[PROTOTYPE] - PC

Free roaming, super-powered games are becoming a bit of a trend in the summer of 2009 – just look at inFamous and [PROTOTYPE] Both titles are free-roaming adventures featuring a super-human person/creature/thing as they fight in a dilapidated city for their own survival and something or other.

Naturally, the main thing that will set [PROTOTYPE] apart is in its storyline, and you’re given a pretty intriguing premise as you get to know the lead character, Alex Mercer.

Poor old Alex has been the subject to human testing, as a lethal virus spreads throughout the country and turns the nation into a bunch of strange zombie creatures. As a result, he hungers for blood like the rest of the horde, but has somehow maintained his own conscience and free will. The game aims to piece together Alex’s forgotten past and the events that led to the experimentation. Ultimately, he’s seeking revenge on whoever made him into the monster that he is today.

Not that it’s any bad thing for the player, as you get to play with all the cool new moves and abilities Alex has gained since his time under the knife.

The game has you running from one location in the city to another, using different ‘forms’ to tackle various types of enemies. Facing some cops that are trying to stop him from progressing, Alex’s arms will turn into huge black claws, which can then be used in combat to shred the enemy to pieces. Later on you'll get to use boulder-type hands to knock out huge tanks and large scythe-limbs to take on the zombified horde itself, with the abilities continuing to come in thick and fast.

Getting around New York is a breeze as well. [PROTOTYPE] seems to want to give you a realistic world in the style of Grand Theft Auto IV, populated with NPC citizens and a working police force, with a character that can systematically break all of the rules. It’s a great escape from reality when you feel like the most powerful guy in the world, wreaking havoc on citizens and evil zombies alike.

There’s another element to [PROTOTYPE] that gets introduced as you progress through the initial chapters, and it’s the classic ‘disguise’. In grabbing people and performing a specific move to consume them, you basically absorb their identity in a Shang Tsung stylee. This adds to the roster of disguises you can use to evade capture from the SWAT teams and conspirators that are out to take you in and assumedly slam a bullet in your head.

[PROTOTYPE] seems to have the hallmarks of one of those summer blockbuster popcorn flicks; an enigmatic lead, a twisted plotline, awesome and devastating powers and the sense of exhilaration you get from bouncing over cars and running up council flats. more