Zero Punctuation: Prototype

[Natsu_Blaze]

As far as moral choice systems go... This is for the commenters in general as well as Yahtzee: There's a freeware game called Iji, recently released, which also has what could be considered a moral choice system... but in this case, the system is linked to your overall and per-sector kill count (the game is divided into ten levels or "sectors").

(SPOILERS AHEAD.)

Now, the thing about this system that I personally loved is the fact that it changes a LOT about the game depending on your play style, either pacifist or what TheHelldragon likes to call MURDERSTORM. For example, there are logbooks scattered throughout the game that you can read in order to give yourself a bit more depth to the plot. This logbook is written by a high-ranking Tasen (the plot involves sudden attack and invasion by an alien race called Tasen) to his troops, listing the major threats to them at the time. Number one is your character, the "human anomaly" who's been running around with tech reverse-engineered or outright stolen from the Tasen (which lets you actually fight with them.) If you're playing murderstorm Iji, then the log is pretty obvious; watch out for the murderous human Anomaly tearing through the ranks, yadda yadda. If you're playing pacifist, though, instead you're the biggest threat because you've been gathering up all the ammo and hoarding it for God only knows what purpose. Also they're scared because of your infinite-ammo basic weapon: "Have you ever seen her shotgun run out of ammo? Scary..." And that's far from the only change... dialogue, logbooks, even several game events and enemy placements will alter depending on your style. Pacifists can even engineer situations where you can skip boss fights entirely because someone else does the work for you... which is good, since if you can get a 0 kill count there's a very shiny in-game reward for you.
Also... the ending actually doesn't change. General Tor's final words to you change a lot, depending on your style, but in the end nothing will change what happens next. What changes is how you view yourself, how everyone else in the game saw you... It's kind of like that choice you have to make in the very end of the final case of Justice for All. Phoenix never says it aloud, and NOTHING in the final dialogue changes because of it. It's completely a choice you make.

So... a moral choice system like THAT one, where replay value gets heavily conserved since the game changes so much between the styles of play... what do you guys think of that?

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

"Gawrsh, I sure hope this is the right thing to do"
"Alex can shoot blood out of his wrists and fly like emo Peter Pan"

Best lines of quite a good review.

 

[Borrowed Time]

Oh it hurts, stop the laughing it hurts. The emo Peter Pan line was classic. It makes me want to actually get this game that much more just to see it in action. Bravo!

 

[raunchious]

Spending the entire review comparing Prototype to Infamous seems a bit unfair to me. Sure, they're similar games, and to review an open-world superhero game without mentioning other open-world superhero games would be neglectful. But there are things that make Prototype good (lots of different powers) and things that make Infamous good (choosing whether to be good or evil), and each game should be considered on its own to a certain degree, not solely on whether this game does this better or that game does this better. Personally, I like Prototype better because the core gameplay is a lot more varied and fun, the lame protoganist notwithstanding.

 

[Char0n]

anyone ever play hulk ultimate destruction? watch some youtube vids of it and be shocked at the spastic level of similarity between the 2 games

 

[4fromK]

Prototype.

I don't agree with points being taken away from prototype because he doesn't remember anything, its interesting to pieces the web of intriuge together.

yeah, he took points of because tis really unoriginal as a plot device.

well hell, 99% of everything that comes out now is unoriginal, just different spins on something already done

which is why yahtzee pounces on shit. still, it probably wasn't that much of an effect on how good the story was, yahtzee was just pointing out that it had a lazy story

 

[DoomBlackDragon]

Yahtzee this was a dick move. WTF man why would you pull this shit and call it a review. What give you the right to deem what is the better game. This debt makes this the worse review ever in the history of review world wide. The gamers are the one who chose what game they like. I love Prototype do to the fact it has better game play and everything but graphics. Do to infamous was made later after prototype ((most like after prototype had mad their anouncement of game idea back in 2006)) Yahtzee this get a - 10 in my rating of bad reviews. Infamous only one up in prototype is graphics. Also you forgot how to say the map changes around your doing. Destoring hives/bases removes alot of mobs from the game. so you can make the game harder or easier debending on if you destory the building. I like the game place for protytpe thanks to the fact I have more freedoms. The story plot is brillent.

 

[DoomBlackDragon]

Prototype.

I don't agree with points being taken away from prototype because he doesn't remember anything, its interesting to pieces the web of intriuge together.

yeah, he took points of because tis really unoriginal as a plot device.

well hell, 99% of everything that comes out now is unoriginal, just different spins on something already done

which is why yahtzee pounces on shit. still, it probably wasn't that much of an effect on how good the story was, yahtzee was just pointing out that it had a lazy story

Yes Prytotype was brilliant cause it was taking the now getting very boring been there done that sand box games of GTA/Spiderman/FA3 and bring new life to the sandbox univerese. Remeber sandbox has been around sence N64. It nice to have a fresh new idea like prototype to being life to a dieing age of gaming. Sandbox now feel more like copy and paste. The prototype game says like teach this old dog new tricks. I like their work. Protytype is a 10/A+ in my book.

