Preview: Prototype Perfects the Open-World Genre
Has Radical Entertainment perfected the open-world genre with Prototype? We think so.
I can't wait for Prototype. A recent showing at a massive GDC party recaptured my attention for the chaotic open-world brawler. I've been telling my fellow GamePro editors that the action is fast-paced and messy, but in a good way. The core gameplay is like Assassin's Creed meets Crackdown on speed. Alex Mercer, the genetically enhanced shape-shifting Prototype, can free-run the environment (Parkour) just like Altair, but faster, and has super-human strength that allows him to leap tall buildings in a single bound and pick up vehicles.
The Prototype GDC demo wasn't like conventional game showings where the developer and publisher present the game accompanied by voice over. Instead, the room was so packed with industry insiders and loud techno music the game's producer merely played for about 20 minutes. Here are my impressions.
Alex Mercer is extremely agile, a world-class free runner who makes Altair's stunts from Assassin's Creed look like baby steps.
Open World, Open Playground
The game takes place in a fictional city reminiscent of New York with flashy billboards, skyscrapers, and lots of traffic. The GDC demo opened with Mercer standing high above the city streets. He looks like an average Joe dressed in blue jeans, white sweater, and black vest, but Mercer has a dark secret. As the Prototype of a mutated viral epidemic, Mercer has the ability to morph into inhuman forms designed for attack, defense, and sensory enhancement. The people he kills become apart of him, which grants Mercer the ability to recall their memories and even physical likeness. For example, Mercer could potentially kill the commanding officer of a military base, walk in looking just like that person, and steal all their secrets.
Mercer leaps from the scaffolding hundreds of feet in the air and comes crashing down in downtown traffic. He doesn't die though, but leaves cracks in the pavement. A frightened woman on the sidewalk cowers in fear as Mercer moves in for the kill. From the demo, it looks like combat is broken up into basic punch-and-kick combos and finishing moves, which are devastating kill attacks glorified by cinematic camera cuts. Mercer performs a finishing move on the woman and consumes her entrails. Well, it's not her entrails per say, but a strange vine-like substance crawls from the woman and into Mercer's body. Mercer then morphs into the business woman and can still perform all of his free-running acrobatics and special abilities.
Free running in Prototype looks hyper responsive and super slick. The Prototypical Mercer is so strong his body carries enough mass to crush vehicles as he hand plants and vaults over them. He can also run straight up vertical inclines with no noticeable slowdown and skate across window panes like Spider-man.
Brawler enemies are early Prototypes gone bad. From what we've seen so far, they are the toughest ground units in the game.
Pure Chaos
After screwing around downtown, an objective to destroy the first military base pops up onscreen, as does a waypoint to the facility. Once there, the military immediately shifts all man power towards eliminating Mercer. Tanks roll out, but they're no match for Mercer's ultimate strength. Grappling with enemy vehicles initiates a God of War style mount and destroy mini-game that showcases Mercer leaping on the tank, wrenching off the top hatch and jumping in the hull to kill the drivers. Blood spurts out the top of the tank like a breaching whale.
Ground units attempt to thwart the powerful Prototype, but come off as pester some flies rather than formidable foes. This is where the game's producer showcased Mercer's different forms. Selecting the attack form changes Mercer's arms into menacing claws, much like the T-1000 from Terminator. This mode dishes out more damage from melee attacks, but also gives Mercer the ability to produce deadly spikes from the ground. Mercer punches the pavement, shooting spikes into the sky and impales three military soldiers.
The other mode is defensive. Mercer's entire body morphs into a thick, armored exoskeleton capable of taking massive amounts of damage. We didn't get to see much else when Mercer was in this protective state.
The fortified exoskeleton state is best for defensive measures. