Product Description

You are Alex Mercer, a shapeshifter with absolute mastery over your genetic structure, stalking the streets of New York City, searching for your past.

A secret war is brewing in New York. First, battle below the media radar, then, watch as the virus spirals out of control and the government seizes the media to stop the spread of information.

Face an ever-growing army of infected creatures warped and changed by the virus. As it spreads, more and more of New York falls under its control. The virus overwrites a creature's existing genetics; warping and changing their form into something else, something planned. As the virus gathers its army, rush to discover the secret behind it all; the one thing that can stop it all before the city falls into ruin.

Against both you is Project BLACKWATCH, an elite force of Army specialists ready to stop the spread of the virus at any cost. These operatives have seen it all before, and are eager to track you down and bring you in, dead or alive. They're even willing to execute the final solution in New York, if necessary. Their mandate is complete containment; even if it means everyone in New York must die.

Struggle to define what you will be Man or Monster. Will you haunt the city as a faceless killer or save it from the horrors of the virus? Do you assist BLACKWATCH in its hunt, or join forces with the virus and subjugate humanity? Push your powers to the limit, and unlock the genetic shackles that hold you in check

• Deadly Shape-Shifting Action: Alex Mercer is a shape-shifter with amazing powers of combat, destruction and deception
• A Fresh Take on a Stale Genre: Taking the open-world genre to breathtaking new heights, PROTOTYPE is an original IP featuring Alex Mercer, an all-new anti-hero framed within a conspiracy-drenched storyline that gives open-world/action games a fresh and well deserved kick in the pants

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #197 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2009-06-12
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.co.uk
Prototype is a single player, open-world action game where players take control of shape-shifter Alex Mercer. In this gameworld you literally are a genetic prototype hiding in human form. You step out onto the streets of New York with no memory, but limitless potential power. As a terrifying viral epidemic sweeps across Manhattan, top-secret Blackwatch Special Forces move in, transforming it into a war zone. Delve into the mysteries of your origin, the true nature of your power and your part in a conspiracy 40 years in the making.

Battle through an infected NYC. View larger.

Turn your body into a weapon. View larger.

Consume abilities, memories and physical form of others. View larger.

Combat or join special forces units. View larger.

Story
Alex Mercer was once a scientist for the prominent medical research corporation, Gentek, but one day he wakes up to find himself a shape-shifter with absolute mastery over his genetic structure, but no memory of how this came to be. Taking to the streets of New York City in search of answers, he quickly encounters a web of lies and vows to rip the truth from those who have hidden it from him and the world.

A few other things that Alex also learns quickly is that he is not alone in possessing amazing abilities, that there is a secret war brewing in New York City and he is on its front lines. A deadly infection has spilled out of control and the government has seized the media to stop the spread of information and has placed New York under quarantine as martial law is instated; igniting a firestorm of combat, carnage and death. As he roams the city, he faces an ever growing army of infected creatures warped and changed by the virus. As it spreads, the virus overwrites the genetics of those it infects, warping and changing their form into something else, something that seems to have been planned. The answers he seeks appear to be tied to the virus, so he rushes to discover the truth behind it, but standing against him and his goal is Project Blackwatch. An elite army specialist force, they are tasked with halting the spread of the virus at any cost and are eager to bring Alex in dead or alive to determine his connection to it. It would seem that they are potentially both enemy and ally to Alex's cause. Will Alex assist Blackwatch in its hunt, or join forces with the virus and subjugate humanity, pushing his powers to the limit as the genetic shackles of humanity fall by the wayside? That choice is up to the player in Prototype.

Gameplay
In Prototype players engage in 'Deceive or Destroy' gameplay. This allows gamers the choice to either blend in with the population and covertly progress through the story, or fully unleash Alex’s powers, and move through New York City like a walking slaughterhouse, taking control of military vehicles, and causing destruction at every turn.

Although Alex is literally strong enough to fling people and large objects around easily, his most intriguing power is his ability to 'consume' people. In doing this he acquires their memories, abilities, and their appearance. New memories help him to solve the mystery of how he got the way he is, while new appearances allow him to shape-shift into new useful forms at will and abilities allow him to manoeuvre in parts of the game requiring specific skills in specific situations. In addition, Alex's consumption of people also facilitates his ability to transform his physical body and manipulate his senses. Most weapons acquired in this way are outgrowths from his appendages like exaggerated blades, shields, whips and claws used for brutal close combat, but consumption also allows for powerful abilities like thermal vision, which provides for vision through smoke and obstacles, as well as 'infected vision' with which Alex can detect hotspots of viral infection throughout the city.

Key Features:

• Fast and Deadly Combat - Shape-shift your body to the situation at hand ... from claws to blades to hammers to whips, as you choose the right weapon for the situation. Change to shield or armour for defence or use advanced sensory powers (thermal vision, infected vision) to track your enemies.
• Over-the-top Locomotion - Seamlessly and fluidly bound from building to building, run up walls, bounce off cars and everything in your path. Adaptive parkour lets you move freely through the open-world environments of New York City.
• Unique Disguising Abilities - Consume anyone at anytime, take on their appearance and assume their memories and special abilities.
• Deep Conspiracy Driven Storyline - Wake up with no memory of the past ... just mysterious powers and a link to a town in Idaho. Delve into the mysteries of your origin, the true nature of your power and your part in a conspiracy 40 years in the making.
• Parkour Inspired In-game Movement - Alex Mercer's movements are inspired by Parkour, a mostly urban activity bordering on both art and martial arts that aims at moving the human body from one point to another as smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible. Recent examples of it gained worldwide attention in chase scenes in the 2007 film "Casino Royale."
• PlayStation Trophies - Add to your collection of PlayStation trophies as you play.