 

[iamunsain]

Yahtzee this was a dick move. WTF man why would you pull this shit and call it a review. What give you the right to deem what is the better game. This debt makes this the worse review ever in the history of review world wide. The gamers are the one who chose what game they like. I love Prototype do to the fact it has better game play and everything but graphics. Do to infamous was made later after prototype ((most like after prototype had mad their anouncement of game idea back in 2006)) Yahtzee this get a - 10 in my rating of bad reviews. Infamous only one up in prototype is graphics. Also you forgot how to say the map changes around your doing. Destoring hives/bases removes alot of mobs from the game. so you can make the game harder or easier debending on if you destory the building. I like the game place for protytpe thanks to the fact I have more freedoms. The story plot is brillent.

Hahaha...incase you haven't figured it out yet, Yahtzee prides himself on dick moves. If he didn't, Zero Punctuation wouldn't be what it is. I didn't mind the comparison he did in this one, it's a fitting way to do this review and shouldn't have been taken so seriously. There's something funny about Yahtzee's scientific method, akin to the chuckle you got in Biology when you found out a frog's eyeball bounces like a little rubber ball. I think Mr. Bean as a serial killer would be freaking hilarious and I would definitely pay to see a movie about emo Peter Pan. "Think whiny thoughts," classic! As far as the two games go, I think Prototype takes the cake. You can get bored very easily playing the story of a game more than once. However, sometimes there's just no substitute for sitting down and wreaking havoc just to kill some time and make yourself feel better (ie. elbow dropping an old man's unsuspecting wife). Oh, and you can't forget the Dahmer joke. This video was loaded with great material! Looking forward to tomorrow's pick-me-up.

 

[Vasillios]

I liked this review just as I've liked all of Yahtzee's silliness, but there's one point that I must contest. I really don't buy into the whole "this move is super powerful so you'll never use any other move" argument. Why wouldn't you use any other move? If you have one ultra powerful move that you don't have fun using, yet you have dozens of other less powerful moves, why keep using just the one? Why not challenge yourself and experiment? The game should be about the journey, not just getting to the end as easily as possible. As for the whole Prototype vs. Infamous argument, I feel like they're completely different games. They both involve open world gameplay and super powered protagonists, sure, but that's where the similarities end in my opinion. Infamous feels much slower and more controlled, while Prototype is fast and chaotic. They even involve parkour, but would you really say that the movement or combat systems feel even remotely similar? I wouldn't. They cater to two very different styles of play. I agree with Yahtzee. They're both good, and they're both fun. Why does one have to be better than the other?

 

[DeathWyrmNexus]

This is pretty similar to the feeling I was left with after playing this game.
At first I was intrigued by the concept of the web of... intrigue. but after about 1.5 of its videos I realized it was just a lazy way to attempt to add meaning and depth to an otherwise pointless game. (that's not to say its not fun to run around and kill stuff for a while)
Also, something you didn't touch on that I think really brings the game down a notch is the really dated textures and lazy animations on the exploding hives/military bases. you see the same poor looking building explosion about 500 times by the time you're through the game, and the textures really looked rushed (to compete with infamous I presume). not that graphics make or break a game, but they definitely take away from the depth if they're extremely repetitive

Well, think of this. They could have laid it all out and fed it to you or you could actually have to hunt down the story. After all, the character is an amnesiac who gets the memories of whom he consumes so... Why not let the players hunt the plot down and and eat it. I actually went back through last night and watched a lot of the videos as it was interesting to see different perspectives.

My only complaint is that the nature of a web is that there isn't a real starting point so you basically have to remember where you are when you are reviewing the memories.

 

[DeathWyrmNexus]

Prototype.

I don't agree with points being taken away from prototype because he doesn't remember anything, its interesting to pieces the web of intriuge together.

yeah, he took points of because tis really unoriginal as a plot device.

well hell, 99% of everything that comes out now is unoriginal, just different spins on something already done

which is why yahtzee pounces on shit. still, it probably wasn't that much of an effect on how good the story was, yahtzee was just pointing out that it had a lazy story

:/
For a lazy story, I sure as hell had to spend a few hours on the side hunting it down... and eating it.

 

[The Clown]

that was a good review on the whole and I'd like to see who won the pic competition itd be awesome, and i think prototype should have won

 

[MasterKeelay18]

prototype is my favorite game ever and is perfect in every way to me

 

[Skeleon]

So... did you ever get those pics you asked for at the ending?

 

[Yoda isOnline]

I've never played InFamous but i knew that i prefered the look of Prototype from the trailers, even before i played it.

 

[Sviests]

Gosh. That was funny! If inFamous is good in... well i don` t know story, characters and graphics then Prototype is at it`s best in fighting and gameplay. So I would want to the both developers of the games to join up and make "electricity using jerk-face who can molest and kill every one with his transforming hands". Now that would be a 10. Step aside GTA IV. Here comes inProtoFamous!