Prototype 2 is an amazing game, but does it live up to its predecessor?
Set in the future after the original outbreak is 'contained' a second outbreak occurs that leaves NYC in another epidemic state. You take charge of Sgt. Heller who is driven by one thing, the murder of his wife and daughter. He blames Mercer for the events but as the story unfolds the web gets considerably more tangled.
The thing that kept me amused about the story was not the concept of a heart-wrenching story of his loss. It was about his blood-lust for revenge of any and all people who were responsible. This is shown in a positive way by the amount of people that you will consume, and is furthered by some of the features such as the Blackbox collectibles around the city. The collectibles in particular give the player an insight on how monstrous Blackwatch truly can be. The negative aspect is the way that Heller presents himself in most of the dialogue. Swearing is appropriate in some occasions, but dropping the F-Bomb more than you use the Bio-Bomb Butt kicker move is not needed.
The game play is very reminiscent of Prototype. Heller is nearly indestructible, has loads of powers' and is not afraid to show off what they can do. The new additions to the game make for some interesting experiences. The two most noticeable differences show up fairly early in the game. The ability to use two offensive powers at the same time makes for a lot of fun allowing for a more diverse and faster-paced method of dealing with different enemies. The other very cool and well thought out idea was to allow Heller to do different things to vehicles, the neatest of which is removing their weapons for your own personal use.There is something very rewarding about removing a rocket launcher from an APC and politely returning fire.
Not all of the game play aspects were welcome. Sure the powers got better but one of the issues that became more apparently to me were the more subtle abilities. Locomotion is a driving factor (forgive the pun) in this game and something was severely missing. It seems to be in the attempt to make things simpler for movement. The ability to run and jump based on how long you held the A button in the original made movement far more useful and entertaining. It allowed for the ability to jump a variety of heights that made running and chasing easier. This is not the case in Prototype 2 instead the ability to jump has been limited to either full on jump or no to barely jump at all. The same goes with the Air Dash and Gliding abilities. The controls fumble around and often make it more difficult to choose which you want to do first.
There are some other notable details in the game that did not fit in the presentation or game play aspects, so I have saved them for last. The graphics seem a little sketchy. Certain parts of the game I found looked amazing such as the new look for the Brawlers and other infected creatures, which other aspects were the same. The landscapes still feel fairly repetitive and bland, however, in a city filled with destruction its hard to see anything past gray dust and fires (so take that complaint with a grain of salt).
Overall Prototype 2 is still an excellent title and if you're a fan of the original its a definite must. Short of a few flaws I only saw it fit to have a ,5 less than the original. Enjoy the destruction and the consumption.