Prototype

Our verdict on Radical's long-awaited sandbox-style action game.

	Version 360 (PS3, PC)	Developer Ubisoft	Publisher Techland	Genre FPS

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Story progression is not only handled through the traditional story missions. Alex can devour key targets by punching their heads until their brains fall out their ears and absorbing the smeary mess. This reveals memories the target had, piecing together a story of secret agent espionage, military conspiracies and a virus Mother who gives birth to deformed oddities intent on destroying humanity. As each day of the outbreak passes, more infected Hives appear in the city, and more military bases are required to control them. By day 10 New York is half in chaos. Day 18 is a looming doomsday scenario which even Mercer d'esn't have the power to avoid.

Graphically Prototype is realistic, with a crisp city deteriorating around you, excellent animation on our main protagonist and a great draw distance when gliding from skyscraper to drop, hawk like, on your next victim. The life breathed into the city around you adds to the intense atmosphere the game provokes too. While citizens go about their daily lives early in the game, later on I had the body of a less fortunate individual fly past my head, propelled by the tank shell in his torso.

The main drawback in Prototype is that Alex himself is about as charismatic as an eggshell with a watercress haircut and a painted disgruntled face. Wearing a leather jacket and with grey hood permanently up, his street credibility is in line with a mentally deranged Chav as is his own psychotic tendencies. Although Prototype rivals Gears of War 2 in the amount of blood you flying around the screen Mercer never pulls off one-liners the way Marcus Fenix does. While the shady military agenda is uncovered, Mercer's nonchalance about his own situation makes it almost impossible for the player to care.

For those who enjoy a mindless rampage in GTA, Mercer is the ultimate anti-hero. Subtlety and stealth will make your earlier missions slightly easier, but by day 9 of the outbreak Mercer is capable of taking down the military's finest hit squads. There's no need to worry about helicopter gunships when you can flying kick, jump into the cockpit and shred their occupants before taking the controls yourself! Whilst not an entirely original premise in gaming, Protoype shows plenty of creativity in its powers, making this one of the finest sandbox games I've seen.

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