Customer Reviews

Proto-Hype
There have been few games that have brought a smile to my face. Left 4 Dead had me laughing until my rib cage ached after I twice pinned my boss with a Hunter on No Mercy campaign, but that's it. Prototype is a seriously serious game, so why was I smiling and laughing?

Unlike inFamous, you are not bound by a moral barometer. It doesn't patronise you like that. We all know what is right and wrong (i.e. dropping a granny from the top of the empire state building and waiting for the splat is BAD!!!) in real life, but this game is as sureal as they come. You can be a seriously nasty person in this game without any real consequence, and if "the man" spots you, just morph into somebody else! I think what was making me smile is the ease that you can bring death and destruction to the enemy. Even against seemingly impossible odds, the game gives you the tools to bring UTTER CHAOS to the party. And when you get used to the game, it is FUN!

Downers though is the city. In fact the graphics in general aren't great. Where infamous thrives is that it has been specially coded for the PS3, whereas Prototype is a multiplatformer. If it had been specially coded for PS3, I think the graphics would have improved. The cars look shockingly bad at times when compared to GTA4, but i'm guessing this is because that parts of the map have to load into memory very quickly due to being able to cover large parts of the map very quickly. The city itself looks quite unremarkable and fairly bland, but when you get into the heat of combat, you tend to stop noticing it. But it isn't as bad as the Gears of War texture loading irritation, though.

When you first start out, the "heavys" come after you, so it's with some trepidation you engage them. But when you get used to the game, you can get rid of them with a flick of your wrist. Too easy perhaps? I think Hard mode is a worthy inclusion for this game.

To summarise, the controls take a little getting used to but are worth it, the graphics could be better but the framerate is smooth, the story is quite complex, but is less patronising than inFamous, and the carnage you can whip up in an instant is beyond the compare of anything I have played. It's a well deserved 18 certified game.

Sometimes it's just fun to put down your moral compass and get nasty, and this game delivers. In spades. I think the most important thing for a game to have is fun. And I found it fun. In fact perhaps too much fun.

Now, if you will excuse me, i'm going to lob pedestrians at some helicopters...

[ Prototype Review ]
The word Parkour can be translated into English as "the art of movement", and I've played a few games recently that try to incorporate elements of free running in an open ended environment, but in no way make it look artistic. Of course, [ Prototype ] is not Parkour in the sense that real people do not run up all the way up the side of buildings or glide through the air (and it is as cool to do that in the game as it sounds) but it can definitely be described as the art of movement, because there is so much fun to be had just rushing around - and that's before you get to the comic book violence.

I find it's best not to try and take an ethical stance in [ Prototype ]. When you're running through the street hurling cars at the military and absorbing people to wear them as a disguise it kind of spoils the fun to slow down to avoid the innocent or work out if an NPC is an infected (i.e. a zombie) or not. Plus, driving huge tanks through a panicking crowd loses its fun if you have to slow down to let everyone clear the way. So, as someone who will always play the good guy in games like Oblivion and Fallout 3, I found it a nice change to take a holiday from my in-game conscience.

Absorbing people allows you to disguise yourself and lose any unwanted attention, but with upgradeable abilities like claws for hands, being able to throw cars, blow things up and cause general mayhem - there are many times that you don't really want to hide at all. The plot is standard fare enacted well, but there are also many fun side challenges, such as racing to absorb people's memories against the clock, killing a set number of enemies, or running/gliding/jumping your way around waypoints.

[ Prototype ] takes place in a large open ended Manhattan island, and you can run up to the top of skyscrapers, search for collectables on top of rooftops and jump all the way back the street without hurting yourself. Water doesn't drown you either. Although falling from a skyscraper doesn't kill you, bullets can, but there's got to be some danger, hasn't there, otherwise you lose the thrill.

Overall, this is a very fun game with lots of things to do in it, and is one of the better "sandbox environment" games out there. Absorbing video clip style memories from special NPCs by "consuming" them beats hacking computer files for background information any day, and if you're after an unusual game in which you can take the plot at your own pace whilst still being able to cause mahem, then you can't go wrong with this.

Great, but only for a while
I saw a preview of this game at some stage last year and was very excited about the games release, when it came out i went and picked it up on the day and went home and played it and thought it was totally fantastic , seemed to have lots to do with lots of different mission types, but a few hours after beginning to play the game i was finding myself starting to feel bored with the running through central park to get to every new mission and then realised that all the missions are very much the same , the amount of missions though is good for the game because it isn't totally stale before you get to the end so you can see the climax of the story which in all honesty isn't particularily good along with the overall writing of the story to be honest, but if just playing for half an hour to kill some time it is very enjoyable.