We’re coming to the end of our Games of 2009 musings. Just a few more to go, then on to games of the – my goodness – decade. But the feature simply wouldn’t be complete without an astonishing, 9/10-scoring open-world action game, in which you can be just about as bad as you like…

I paid attention to Prototype just once during its whole development. It disappeared off my gaming radar soon after, and yet it ended up doing the equivalent of leaping out of a bush while I was walking down the street at night and sucker-punching me in the face. Hard.

I don’t think any game this year has managed to feel quite so intense, with its fast paced action and visceral ultra-violence. Prototype does an incredible job of making you feel like the most powerful badass the world has ever seen, with abilities that include being able to sprint up the sides of buildings, glide through the air, body slam tanks from the top of skyscrapers, throw cars, and morph your body into various deadly weapons including hammer-arms, blades, claws, whips and huge spikes. There’s so much you can do with protagonist Alex Mercer that it’s often difficult to decide how to approach a given situation. You’re spoilt for choice.

I love the way the game drops you right into the penultimate scene, with all your powers available, right at the start of the game. Sure, after a brief run of carnage and jaw-dropping action it dumps you back to eighteen days earlier with just the basic starter powers, but that opening gives you a taste of what will come. It gets the gaming juices flowing in anticipation.

You know, I often have arguments with people about violence in videogames, defending them to the last and usually winning my case. With Prototype, my whole argument crumbles to dust. It revels in its bloodthirstiness, but I absolutely love it for the sheer damn spectacle of it. It’s not Alex Mercer who’s a bastard, as some people like to claim; it’s us, the players, who become the murderous nut-jobs. The Alex Mercer of the cut-scenes is trying to save the world and find out who he really is. As soon as we take over… well. Look out New York City. There will be blood.

But it’s not all about the violence. (Well, it mostly is, actually. But still…) What we have with Prototype is a beautiful example of game mechanics that work so well and flow so brilliantly it almost touches on perfection. Combat and movement animations blend perfectly, and the free-running functions in that same sublime way as the modern GTA games’ driving just works. You become the character, all movements translated from brain to controller to game world. This is a title in which you can lose hours, ignoring the main story and simply exploring the city, destroying everything that stands in your way, basking in pure, unashamedly in-your-face videogame.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

//Batman: Arkham Asylum (Review – 9/10)
As a huge Batman fan, I found this to be a pure joy to play. At last! A proper Batman game that doesn’t piss all over the source material. Incredible graphics that hold so much weight and detail. A fantastic story that’s compelling and entertaining without being awkward and contrived. Rocksteady obviously put a lot of love into Arkham Asylum, and it shows in the absolute polish to every aspect, as well as a ton of extras to find, such as the interview tapes with all the villains and the Riddler’s challenges. Oh, and what about that bit? I thought my 360 had red-ringed. Brilliant.

//Borderlands (Review – 9/10)
This is probably the best co-op game I’ve ever played. In fact, it’s a game that has to be played in co-op to really get the most out of it. I’d even go as far as saying it’s a bit average in single-player. But in the company of friends, it’s an absolute riot of a game. As soon as the ace intro starts up, you know exactly what you’re in for: a barmy, comic-book Mad Max with a wicked sense of humour and lashings of good, old ultra-violence.

//Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2 (Review – 9/10)
I heaped a bucket of praise over this in my review when it was released, and for good reason. Pretty much ignoring the successful formula of the first game and coming up with something new – and, in my opinion, better – was a bit of a masterstroke. Dawn of War 2 doesn’t actually feel like a sequel at all; it feels like the start of a new series in itself – a more personal look at the battlefields of the far future, with a small squad to control rather than an entire army. Well implemented RPG elements further immerse you into the world of Warhammer 40,000.

By Greg Giddens

Do you recall those panic-stricken moments in real life when you can’t remember which button on the controller you’ve to press in order to get out of your car?

That’s the feeling you get when a game manages to completely immerse you and bleeds through into reality. Prototype does just that. It grabs hold of you and consumes you entirely. This is what sandbox games should be like: gripping fun, personified.

