, fly, and leap from building to building. Prototype is just plain fun. I said it once, and I'll say it again: I've had more fun with prototype than any game this year so far. I award the gameplay a 9.5
Overall
Get Prototype. Get it now. If you want a brutal, cathartic, fun, and unique twist on the sandbox genre, Prototype is the game for you. It has flaws in many ways, but the gameplay is way to fun and enjoyable to really care about those flaws.
I give Prototype a 9.3 out of 10 and two thumbs up. :thumbup:
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