Thursday, October 7, 2010

Game Review: Prototype



Blogger's note: Sorry for the slow updates, everyone. I've been dealing with a nasty flu bug this week!

When it comes to Prototype, I am uncertain about a lot of things. I am uncertain whether to really classify this game in the 'horror' genre. True, there is a zombie invasion, monsters everywhere, and people getting their limbs ripped off everywhere, but it doesn't really feel like it belongs in the horror vein. More like 'mature action-adventure' than anything else.

The plot is this: Alex Mercer is a guy who wakes up in the morgue with no memory and shortly afterwards the population of New York is infected by a mysterious virus which turns them into zombies. There is also a government conspiracy going on. Could these three events be * gasp * related somehow? This is a typical plot that is somewhat over-explained at times, which is unnecessary since this is not exactly ground breaking material. That being said, I do like the 100+ cutscenes which do show some very realistic but disturbing images.

Unfortunately, the character of Alex Mercer suffers from a very common disease-emoism.



That's right, the same plague that runs rampant through America infecting both men and woman alike. Symptoms include: mopiness and a melodramatic desire to be left alone, while claiming the world doesn't understand them. Research is still on-going, but there have been positive signs when forcing these poor victims to turn off Twilight for extended periods of time.

I'm not quite certain I can call Alex a bad guy, but he definitely isn't a good guy. There are several opportunities to cure the affliction, and Alex will happy destroy each and every one of them. Nor is he a very consistant guy. He hates the military, but on some levels he will fight with the military for no real reason except to score more experience points...? I will give some credit to the voice actor though-he's not whiny unlike some actors.

The gameplay is actually a lot of fun. As a player you have almost unlimited access to the entire city. I could happily spend hours leaping from one rooftop to another, and there is plenty of bonus missions for the sandbox player. Well, maybe one too many. After I reached the half-way point I had gained enough experience to turn Alex into a super-emo. I have to admit it's kind of fun to be in a city on the verge of an apocalypse, watching civilians trying to escape only to be shot down by the military a few seconds later. Don't expect Alex to help with that, by the way. Or do anything else involving saving innocent lives.

FINAL GRADE: 3 out of 5. Fun to play, but the endless side-missions make this game a chore.


Seriously, how does shooting blood out of your arms cause you to fly? And wouldn't that be dangerous after a while?

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