Prototype

[Fiach]

read two good 9/10 and 8/10 reviews on Prototype, yes its bloody and also be aware, you play a bad guy, you kill innocents as well as the regular bad guys, just in case that makes a difference, in inFamous, you get a choice of good or bad, I dont think thats the case in proto.

There is a skill you can get to disguise yourself, then point at an innocent bystander and shout "THATS HIM!!!" and the bad guys all attack that person you pointed at :)

[Art Blade]

that sounds fun :) I think I remember previews about proto where they said you could hijack a heli (rip out the pilot and fly away in his seat) and other vehicles... mmmmmh :)

[spaceboy]

Prototype definitely looks like pure destructive fun.  I must admit while playing the Hero on inFamous, I'm looking forward to being evil in my next playthrough.

That heli-jack sounds wicked.

[Fiach]

Yeah its very RPG-like, you level up and get new skills from what I understand.

With regard to vehicles, if you "consume" a person with certain vehicle skills, you can aquire their skills, eg. kill a pilot and you can fly etc.

There is also another very interesting mechanic in the game. If you "consume" certain people, their back story is revealed as a video and their relevance to the man storyline.

I get the impression that there is a "web" or "line" with "nodes" on it and as each "node" is filled, it builds up towards completing the storyline. Not sure if that makes sense, but it seems like a pretty novel way to tell the story.

[Art Blade]

you're giving me ideas... eat the city, game over  ;D

[Fiach]

EDITED.

sorry had a brain fart  ;)

[Fiach]

Went to the shop today to buy Prototype, great price too 49.99€ ...... turned around instead and went home and played Sacred 2 .... gawd that game is addictive  :'(

[Fiach]

After reading alot of player reviews of Prototype, I think I'll give it a miss, apparently it has huge frustrating difficulty spikes after a few hours of fun.

Maybe pick it up for 20 bucks later in its shelf life. See what the fuss is all about :)

[Art Blade]

Friend of mine said about the same, something along the line "I don't see the fun in it. All you do is shoot stuff up, violent but pointless." LOL

[JRD]

A review from gamespot.com.
long read , I know, but worth it if you are interested in this title
Got an 8,5/10... same as FC2 did.
Sounds promissing, maybe spaceboy could grab a demo or something when he's done with inFamous and write us a review  ;)

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Manhattan Island has suffered all manner of fates in movies over the years. It was attacked by monsters in Godzilla and Cloverfield, hit by tsunamis in The Day After Tomorrow and Deep Impact, and targeted by aliens in Independence Day and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. But though I am Legend comes close, the New York borough has never before been subjected to a disaster quite like that depicted in Prototype. In this fast-paced open-world action game, the military is doing what it can to contain a viral outbreak that's turning the island's population into mutants. As amnesiac Alex Mercer, who's trying to figure out what's going on, you spend much of your time caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, what Mercer lacks in memories he more than makes up for in agility and superpowers, and as a result, he's an incredibly fun character to play as in a game that also counts an intriguing story, varied missions, and some memorable boss battles among its features.
At the outset, Mercer is a much easier character to control than he is to understand. Making giant leaps, gliding through the air, and even running up the sides of skyscrapers are effortless actions. You could probably make it from one end of Manhattan to the other in a straight line using nothing more than the sprint button if you really wanted to, since it's the only one you need to scale buildings, barge through crowds, and overcome obstacles like cars and rooftop air-conditioning units parkour-style. No fall will ever hurt you, no obstacle is impassable, and there are very few enemies who can keep up with you when you're at full clip. Combat is also relatively simple early on, but as you progress and learn more about who and what Mercer is, his repertoire of moves grows exponentially until remembering which button combinations trigger which moves in which of his five forms becomes something of a challenge. You certainly don't need to remember how to use every single move you unlock with evolution points, which are earned by doing just about anything, but it's unfortunate that even after picking favorites you might find yourself having to hold down up to three buttons (a trigger and two opposing face buttons) simultaneously to perform them.

