Friday, June 19, 2009

Prototype Review: Helicopter Kicking Awesomeness

prototype_boxartSo I just finished Prototype and boy is it a lot of fun. So Radical Entertainment (A Canadian Game Developer Company - Represent!) has finally completed their game and it was on store shelves on June 9, 2009 on the PC, PS3 and the Xbox 360. Published by Activision this game had a lot of hype going around it before the release and many people thought it probably wouldn't have lived up to the hype. But let me tell you know, that it did.



Story:

You play as Alex Mercer, who wakes up in a morgue an has ammesia, who has the military hunting him, and a dangerous virus has broken out across New York City. You are always against 2 sides, the infected and military and you have to always have to fend yourself from both sides. It gets hectic at times but thanks to the overwhelming amount of skills you can pull off, it isn't that bad. The story isn't that much, but it's got a nice twist at the end.

Prototype - Alex Mercer

Web of Intrigues:

Because the goal of the game is to regain your memories you have absorb people to get their memories and when you do the game plays a seizure giving video that lasts about 30 seconds about some random event that may or may not relate to you depending when acquire that memory. At the end they all fit together as a giant puzzle but when you watch the at first it's hard to know how it actually ties in.

Gameplay:

Gameplay is amazing. Radical Entertainment used the Titanium engine that was used in the Incredible Hulk game (Which apparently, wasn't so bad) and they made some serious modifcations to it. To sum up the gameplay, it's kind of like Grand Theft Auto 4, mixed with Spider-man: Web of Shadows. Another words, Niko Bellic with super powers.

Combat:

There are WAY too many moves for you to learn, and the more you upgrade the more ridiculous it gets.

20090619You have 5 different weapons you can use (6 if you count bare fist), which they ALL have distinctive moves that you can pull off. ON TOP OF that there are a shit load of other moves that you can do with different kinds of dives, shockwaves, throws, grabs, it just goes on. You can unlock devastator moves that take out a city block's worth of people. AND ON TOP OF THAT, you can take pick up weapons from the military like rocket launchers, rifles, grenade launchers, and more. THEN you can take control of the vehicles that the military uses, different types of tanks and helicopters. You also ask for an air strike to bomb a target. With so many skills it gets confusing to pull them off sometimes because there are just so many different combinations you can and most of them require you to hold down 2 buttons.

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Here's a VERY short list of things you can use to kill someone:

- Arm Blade

- Hammer Arms

- Body Armor

- Tank

- Helicopter

- Absorbtion

- Body Surf

The only problem I had was the clunky wheel system that was used for selecting the different abilities. Gameplay slows down, almost like pausing the game and you have select which ability you wanted to used. Every time the mission started, you'd have to set up which abilities to use again. Also you can only select one at a time, so if you wanted to pull out the blade and the armor, for example, you'd have to go into that wheel system twice. It's nothing big but it takes the pacing out of game. But with so many abilities you can pull off you feel more like a super being than in most superhero games.

Travelling:

You would think that running around the city going to each mission starting postion would become a chore to do after awhile right? Not in Prototype, the free running is smooth and the gliding mechanism was implemented really nicely. You'll never get tired of skyscraper hopping and of course there is always upgrades you can acquire to makes things easier. Of course if you want to arrive in style there is always other forms as well, like using the helicopter and the tank.

Difficulty:

So the game doesn't really have that much depth to it, you just go to your mission start location, go to your mission, do it and repeat. The game itself isn't really that hard to beat if you just grind up enough money to buy all the upgrades as they come out. But on hard mode it gets pretty hard though. The pacing of them game is really quick, you are constantly under attack and you have watch out for senors that can call on helicopters and an army against you, so if you want to stay alive, you'll have to retreat, A LOT. It takes away from the fun and madness a times, but if you do don't do it correctly, you'll find yourself repeating stages of the missions, a lot.

Replay Value:

After beating the game I didn't really want to start again but I did however want to continue in Free Roam mode and just beat the crap out of everyone I see and cause as much destruction as I can. Its surprising really fun and it really does satisfy the murderer within me. On top of that there is always all the mini-games you can complete as well, they can get addictive thanks to a medal system and the rewards for completing them are always appreciated.

Presentation:

Looks:

The cut scences look really nice and the memory flashbacks are seizure giving but acceptable. The character  models in the game are are that great compared to other games and there isn't a lot of variation between most of the units. However, the enviorment does look a lot like New York City, with a few noticable landmarks (Empire State building and others) but I did notice a lot of repeating building. Over all the graphics do lack a little but the gameplay makes up for it big time. Also there's is A LOT of blood.

prototype-game-screenshot-big

Sounds:

The dubbing was done pretty nicely and it overall I didn't have a problem with the sound. The alarm sound gets repeative because you are always in combat but it's nice.

Conclusion:

Likes:

- So many skills to learn

- Everything is a weapon

- Sick moves you can pull off

Dislikes:

- Wheel system to select abilities

- Complex controls

- Lack of building environments

There are a lot of things you can pick at about this game, but none of them really take away from FUN element from the player. If you are looking for a game to play after a long day work, Prototype is your game because you can literally beat the shit out of everything in the game. And you have so many superpowers that move of them feel like overkill.

3 comments:

  1. Awesome review! You should check-out this gameplay video as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtTZFpbBSY. The way they mix the game with a real parkour runner is pretty cool.

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  2. I gotta FULLY agree with my friend above the game is AWSOME!! i am playing it on my XPS 720 H2C (Liquid Cooled) Quad Extreme & its bloody amazing!! i aggree there is too many repeat zombies as in in a area they may be 25 of the same people walking around with the same clothes & same face! also there is too many of the same cars/vans BUT out of 10 it would deffo get a 9.! it would be nice to think they would consider a number 2 in the coming year or so! but have more story!

    I also did try to land a helicopter on that bloody Warship!! LOOOL shot down!!! gutted!!! lol

    i liked the fact you can hyjack tanks/heli's too!! make the game exciting! its a REAL shame we couldnt go accross any of the bridges thou!! as soon as you try to cross them your shot to bits by a super dooper set of rockets which you CANNOT avoid! so dont waste your time trying !!!!

    I think at times there is WAY too many monsters!! it kinda becomes tiring!!

    Anyway email me if you want anymore info!! im about 75% into it!!! I cant wait to see the TWIST at the end!!! Thanks " annson"

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  3. i watch my bf play this game alot. and i actually played t. i think its pretty amazing. and if i had those powers. ha! id have fun. XD people who dont no if they should buy it, they should. its great. you'll loe it. (:

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