Aug 21, 2007

We're not saying that Grand Theft Auto IV will suck. In fact, we think it’ll be one of next year’s must have titles. It's just that there's another awesome open-world action title set in New York (the real one) in the works that might make Rockstar take the backseat in 2008. The game's called Prototype, and even in its early stages of development, it looks ready to outshine GTA IV in almost every way. Yes, we're being serious.

1. It's new
And we’re not talking Roman numeral four new, we mean brand new. Sure, GTA IV has a new main character and all the extra bells and whistles we’d expect from the next GTA. But we’ve jacked cars, assassinated lowlifes, and climbed the crime ladder before.

Prototype offers something fresh with its protagonist Alex Mercer, who finds himself wrapped in a web of mysteries. Mercer wakes up with no memories and almost unlimited powers that allow him to shape shift, consume the memories and abilities of victims, and of course, ram a fist through someone’s throat. A dangerous virus infecting the populace of New York that turns people into monstrous mutants, and a government conspiracy to cover it all up spices things up further.

2. You can feel the dark side flowing through every one of Mercer’s moves
The Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (or RAGE) will allow - among other things - GTA IV’s Niko to change the way he moves as he travels over different terrain to make movement more realistic.

But before you get all excited over the subtleties of walking over grass instead of asphalt, understand that Niko will never look anywhere near as crazy as the way mad man Mercer flings himself about the streets of New York in Prototype.

Every one of Mercer’s motions is soaked in pure aggression. Whether he’s digging his heels into the pavement as he sprints past traffic or flailing his arms as he catapults himself into the sky, Mercer’s movements indicate real rage, the kind that can’t be captured by a nice sounding acronym for a game engine.