Still a Prototype.
Radical gives us [Prototype]. Is it enough of an open world superhero game to get our nod?
Published: August 3, 2009
[Prototype] is every gamer's nightmare. It's not a particularly bad game, instead I would even go so far as to say that it's a good game, great at times, though mostly just good. The problem here: I expected [Prototype] to be amazing. Sadly, It's not.
You are Alex Mercer, an average dude who wakes up in his very own hellhole. It includes two X-Files-like-creepy-looking scientists in environmental suits and a cold metal table that hopefully few of us will ever experience waking up on. Yep, you guessed right: Alex wakes up in a morgue. He's supposed to be dead, and yet he manages to flee seconds before being cut open for the grand finale: his autopsy.
Sounds like an interesting premise doesn't it? The opening with its dark and brutal plot revolves around a conspiracy that involves the US government, Bourne-esque memory loss, and most importantly, Zombies. The game quickly turns into a complicated yet not very intelligent mess of a story. None of the characters are really interesting and the only thing that kept me watching the cut-scenes in between the missions was my infinite hope for a really cool story twist and my fascination for Radical's weird memory-flashback creations. You see, consuming an enemy (one of Alex's superpowers, or rather his most important ability) will trigger the aforementioned video clip which is supposed to help Alex understand the person's memories, knowledge etc. Yet the only thing that ever becomes clear to the player is the fact that none of the characters in the game seem to have even the faintest idea about what's going on and why Manhattan's inhabitants suddenly went ghoulish. Ah yes (minor spoiler!) there was something about a virus. But honestly, I didn't really care at any point in the game, and neither will you.
On the plus side the voice cast did a great job. Especially Barry Pepper (Flags of Our Fathers, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan) gives Alex Mercer such depth and dimension by simply using the tone of his voice to underline his words with meaning. But also the rest of the cast's voices fit perfectly onto their given roles. This results in a weird “I don't care, but I still want to watch” mentality that will help you get through most of the confusing and shallow story bits.
However the biggest problem with the plot is its presentation and the design choices around it. While the pre-rendered cut-scenes are really good, and even fantastic at times the overall construct and the way they appear between missions often doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The mission structure itself doesn't help: you often watch a story clip and then play a mission that barely stands in any context to what you just saw in the cut-scene. It too often seems as if there's a link missing that's supposed to explain the situation and the actions Alex commits. That's a huge problem if you have a game that is so focused on its single-player campaign.
Some contemporary side missions (that which contain their own story) would have helped convey virtual Manhattan's soul and heart to the player. Instead you get to compete against the time in a bunch of different challenges that Radical again doesn't bother to put into any context whatsoever. Aside from aforementioned challenges that include running from point A to point B within a given time frame, or killing as many marked enemies as possible within two minutes, you can search the island for 200 blue orbs and a few more red ones (I can't remember how many exactly...). It's like the 100 hidden packages in GTA only less interesting, unless you're obsessed with the trophy that you get for finding every single one. The poor building textures and lifelessness of the city does anything but help you feel immersed in the world.
Yes, the graphics are not that great. And yet they aren't horrible. Most of the superpowers even look pretty awesome (thanks to their animations of course). The game just has to deal with a lot of open world standard issues (like a massive amount of pop-in). However the frame rate does a good job of staying steady. Even in total chaos the game barely drops beneath its standard refresh rate. You can imagine what's going on when the military is busy fighting what feels like the entire city's infected population while you're trying to kill a dozen giant mutated super tentacles in the middle of Times Square.
You are Alex Mercer, an average dude who wakes up in his very own hellhole. It includes two X-Files-like-creepy-looking scientists in environmental suits and a cold metal table that hopefully few of us will ever experience waking up on. Yep, you guessed right: Alex wakes up in a morgue. He's supposed to be dead, and yet he manages to flee seconds before being cut open for the grand finale: his autopsy.
Sounds like an interesting premise doesn't it? The opening with its dark and brutal plot revolves around a conspiracy that involves the US government, Bourne-esque memory loss, and most importantly, Zombies. The game quickly turns into a complicated yet not very intelligent mess of a story. None of the characters are really interesting and the only thing that kept me watching the cut-scenes in between the missions was my infinite hope for a really cool story twist and my fascination for Radical's weird memory-flashback creations. You see, consuming an enemy (one of Alex's superpowers, or rather his most important ability) will trigger the aforementioned video clip which is supposed to help Alex understand the person's memories, knowledge etc. Yet the only thing that ever becomes clear to the player is the fact that none of the characters in the game seem to have even the faintest idea about what's going on and why Manhattan's inhabitants suddenly went ghoulish. Ah yes (minor spoiler!) there was something about a virus. But honestly, I didn't really care at any point in the game, and neither will you.
On the plus side the voice cast did a great job. Especially Barry Pepper (Flags of Our Fathers, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan) gives Alex Mercer such depth and dimension by simply using the tone of his voice to underline his words with meaning. But also the rest of the cast's voices fit perfectly onto their given roles. This results in a weird “I don't care, but I still want to watch” mentality that will help you get through most of the confusing and shallow story bits.
However the biggest problem with the plot is its presentation and the design choices around it. While the pre-rendered cut-scenes are really good, and even fantastic at times the overall construct and the way they appear between missions often doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The mission structure itself doesn't help: you often watch a story clip and then play a mission that barely stands in any context to what you just saw in the cut-scene. It too often seems as if there's a link missing that's supposed to explain the situation and the actions Alex commits. That's a huge problem if you have a game that is so focused on its single-player campaign.
Some contemporary side missions (that which contain their own story) would have helped convey virtual Manhattan's soul and heart to the player. Instead you get to compete against the time in a bunch of different challenges that Radical again doesn't bother to put into any context whatsoever. Aside from aforementioned challenges that include running from point A to point B within a given time frame, or killing as many marked enemies as possible within two minutes, you can search the island for 200 blue orbs and a few more red ones (I can't remember how many exactly...). It's like the 100 hidden packages in GTA only less interesting, unless you're obsessed with the trophy that you get for finding every single one. The poor building textures and lifelessness of the city does anything but help you feel immersed in the world.
Yes, the graphics are not that great. And yet they aren't horrible. Most of the superpowers even look pretty awesome (thanks to their animations of course). The game just has to deal with a lot of open world standard issues (like a massive amount of pop-in). However the frame rate does a good job of staying steady. Even in total chaos the game barely drops beneath its standard refresh rate. You can imagine what's going on when the military is busy fighting what feels like the entire city's infected population while you're trying to kill a dozen giant mutated super tentacles in the middle of Times Square.
