Game review: Prototype 

Source: GamefreaksPrototype

Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Publisher: Activision

Vancouver based developers Radical Entertainment are no strangers to creating titles involving citywide mayhem. In 2005 they created Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and while there's not much in the way of similarity between the Hulk and the anti-hero in their newest non-linear action title Prototype, the practise they got from developing a title involving more than a little mass destruction has certainly paid off in spades!

Unfortunately, due to a less than perfect development timeline, the release date of Prototype has coincided with a title that everyone seems hell bent on comparing it with; it would be silly of us not to mention there are certainly some similarities between Prototype and PS3 exclusive title InFamous but that doesn't mean Prototype doesn't stand tall on its own. Far from it in fact; once we'd had a play with the two games we found ourselves leaning much more on the side of Radical's destructive offering.

The city of New York has been infected by a super-virus (the sort of virus that bends swine flu over its knee and gives it a thwacking with a stick before sending it outside to play with its friends) and your humble anti-hero, Alex Mercer, has been given a pretty serious dose which has turned him into one pretty mean and nasty sort of chap.

A short tutorial helps you get to your feet and learn what's expected of you but before you know it you find yourself on your own. As you play you'll unlock new abilities and grow in power which will in turn open up more destructive capabilities.

One of the things we didn't like about the other game we mentioned earlier is that as you play you're given banal choices between being good and evil: "Defuse the bomb and you're good, do nothing and you're an evil blowing-people-up-son-of-a-bitch". There's none of that false morality in Prototype. You just destroy, and it feels good.

Alex soon discovers that he can consume the energy of every living thing around him, and in fact brutally murdering civilians and sucking their life-force is the only way you'll progress; this life-force doesn't just give you power, it gives you that person's memories and abilities too.

Moving around the city is a joy. The camera is very smooth and allows your movements to be unhindered and extremely fun, and often you'll just feel like playing around instead of completing missions (another thing you don't really get in InFamous), leaping between buildings, throwing vehicles around and generally just enjoying your new-found superpowers.

Our only real gripe with Prototype is in its length. You'll easily be able to play through the main story in a day or two if you're dedicated. Having said that there's a large number of side-missions and if you're hell-bent on achieving 100% completion you're in for a long ride.

Minor problems such as these aside, we found Prototype to stack up against InFamous very well indeed. Some other slight niggles include the lack of a compelling story and some tricky boss fights but overall it's a solid, beautiful, smoothly flowing game which will have you hooked for quite some time.

Synopsis: Decent gameplay with plenty of mayhem and destruction to be had, Prototype's lack of a believeable story and some frustrating achievement woes will do little to stop you from having a huge amount of fun.

This review brought to you by Gamefreaks .