Prototype – hands-on

Grabbing on to people or mutants allows for some “throw grown adults around” fun, or if you’re feeling famished, some finger-lickin’ consumption. Consuming people, which occurs in truly horrific fashion, has several uses. It heals you, providing a vital respite from the constant damage Alex takes from the hordes of enemies everywhere. Healing beyond the maximum health bar provides an extra reward, although we didn’t really get to see exactly how that pans out just yet. Finally, consumed people can provide Alex with their memories and likeness.

While everything we’ve talked about paints a picture of a fast-paced, chaotic action game, consumption brings an entirely different flavor to the mix. We played through a mission where we had to apprehend a hunter – a very powerful mutant, and inject it with… something. That something is still a secret of the story, but the main point is that we had to take down an enemy we weren’t strong enough to handle yet, and finding him would be a big problem. Luckily helicopters provide firepower and the ability to track quarry in a kind of hot-cold meter. Yet this presented another problem – how to get the chopper?

We found the bird sitting in a heavily guarded courtyard, with the pilot standing amongst the guards. Simply plowing in with claws blazing would get us killed fast. So instead, we just ambled casually in. As long as Alex doesn’t perform any too-outlandish moves, the police and military have bigger things to worry about, so they’ll leave him alone. So we sauntered up to the helicopter pilot and consumed him. This naturally alerted everyone and fifty guns began blasting us. Time to make a hasty exit.

With the chase on, the situation seemed dire, but with our newly consumed pilot blueprint, escape became a snap. All we had to do was get around a corner where the pursuers couldn’t see for a moment, and change shape into the pilot. With so many people running around, the soldiers didn’t know who to go after. From there we just made our way back to the chopper, and under the guise of the pilot, fired up the bird and went for a cruise.

As with the helicopter, sometimes appropriating man-made tools has essential uses or just provides plain fun diversions. Feel like a respite from using melee mutant claws? Nab a machine gun from a soldier. At one point we hijacked a tank and went on a disgustingly destructive rampage, not because it helped our mission, but simply because it was there.

What we played, all of two missions, spelled very promising things for Prototype. It was harrowing when we were near death, and satisfying when we were stomping godlike through the pitiful swarms. What we don’t know yet is how much the game will expand on the action and sneaky elements. We don’t know how truly dense and alive the rest of Manhattan will be. We’re hoping exploration will be rewarded, since Alex has the means to get just about anywhere. The missions will also need some healthy variety to maintain the tidbit of excitement we got to play. If the buzz given by the obvious desire of the developers to creatively engineer a boiling soup of danger and empowerment manages to last longer than the initial wow factor, Prototype will provide good times indeed.

Apr 8, 2009