Prototype has been in development for a number of years now. Every once in a while a gameplay video or some screenshots would find their way onto the internet, providing just enough fuel to the fires of anticipation for this game. For those unfamiliar with the game, Prototype is a free roaming sandbox type game set in post infection Manhattan. The city has been infected by a virus that, for lack of a better comparison, changes everyone into mindless attacking zombie like creatures. You control Alex Mercer, and infected human who, rather than become a mindless zombie type, has acquired shape shifting powers. You tear through the city fighting both military and infected in search of the truth about what has happened to you.

GRAPHICS 7/10

The graphics themselves are not very impressive at all. Many of the buildings have bland textures and others take a couple seconds to even show up onscreen. Graphics this bland are usually inexcusable in this gaming day and age, however, Prototype doesn’t really seem too hurt by this. While the graphics are bland, it is completely understandable due to the amount of chaos going on onscreen at any given time. Hundreds of infected, military, and monsters all run around causing havok at the same time. It is a bit disorienting to have so many characters on screen just running a muck.  The amount of action at any given moment is actually very impressive. With so much action, there is little time to really stop and nit pick the graphics.

STORY 8/10

The story is decent. There is nothing Oscar caliber about the writing, yet it is good enough to get the job done. What really works is the universe they have created for this game, which suits the main character and the surroundings perfectly.  There are a few plot twists in the game, but overall nothing spectacular.  The story is basically there to just give you a reason to run around ripping up the city, which is perfectly fine for this game.

GAMEPLAY 9/10

This is where Prototype really shines. The graphics are a bit ho hum and the story is decent, but all these elements do is set up the premise for you to run around causing mass destruction and chaos. Throughout the course of the game you acquire different powers and abilities. It is as if someone made a list of some of the coolest comic powers and found a way for a single character to utilize all of these powers. Alex can morph his body so that there are three razor sharp claws protruding from each hand (ala Wolverine) or he can increase his muscle mass to include huge fists to smash anything and everything (Hulk), or he can absorb people’s memories and knowledge and assume their appearance. These are just a few of the powers at your disposal in Prototype.  Nothing is cooler than leaping off a skyscraper to drop the people’s elbow on a tank below only to morph into your claw form and start slicing bodies in half.

Alex is not a super hero by any means, rather he is super powered. There are no morality choices in this game. It is simply destroy and kill on your way to the truth….and that’s it. It is just as much fun to run around destroying  and killing the crap out of everything as it is to follow the story missions. There is no shortage of new powers and abiliies. In fact by the game’s end you’ll most likely find that you have powers and moves that you haven’t even tried out yet.

The controls themselves are not exactly perfect and there are a few mapping issues as far as what buttons are assigned to what actions. Alex is not always as responsive as he needs to be when facing unrelenting armies of enemies where every movement and split second counts. However, there is no denying the fun in all of your gruesomely effective abilities.  Another major issue is the difficulty of the game, which ranges from ridiculously easy at times to unbearably cheap.  Sometimes you just spawn and the entire world is attacking you without giving you a chance to get to cover.  Not to mention the game doesn’t have the regenerating health that is often standard in video games nowadays. Instead you have to consume energy or people to repleneish your heatlh, which can prove to be quite difficult in the heat of battle.  Although it can seem really cheap at times, there is nothing you can’t handle without a good strategy and some quick reflexes.

REPLAYABILITY 7/10

The game does not have a multiplayer mode, therefore once you are done with the campaign there isn’t too much more the game offers, unless you are a completionist freak. The game starts with Easy mode and Normal mode. Hard mode is unlocked after completing one of the first two. There are numerous secret orbs and collectibles to be found around the city, however the search for these is often frustrating and I found myself only collecting things if they were accessible and in plain sight. I had no desire to go out exploring for more. There were rumors about a co-op mode being added to this game, which I think would be pretty awesome to rip ish up with a friend, however right now the game has nothing like that. Hopefully they will add this with a patch or something in the near future.

OVERALL 8/10

This is an awesome game. Could the graphics use more polish? definitely. Perhaps throw in a better story? of course. Is it still a blast to play? Hell yes. The beauty of this game is that you can pick up a controller and just go about decimating anything in your way. Friends, foes, neutrals, they can all be ripped apart just as easily. There is some relief in just being able to kill and destroy with reckless abandon. Most games have you kill enemies while avoiding harming the innocent bystanders. This game doesn’t care. Anyone and anything are fair game.  If you can see it, you can kill it.

I know the scores on this review are a bit low, but that is looking at each individual component. As a whole, the game works extremely well. There is a bit of repetition in some of the missions, but that is pretty common for sandbox games like this and it is nowhere near as repetitive as other sandbox games. I should have added another category for fun factor, which Prototype would get a 10/10. While it may seem a bit mindless, there is something exhilarating about running around causing mayhem with no regard for anything. Even better is being able to switch between different destructive powers on the fly in order to chosse the most destructive method for a given situation.

I know alot of people are comparing this game to inFAMOUS on the PS3. While both games feature a free roaming city environment with super charged main characters, the similarities end there. Infamous is a great game, although a bit PG. While not as pretty, Prototype is just no holds barred carnage. Sometimes the streets will be covered in red from all the blood being spilled on screen, which is just crazy to witness. Overall, Prototype is an awesome game that will definitely keep you occupied for as long as the campaign lasts. Its too bad it doesn’t have much more to offer beyond that.