Turning tanks into shrapnel, launching vehicles at helicopters, exploding heads, and wall-running across the New York cityscape are just a few of the mind-blowing stunts players will pull off in Radical Entertainment’s open-world action title, Prototype.
This week, PSU was treated to a hands-on preview for Prototype held at the sinful Rok nightclub in Las Vegas. After spending a few hours with the game, we are convinced this is definitely a title worth checking out come June.
To begin, we’ll give you a little back story about the game’s main character, Alex Mercer. After waking up in a morgue, Mercer finds himself lost in amnesia and infected with a strange virus endowing him with extraordinary powers. All of New York City is in chaos as the virus outbreak has caused horrible mutations among its citizens and the U.S. military has declared marshal law on the quartered area. As Mercer finds old friends and the story develops, he unravels more behind the conspiracy of the virus and who he once was.
An intriguing plot is hardly the only thing Prototype has going for it. The controls are fluid and fit the game perfectly. By holding R2, Mercer can sprint across the ground, with procedural A.I. allowing him to leap over benches, cars, and other obstacles. With the same trigger, Mercer can sprint and clamor along the vertical cliffs of skyscrapers and buildings. The addition of the occasional side flip or somersault, instead of a plain jump animation, gives players the feeling of freely running wherever they desire — and looking super cool doing so.
The circle button allows Mercer to interact with the environment, from lifting vehicles and picking up weapons to putting pedestrians and military units in a choke hold. When players grab soldiers or people from the streets, they have two options for disposing of the body. Tapping the circle button again will hurl the helpless into the air. If you tap triangle, however, Mercer will consume the body, mimicking its appearance. There are several violent animations for consuming bodies, one of which is the ability to concrete surf on someone’s face before entangling and consuming the ragdoll-like corpse. Sure, it’s excessive, but it’s wildly satisfying.
The other mechanics are pretty basic, with the X performing jumps (until later in the game when players earn the ability to glide), and square executing melee attacks. As for the combat system, Prototype features an upgradeable move list, allowing players to unlock new moves and attacks as the game progresses. While completing missions or causing destruction, Mercer earns points to spend on new powers, like the ability to turn Mercer’s arm into a giant, metallic shield that can protect him from artillery and gunfire.
When it comes to visuals, Prototype is nothing short of amazing. The amount of destruction on screen is incredible and the frame rate never drops below 30 frames per second. It appears that its delay from late 2008 to June 2009 served Prototype very well. Also, for those anxious about a shoddy PS3 port, put your worries to rest. The team at Radical has done a great job in optimizing their code for the PS3, harnessing the SPUs to provide an equal experience on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Check out the latest screenshots of Prototype here.
The A.I. seemed fairly bright as well, with troops taking cover behind cement barricades, hunters that swarm relentlessly, and helicopters that accurately track Mercer through the city. The citizens also react to what’s happening around them, running from mutants, or from Mercer himself if the player decides to prey upon someone in a crowd.
Like the title suggests, this is just a preview. We only played a couple levels, but we definitely left impressed. Prototype releases June 9, 2009, so mark your calendar. Stay tuned to PSU for our Prototype review in the coming weeks.