I come here, writing to you as a very sad guy.

In March I wrote a preview for the video game Prototype, blowing it up and licking its balls thinking it would be an awesome and revolutionary game.  You can check out that old article on Prototype HERE.

I finally got my chance to play the game and after mere minutes of playing Prototype on the Xbox 360 I was sadden by the weak effects, and graphics.  Buildings getting destroyed, explosions etc. looked like the old effects on a playstation 2.  I almost wanted to throw my controller at the screen… “FUCKING WEAK” was the best way I could describe it.  Other games on the 360 have looked 100 times better in the animation and graphics, and this game is getting advertising and viral marketing like fucking madness!  Usually in the video game world when a game gets a shitload of marketing dollars than its something new or groudbreaking or even similar to old titles but still tweaked to be cool.

Prototype does not fit these categories…

If youve ever played Spiderman 2 for the PS2 then youve pretty much played Prototype.  Its like taking guts of the Spiderman 2 game and using it for Prototype, except heightening the violence and changing the story. It has no real great gameplay mechanics… the term “clunky” fits best.  The fighting is repetitive and gets old quick, even with “special abilities” but definitely looks cool when you slice a dude in half.

Like MANY games before it you start off having to earn all your abilities and play levels to gain “EP” to buy all of your moves.  The moves are exciting to get and work awesome on regular ol folks but on any tough enemies or “bosses” you end up button mashing and not even developing much of a strategy.

Youve got your regular storyline levels and then side missions.. like usual..

All in all the game mechanics and game engine are NOTHING revolutionary, and the graphics are far from the best ive seen, but the premise of having super abilities with no restrictions and uber violence is appealing and satisfing after a shitty day.  Consume people, slice them in half, crush em, smash em… let it all out.  You have super powers in an open grand theft auto-like world and that idea is AWESOME, but not executed very well.

My diagnosis… Its worth a rental, but NOT a purchase.  NO online play, no multiplayer, and gets repetitive. My earlier preview was flawed and I built it up waaaay to high, so I some-what blame myself, but check it out yourself and let me know in the comments.

Back in 2008 I first heard of this game because they said it was like a combination of God of War and Grand Theft Auto.  When you hear a phrase like that, any human being that knows shit about video games would become fully aroused.

What Ive learned is that in Prototype it will have the freeplaying “sandbox style” of Grand theft auto where you can run around and do whatever you want.  Kill people at random, run up buildings, accomplish side missions etc.  But unlike grand theft auto your going to have super abilities. (I did in fact just jizz in my pants)  When you play, the main character in Prototype is able to consume the bodies of those he has beaten and killed. Yes, consume them. When you eat em’ up it gives you access to their memories, their experiences, their biomass and their physical forms.  So basically if he consumes somebody he can assume their identity. This can be used to evade pursuit and deceive enemies. More than just running away or hiding he can use his ‘patsy’ power and say that an innocent bystander killed everybody or consume a soldier and freely enter a military base. Or if he consumes a higher ranking officer, he can commandeer military vehicles, call down airstrikes and order other soldiers.  This game is gonna fuck start your face…

Consuming people isnt meant to be just a cool ability in Prototype, it helps the game move along. When you consume memories it will help unlock more of the story and progress the game. On top of that, he also consumes useful skills, like the ability to pilot military vehicles and use different kinds of weapons.  Consuming dead enemies and bystanders also provides health and energy to perform bad ass moves, so you’ll have to eat somebody eventually. 

Not only can you morph into people you consumed, but you can also shapeshift your body into nonhuman, and more specialized forms for attack, defense or sensory enhancement.  You can morph yourself some clawed hands and bladed arms, or hammer-like appendages and you can even send claws underground to cause spikes to burst up and impale enemies and vehicles. When your energy meter is full you can do super moves  such as causing a large amount of spikes to shoot out of the ground or cause sharp tendrils to shoot from your body in all directions.  Youve also got defensive morphing to resist damage or ward off attackers. Defenses include sharp spines protruding from your back, a forearm shield, and more. You can even change skin into armor plating that lets you bash your way through traffic instead of jumping over it and also gives you more protection from attacks, but slows speed. You can also do combos. For example, you could give yourself an armored body while having claw arms and using night vision, and like in most games you can upgrade and earn new abilities as you play.

Along with that cool ability, your also given superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability and healing.  So your going to be able to do some pretty cool shit. Stuff like throwing cars, running at high speeds faster than most vehicles, jumping long distances, and gliding which helps avoid damage when you fall or jump from high places. You can also adjust senses to perceive things like infra-red, and night-vision,  and gain the ability to track individual enemies in a crowd.

All in all, I think for 2009 I am most anxious to play Prototype.  It sounds like a bad ass game Ill spend hours on.