Regardless, combat in Prototype is a blast. Using a slick radial menu that slows down the game any time you call it up, you can shape-shift into different forms that morph your arms into blades, a whip, and hammerlike fists. You also have the option to use more conventional weapons dropped by enemies and, eventually, to hijack tanks and helicopter gunships. The latter are especially fun, because you can use a whiplike arm to latch onto them in midair--even while falling from another helicopter that you've been shot down in. One benefit of having all of these options available to you, as well as the ability to disguise yourself as any human character that you "consume" (read: absorb) to regain health, is that many of the already-varied story missions (as well as a couple of the boss fights) can be approached in a number of different ways. For example, if you need to destroy an item inside a military base, you could attempt it in one of the aforementioned vehicles, walk right in there and set about killing or consuming everything that moves, stand on a nearby rooftop and throw things, or even disguise yourself as a soldier and distract the real military by pointing at a nearby character and declaring that he's the enemy. As a soldier look-alike you can even call in airstrikes from your unsuspecting comrades, but you get only a very limited number of these. Some missions, and almost all of the optional challenges scattered across the island, force you to play a certain way, but for the most part you're free to use the environment and everything in it however you see fit.

It's almost impossible to play Prototype without feeling like Mercer is an overpowered character at some point, but any time you start getting too comfortable, there's a good chance the game is about to change things up on you. To give specific examples would be to risk spoiling the game's story for you, but suffice it to say that new enemies and hazards are introduced, moves you've come to rely on might not always be available or effective, and as time passes, Manhattan becomes an increasingly perilous place to be. The difficulty curve is nigh on perfect, and the fact that you're continuously adding new moves to your arsenal to combat new dangers helps keep the gameplay from getting repetitive.

The same can't be said for the scenery unfortunately. Save for a handful of landmarks like Central Park and Times Square, much of Prototype's Manhattan starts to look the same after a while, and because the whole island is yours to explore from the get-go, it never changes. With that said, moving around the island is so much fun as Mercer that you inevitably end up exploring anyway, and there are 200 glowing orbs to find around the city to encourage you to do so. There are a number of other things to do outside of story missions as well. Optional timed and score challenges include checkpoint runs across rooftops, battles in which you must remain disguised as a soldier and use only conventional weapons, gliding toward targets and trying to land in the center, helicopter strafing runs, and more.

Perhaps the most interesting challenges are those in which you have a time limit to consume a number of highlighted pedestrians in different areas of the city. These pedestrians, of whom there are more than 130 to find both during challenges and during regular play, are special because they each have some knowledge of what's going on in Manhattan, and when you consume them, you're treated to a brief montage of their relevant memories. Few of these contain much information individually, but they're slickly presented, and unlocking a large number of them adds an extra, dark layer to the occasionally predictable story that's well worth the effort. Similarly, if you choose to infiltrate military bases and consume specialist soldiers inside, you can learn abilities from them (how to fly a helicopter, for example) or improve your effectiveness with guns. Prototype's core story missions can be beaten in less than 10 hours, but you can comfortably double that number on your first play-through if you're not in a rush and take the time to check out all of the optional extras.

If those extras include the aforementioned military bases, you'll find that Prototype's camera definitely isn't at its best when Mercer steps inside a relatively small, confined space. It occasionally has trouble keeping up with the action outside too, but it's rarely detrimental to gameplay and you can always pan it down yourself after running up the side of a building if you want to make sure you land on the roof, for example. Furthermore, there's a lock-on targeting system that will keep enemies in view at all times, which is especially useful during boss fights. It can w@&k against you on occasion, though, because on a street crowded with civilians, zombielike infected, and abandoned taxicabs, hitting the lock-on button will almost always default to one of the cabs, or a bench, or a chunk of concrete, or some other inanimate object. That's great if you're looking for something to throw at a troublesome helicopter, but less helpful if you have almost no health left and desperately need to consume some folks.

