So I'm fucking bored out of my skull this wonderful summer and since most of my friends are either at some camp or just not doing stuff, I thought I would do a nice little review. I'll break this up the way GameInformer does it, Story, Gameplay, Sound, Graphics
First thing I want to get out of the way is this, this is not an inFamous clone. I have played through this game and watched inFamous videos, and they are VERY different. Both are fun games and I recommend both if you have a PS3.
Now the review.
Story: Prototype's story could easily be a mediocre action/thriller movie but considering this a video game, the storyline far surpasses the usual, "Here's an excuse to go kill some dudes, go do it." The story actually is well told through an intuitive Web of Intrigue, where when you consume people (since you are a shape-shifter) you gain their memories. This was NOT a way for the developers to fix a fatal story-telling error, this was a cool and contextually realistic way to tell the story. If you consume people, wouldn't it make sense you would know a little more about the conspiracy from their memories? There were a couple plot twists that I wasn't expecting, partly due to my own retardation, but aren't exactly like the revelation in Bioshock. I was, however, pissed off when a very well done plot twist was explained to me that I already knew thanks to a stupidly titled FUCKING ACHIEVEMENT! But I digress, the story is well told, isn't the greatest by action/thriller standards, but for a game, does a lot to distinguish itself from the average hack and slasher.
Gameplay: Which now brings us to the gameplay. Alex Mercer, the main character, is a shape-shifter. As such you can more your arms into either blades, claws, whips, or giant hammer fists. The combat is incredibly chaotic and the game gives you many ways to be experimental about it. You can grab a guy who's been pecking your health away with a rocket and throw it at a helicopter, then hijack the helicopter, use it to blow up a couple tanks, when the helicopter is shot out of the sky, jump out and use your Hammer Fists to smash into the ground killing a dozen enemies. You get the point. Now I played on a regular T.V. set and had no slowdowns, I can't speak for HD players, but the game ran incredibly smoothly for all the carnage on screen. To me, that is one of the highlights of this awesome game. Another cool aspect is the parkour. Much like Spiderman, you can gracefully leap from skyscraper to skyscraper, with Alex's animations having a superb polish to them.
Sound: This will be rather short, since there isn't much to say. Explosions sounds nice and human screams and cries for "Take cover!" really add to the mayhem on screen and the soundtrack has a very Jason Bourne feel to it and does a fantastic job of complimenting the suspense the game has to offer.
Graphics: Let's face it, the graphics look like shit. Okay, that was an exaggeration, the graphics aren't BAD, just not good either. A lot of textures are remeniscent of the older generation consoles (ironic considering this title was originally going to be for the original Xbox before the 360 came out) but that's fine. With the excessive amounts of violence going on on-screen, I couldn't care because I realized that unless this was a PS3 title, the framerate would be downgraded almost powerpoint level. I will admit however that the animations are fucking beautiful in almost all aspects, especially the parkour being used.
Well, this is my review. Hope you like it, and please don't start a flame about my first comment in this thread, I was just trying to illustrate a point about how different the two games are yet still both fun. And if you REALLY give a damn, you can always watch Zero Punctuation to see who Yahtzee said was the winner.
First thing I want to get out of the way is this, this is not an inFamous clone. I have played through this game and watched inFamous videos, and they are VERY different. Both are fun games and I recommend both if you have a PS3.
Now the review.
Story: Prototype's story could easily be a mediocre action/thriller movie but considering this a video game, the storyline far surpasses the usual, "Here's an excuse to go kill some dudes, go do it." The story actually is well told through an intuitive Web of Intrigue, where when you consume people (since you are a shape-shifter) you gain their memories. This was NOT a way for the developers to fix a fatal story-telling error, this was a cool and contextually realistic way to tell the story. If you consume people, wouldn't it make sense you would know a little more about the conspiracy from their memories? There were a couple plot twists that I wasn't expecting, partly due to my own retardation, but aren't exactly like the revelation in Bioshock. I was, however, pissed off when a very well done plot twist was explained to me that I already knew thanks to a stupidly titled FUCKING ACHIEVEMENT! But I digress, the story is well told, isn't the greatest by action/thriller standards, but for a game, does a lot to distinguish itself from the average hack and slasher.
Gameplay: Which now brings us to the gameplay. Alex Mercer, the main character, is a shape-shifter. As such you can more your arms into either blades, claws, whips, or giant hammer fists. The combat is incredibly chaotic and the game gives you many ways to be experimental about it. You can grab a guy who's been pecking your health away with a rocket and throw it at a helicopter, then hijack the helicopter, use it to blow up a couple tanks, when the helicopter is shot out of the sky, jump out and use your Hammer Fists to smash into the ground killing a dozen enemies. You get the point. Now I played on a regular T.V. set and had no slowdowns, I can't speak for HD players, but the game ran incredibly smoothly for all the carnage on screen. To me, that is one of the highlights of this awesome game. Another cool aspect is the parkour. Much like Spiderman, you can gracefully leap from skyscraper to skyscraper, with Alex's animations having a superb polish to them.
Sound: This will be rather short, since there isn't much to say. Explosions sounds nice and human screams and cries for "Take cover!" really add to the mayhem on screen and the soundtrack has a very Jason Bourne feel to it and does a fantastic job of complimenting the suspense the game has to offer.
Graphics: Let's face it, the graphics look like shit. Okay, that was an exaggeration, the graphics aren't BAD, just not good either. A lot of textures are remeniscent of the older generation consoles (ironic considering this title was originally going to be for the original Xbox before the 360 came out) but that's fine. With the excessive amounts of violence going on on-screen, I couldn't care because I realized that unless this was a PS3 title, the framerate would be downgraded almost powerpoint level. I will admit however that the animations are fucking beautiful in almost all aspects, especially the parkour being used.
Well, this is my review. Hope you like it, and please don't start a flame about my first comment in this thread, I was just trying to illustrate a point about how different the two games are yet still both fun. And if you REALLY give a damn, you can always watch Zero Punctuation to see who Yahtzee said was the winner.
