Surpasses the Sequel, But Not By Much
The story isn't original, the writing is lacklustre at times and the voice acting is passable, but nothing stands out in these areas of the game. What makes Prototype 2 worth playing are the controls that are easy to get the hang of and the stunning visuals that play out through the game. Building off of the original game, the game unlocks new weapons as you progress, but two of those can be mapped to one of the face buttons, but only two. You are granted several weapons but can only use two at any given time, which can be frustrating, especially if you are surprised by an attack and can't remember what controls you've mapped. Despite this, the controls are easy and the game does assist you with button presses onscreen at various points of action.
The visuals are truly phenomenal. The cut scenes are comprised of black, white and red and make for a stark contrast to the rest of the Prototype world. Unlike in the first game, the levels of the virus affecting the world are not displayed as the game progresses, but instead are depicted by three different zones the player visits. Each zone grows increasingly more challenging, but the God-like powers that Heller possesses make it impossible for any to truly stand against him. While the enemies also grow increasingly harder, with a simple dodge or block, the gamer can debilitate them quickly. In some ways, it made the game easy.
I'd like to say this game was great, but it wasn't. And for $80, I got the collector's edition; it might not have been worth the extra cash. I have to say, if you did get the collector's edition, the packaging is really quite nice, and while I love having a statue or something else, they give you a 20% of coupon for their online store which is decent.
I have to say I enjoyed playing this game. I wasn't a fan of the first game, mostly because I found Mercer to be deplorable. But having Heller be victimised and then avenging his family gave the story something more to work with, but it still wasn't much. When you play a game like Prototype, you play it for its mindlessness, and that is the best I can say about it. It was good mindless fun, and sometimes that's all you need while playing a game.