There's at least one achievement to unlock that discourages targeting innocent civilians, incidentally, but Mercer isn't a character who shows any remorse as he tears up Manhattan and is a danger to anyone and anything that's living. And make no mistake: Prototype is a truly brutal game when Mercer is on the warpath. Enemies will be cut in half horizontally, torn in half vertically, have holes punched clean through them, and be decapitated, skewered, and even used as projectiles. And all the while, there's a plentiful (though not overly excessive) supply of blood spilling onto the streets. These particularly gruesome kills are accompanied by sound effects that do a decent job of letting you know exactly when an enemy's flesh is being compromised, and screams from the crowd and radio chatter from the military do an excellent job of reminding you that the trouble in Manhattan isn't always at Mercer's location. Mutants and the military can be played off each other on occasion, and a quick look at the city map makes it easy for you to identify which neighborhoods are controlled by which group and which are contested.

Frequently, battles that you're not directly involved in can be seen playing out as you negotiate the rooftops above, as can large crowds of fleeing civilians and mutants shambling toward their prey. Prototype isn't a game in which any one visual element is remarkable, but it looks good, and it's impressive that the frame rate holds up even when the number of characters and the amount of action onscreen border on insane. Furthermore, Mercer is brilliantly animated, which makes the parkour, the combat, the shape-shifting, and especially the gliding between rooftops all the more satisfying.

That's a word that can be used to describe almost every aspect of Prototype, and although there's no multiplayer component, you're free to remain in Manhattan long after you've beaten the story or, if you prefer, go through it a second time while retaining all of the powers that you already unlocked. Prototype is good enough that you'll almost certainly want to keep playing either way, and even if you don't, there's more than enough fun to be had here in a single play through for us to recommend the game without hesitation.

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[spaceboy]

I should look for a demo to see what it's about before giving an opinion.  Most forums are ripe with inFamous vs. Prototype "discussions".  Of course, I shouldn't say much without playing Prototype, but even after reading that review it just seems to lack something that interests me. 

I think it might be finesse.  In inFamous, Cole is not overpowered and is still vulnerable.  Certainly he has awesome powers, but it's in being creative in your attacks (being smart), getting a good vantage point, acting/moving quick is where you will win the fights.  Prototype seems just pure power.  My feeling is that Prototype lacks the soul that inFamous has.  Of course you can play as Evil or Good in inFamous, and so far I've only been Good...

I'll have to check it out at some point (either demo or rental), it sounds like super fun for what it is, but it just doesn't seem to be my cup of tea from what I've read.

[Fiach]

I tend to find Gamespot, IGN etc pointless reviewers of games, I have disagreed vehemently with too many of their "reviews" at this stage.

There is reportedly a demo due in the next week or so, so that should be a help in deciding for me.

I have heard people discuss the merits of both games and seem to get the impression that while inFamous is more slick, it's held back by just having one "power" as opposed to the many available the the Prototype character.

Anyway, roll on the demo :)

[spaceboy]

Fiach, I'd heard that originally as well.  The interesting thing is that while all of Cole's powers are electrical based, he has a ton of attacks and they make sense with his story.  The way you can combine them is pretty slick. I won't list them here, maybe I'll post a vid showing off some powers... hmmm.

Mercer from prototype seems to have a ton of "unrelated" powers.

(We may need to split this topic soon) But it's interesting to discuss.  A Sith Lord has basically lightning, force push/pull, mind control, jumping/agility/reflexes, and his lightsaber.  Spiderman has webs and super strength.  I tend to lean towards hero's with a few powers that assist him in beating the odds but not like Superman where he has no vulnerability (except cryptonite).

[Fiach]

Yeah spaceboy, btw I'm not knocking either game as I havent played either of them.

I personally think the lack of power focus in Prototype works against it, I would prefer one power and be able to use it creatively, rather than play a game where you just spam lots of different powers, to see which works best on a monster then keep using that until you meet a different type of monster.

[Fiach]

Awesome video review of prototype :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIZ7M_VpNsk

[Art Blade]

haha, your link leads to a funny music video clip showing that prototype guy walking through Manhattan - good for some fun  :) :-X

I found a vid review that isn't very much in favour of the game, I think isn't bad (except vid quality) because it doesn't go all "ahh, the game of the millenium".

[smg id=827 type=av]

[Fiach]

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Well I got the game and have been playing for a few hours and would agree with alot of that review.

