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If
Dante’s Inferno
was EA making a
God of War
type game available
on X360 because
Microsoft junkies
missed the party for
a game to only hit
Sony consoles,
Actiontec did the
same thing with
Prototype
and
Prototype 2
with an
InFamous-type
game. The original
Prototype was
less like
InFamous, but
Prototype
2 feels quite a
bit like it. The
'don’t trust big
brother story,'
exacting revenge
from personal
wrongs, constant
weapon upgrades,
even gliding and
flying around the
city and terrorizing
a population. You
can relate
Prototype 2 in
several ways to
InFamous 2. This
isn’t a bad thing,
in fact
Prototype 2 will
win some fans that
loved the PS3 titles
and it lets X360
owners play an
open-world action
title that’s a ton
of fun to play.
In
Prototype 2,
you’re James Heller,
a U.S. soldier
that’s away while
his family’s at home
in New York. When he
returns home, he
sees that his wife
and daughter have
been brutally
murdered and all
signs point to the
Mercer virus being
the culprit. The
Mercer virus is the
government bred
virus that was at
the center of the
first game too. They
came up with the
virus, then penned
it on Alex Mercer
after he escaped
their clutches.
After the death of
his family, Heller
grows obsessed with
Mercer and exacting
his revenge on him.
When he does track
him down, an
outmatched Heller
gets
super-monstered
by Mercer and
eventually Mercer
changes Heller into
a super-killing
machine too, tells
him the truth about
who’s behind what,
and sets him out on
a mission to stop
the scientists
unleashing the
virus, and to
destroy security
company protecting
them and their
interests.
If you checked out
the original
Prototype you’ll be
able to jump into
Prototype 2 right
away and recognize
the security
details, scientists,
and soldiers just as
they were. You’ll
also see some
similarities in the
other foes.
Helicopters, DNA
detectors, tanks,
and artillery
wagons, they all
look pretty close to
the same in this
game that they did
in the last one. The
difference in this
game is it’s a
little easier to
deal with those foes
and escape ‘alert
zones’ than the
previous one. It’s
easier to close the
chapter on a mission
in Prototype 2 than
it ever was in the
original Prototype.
This is a great
thing. It made this
game feel more
fast-paced than the
original game and it
made it feel like
less of a chore to
play it in spots.
The weapons and foes
may look a lot like
the last game but
the environments and
the city is much
more impressive this
go-round. New York’s
details in Prototype
2 are tremendous.
There aren’t a lot
of similarities from
building to building
and a strong focus
on architecture and
how Heller travels
on and around it is
noticeable.
Especially when
you’re climbing
along churches and
other special
buildings, that
focus is
appreciated. It
gives Prototype 2 a
cool quality that
was missing with the
last game.
We can talk about
the bad guys and the
buildings, but the
real show of
Prototype 2 is
Heller and how big
of a badass he is.
You get to equip
five different
super-powers with a
combination of a LB
and a face button
and they all have
different strengths.
You can deploy
tendons through
tanks and bad guys
making the city look
like the world’s
grossest spider web.
Or you can get giant
monster claws for
hands and rip your
enemies to shreds.
All of the face
button superpower
combos are awesome
but they aren’t the
highlight of the
action either. The
real highlight is
Heller's ability to
absorb bad guys,
steal their
memories, and
regenerate some
health in the
process. It’s cool
to sneak around
enemy bases, hunt
and detect your
targets, see if
somebody’s watching
them, then sneak up
behind and morph
into them. It’s like
a seamless killing
tactic and it’s a
blast to do this
through different
bases and areas. Of
course there’s more
to Heller's powers
than that,
especially as you
move onward and
upward through the
game to it’s more
advanced stages, but
the early stages
that are simple are
a ton of fun to play
through.
There are a few
negatives to
Prototype 2, it’s a
lot like the
InFamous series, and
it’s not a big
stretch graphically
from the original
game. But it’s also
got some amazing
qualities too.
Heller is a complete
badass and he’s a
ton of fun to play
as. The action never
dulls out, even when
you’re going through
collecting black
boxes, it never
feels like a chore
to play. The
cut-scenes are
awesome with some
distinctive style
given to every story
aspect of the game.
Maybe this game
isn’t for everyone,
but it definitely
will be one of the
best games of the
late-spring/early-summer
period to come out
across different
platforms. Check
this one out early
for some additional
options with
Activision’s RADNET
feature too. You’ll
get minigames,
skins, and new
unlockables as you
go. It’s free with a
purchase of the
game, something
tells me eventually
you’ll have to pay
for this through
XBOX LIVE or the
Playstation Network
so it’s best to pick
this up early while
it’s free, rather
than waiting for it
to be used and
having to dish out
some extra money for
the RADNET features.
Prototype 2
is a cool game, it’s
got some great
features and you’ll
get some solid
playing type out of
it. There are some
things that could
have been improved
but overall it’s a
great experience and
a blast to play
through.
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