Prototype places you in the now-quarantined city of New York after the outbreak of a deadly virus. You are Alex Mercer, an infected individual with extreme strength, agility and shape-shifting abilities that allow you to consume others around you, talking not only their form but also their memories – something that proves useful, as you have only a fractured memory of who you are.  Perplexed and concerned about what you have become, you hunt down those responsible for infecting you and the city, consuming them and learning more about yourself and the viral outbreak.  It’s good to see a sandbox game pulling off the narrative so successfully.  Consuming memories is both unique and interesting, and the story is a true treat to follow.

//Balancing act
Prototype starts off challenging and ends somewhere between impossible and suicidal. In this respect, the freedom you have to approach each mission and fight is both a blessing and a curse. In Prototype there is no impediment to free action, and it feels utterly unhindered with regards to what your character can do. It’s the most resounding sandbox experience I’ve ever played, but because of the sheer amount of options available in combat, finding the right mix of attacks to defeat some of the bosses or survive some of the missions is a difficult task.

Amazingly, though, Prototype never becomes too frustrating. There are often checkpoints within each mission and fight, so whatever progress you can make counts for something – and there is always the option to return to free-roam mode and leave the mission until later, when you’ve built your skills and are stronger.

The bosses and some of the infected prove strong adversaries, but the human masses don’t stand a chance unless they’re in armoured vehicles – though even then, after enough upgrades, you can handle nearly anything mankind can throw at you. You’re like a big bad wolf in a world of little pigs, resulting in a feeling of completely ludicrous betterment that’s incredibly satisfying. It’s astonishing just how powerful you can become: you’ll upgrade your abilities, and learn new ones, by spending experience points gained from completing missions and defeating enemies, and not long into the game you will have a whole collection of moves you can perform and a list of buttons to execute them. The amount of combinations Prototype demands is amazing, but more impressive is how well they’re mapped to the controller. Even with all your abilities unlocked, everything remains manageable.

Combat isn’t the only aspect with copious amounts of button combinations and options; the simple act of getting around is also rather complex. Alex can traverse the city in several different ways. He can jump large distances and scale buildings parkour style; he can also fall from any height and not take damage. Add to that the fact that his enhanced parkour allows him to literally run up any building, and you can see that the word “obstacles” means a different thing to Alex than it does to everyone else. After a few upgrades you’ll find yourself gliding, air-dashing, and even driving or piloting military vehicles.

That the options to traverse New York are plentiful and varied is one thing, but what makes Prototype so astonishing is how much pure fun it provides, especially when you embrace your darker side as a player. Simply grabbing hold of an unaware civilian, climbing to the top of the Empire State Building, dropping them off and jumping after them just to see who falls faster is a thrill time and time again.

//Short but sweet
Exploring the city is great, but it also reveals Prototype’s few weaknesses. Some of the buildings and characters are lacking in detail, and occasionally the draw distance fails to match your speed. But these few graphical shortcomings still don’t distract from the enjoyment, and since the frame rate does a fantastic job of remaining fast, the overall presentation is still worthy of a current-generation title.

It’s also a fairly short game, in terms of the main story. Prototype only provides about ten hours of this, though additional missions easily add another five hours. And even without them, the length feels comfortable, and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Besides, such small flaws are nowhere near enough to significantly damage the game. Prototype is still excellent in almost all respects, and it’s a shame the story has to end. Once it’s over, you’re bored of the additional missions and there isn’t anything left for you to do, the option is there to replay with all your abilities unlocked.  There’s no multiplayer to speak of – a rarity in modern console games – but I’ll never condemn a developer for choosing to focus on an arresting single-player experience.  Do be aware, though, that if the relatively short time-span bothers you, there are no current plans for downloadable content.

You could certainly ask for more from Prototype – more story, more variety in the optional missions, more diversity in the city locations – but it’s still one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played this year. Rarely does it feel repetitive or frustrating, and often does it feel like you’re a god among men. It’s challenging and engaging, unique and interesting, a game that deserves thorough recognition for a job well done.

9/10

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