While both similar and different from inFamous, Prototype is a fun, dark, and satisfying game in its own right
Okay, I will talk about one of the main points of concern here, and that is the graphics. Honestly, they aren't bad, but compared to other big name titles, they aren't the best. Overall, I am satisfied with them as a whole. Alex is a pretty cool character who animates well, and has hundreds of different moves, both standard and combinations. As for the enemies and civilians, they are good, but not great. The civilians are limited to sitting down, walking, running (which they are very good at doing...cowards), and staring off into never land. The enemies who fight back have solid animations, including running, ducking, jumping over obsticles, and more. Alex still wins, however. The envionment itself is good looking, but not that interactive compared to most other sandbox titles. I do admit, having hundreds of civilians and countless enemies on screen is very cool sight to behold, and out of my 11 hours of playing, among all the comotion going on screen, the framerate never dropped. Impressive. The downsides are that some textures are drab, blurry, and downright ugly, some clipping occurs, and minimal pop in shows up. But they don't show too much, and don't hurt the experience, at least not for me. Now for the main difference between inFamous and Prototype is this: blood and carnage. Prototype is probably the most graphic game I have ever seen besides a game back a few years ago called Nanobreaker. Every attack brings blood out of a character, and by the time you are done with someone, there is usually a puddle and a very decapitated corpse. Some of the later powers even triple the violence, so for those who are squemish, stay far away from this one.
The sound is great, and I really have no complaints here. Alex sounds like a typical anti-hero, and that spells killer all over him. The attacks and explosions are all loud, and the voice chatter is equally as good. You actually can hear every voice, engine, horn, gunshot, curse, scream, and yell. Nice. Speaking of curses, Prototype uses every one known to man in here, multiple times over. The language in this game is just as over the top as the violence. While it doesn't bother me, some may be appauled by it.
Ah, the main selling point for this game, the gameplay. I will say this before everything else: the first 15 minutes of the game had more action than most of the entire games I have played in the past, and actually gave you a very good taste of what to expect from the game. Never before have I felt like such a powerful character in a game. Alex, at least from the common enemies, is near invincable, and can take many hits. As for the stronger ones, they can really punish you if you aren't paying attention. All of Alex's powers are great, and one never feels boring or usless. My favorite would probably be the claws, just because it makes me feel like Wolverine on crack and speed. And all your attacks are upgradable, and you can even add on abilities, like flying, air-dashing and douple air dashing, running and grabbing and running and throwing objects, having a shield, and much more. You actually feel like an ever progressing weapon, and that is a hard task for most games to accomplish. Now, some may think, well with all that power, doesn't that make the game super easy? Well yes and no. Prototype throws different enemies at you and you have to figure out what works best against that particular one. Then there are the missions that throw hundreds of enemies at you to keep you on your toes the whole duration of the mission. Oh, and the game is very fast paced, even when free roaming, guards and enemies can jump you, and its an all out chaotic battle for survival. As I pointed out earlier, there are hundreds of moves and combos to do, and that is what keeps this game fresh. For being a brawler/shooter, this is key, and Prototype delivers. The enemies get smart as you become stronger, and send more soldiers, and reinforcements, and use better tactics to try and put Alex six feet under. When you aren't doing missions, there are challenges to do, landmark tokens to find, and hint spheres to collect, each netting you generious EP, or Evolution Points. As for the Web of Intrigue, or gathering of Alex's memery though devouring certain soldiers, and enemies, it works well, and is a very neat and unique twist on unlocking the backend of the story.
Overall, Prototype is a very unique game, and one that makes you feel like a very powerful anti-hero. With great gameplay and a cool story, this is a game that actions fans will love, while releasing their inner daker and evil side. The game is fun, stays fun, and has a decent challenge often to keep you on edge. While it isn't perfect, which no game is, it is fun, and that is why you play a game. Fans who have been devouring ( sorry for the pun) every little detail, this game actually delivers on most levels of the hype-o-meter. Lets just hope Activision and Radical keeps this franchise up and running ( sorry for the puns).