I didnt know it was made by the devs that did HULK, but as I played, I felt like the HULK, with the huge jumps and and swatting helicopters out of the sky, like they were just pesky gnats :)

One thing about the review I didnt agree with, was the moan about the X+B button combination, I have no problem with it, its even part of a sweet combo in Soul Calibur.

The game is pretty much fun to play and the GFX are really cool, when you consider what is being rendered on screen, its a city with parks and skyscrapers, the trees have autumnal foliage and look pretty cool, not in a FC2 way, but quite servicable, early 360 gfx quality.

Now the moan part, the game isnt easy, not ridiculously hard, but can be awkward on occasions. A case in point to illustrate what can be frustratiing ....

I played a mission, where you are introduced to an infected monster called a Hunter. You are stuck in a pretty confined area and there are maybe 8/9 of these guys, they are as fast and as strong as you and they just chase the crap out of you and never let up. Also in this area, there are about 30 troops, luckily they are not targetting you, but they are not alot of help either, I guess when they die and drop weapons they are useful.

Anyway, part of the strategy is to use rocket launchers on these behemoths ..... not a great idea in a confined space, but it is do-able if you are careful, but first you have to pick up the launcher and this is where things get hectic, you have maybe at least three of these giants homing in on you at a relentless pace, they do not give you a break .... but you are also incredibly fast and agile too, but I digress, you use the "B" button to pick up stuff, so you head to the launcher with these guys hot on your tail .....

You press B and find that you are not quite near enough, so you stop and try to get a bit closer, but by then you got three of theses guys pile in on top of you, then you press B and ..... B is also the "grab closest enemy button" ... yup you grab a Hunter, whever thought that was a good idea needs to be removed from the gene pool.

Anyway, the missions was quite hectic and yup I said a few cuss words (plus a few more after I caught my breath), but after it finished, I was able to say that was pretty cool .... I didnt say that during the mission though  ;D

There are some really cool powers, but admittedly too many, there is a free roam game available, where you will use them for goofing around, but they only clutter up the menu for buying upgrades.

There are some really cool things in this game and they vastly outweigh the bad things, there is a good storyline a little reminiscent of FEAR and Resident Evil, the story is well told in cutscenes and "consuming" targetted people which gives access to their memories and skills, which tell their part of the story in small (circa 1 minute) video vignettes.
There are great powers to customise your character, with powers for flight, agility, strength, stealth  and ranged attacks.

The amount of destruction and mayhem going on with a huge population of pedestrians and motorists always on the move, i never had any slowdown. With regards to the population, you will see many character models re-used over and over again, I saw two guys walk down the street one after the other that looked identical ... but they both had significantly different ways of walking, their gaits were totally diferent. Also I like the fact that people "react" to your presence, not just a few, all of them, if you bump into them, use a power or just drop off a roof beside them, they will react, even if you hit one, others will react to your actions.

Anyway a game that is more than the sum of its parts, buy or bye? Well I dont regret buying it, but I can see it not being everyones cup of tea, I would agree with the score of 7.5/10 in the above video review, but I would sneak in later, when nobody is looking and change it to 8/10, just for the originality of the gameplay, which doesnt necessarily make it a better game, but it deserves some kudos points for what it tries to do.

Fiach : Playing games, so you dont have to.

[Art Blade]

exellent review, and I loved this part:

then you press B and ..... B is also the "grab closest enemy button" ... yup you grab a Hunter, whever thought that was a good idea needs to be removed from the gene pool.

ROFL!!!  :-X

Sounds like some game you want to play once in a while if your mood is on mayhem&rampage mode ;D

[Fiach]

Hahahaha cheers  :) Yeah Art, its definately handy like that, just hit Free Roam and goof off in Manhattan for a bit, if you have a little time to kill :)

[Fiach]

Heres a pretty cool video, basically its how to rack up 100k XP in 5.30 mins, so you only need to watch the first hive being destroyed, but it shows the Glide skill and the city and its inhabitants, plus a little destruction as well :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEDbe2dU2ko&fmt=22

[Art Blade]

wicked, looks fun :) Nice pastime to smash peeps who owe you money into a wall...  ;D :-X

[Art Blade]

found a nice interview and footage :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weSjEiJ2WCw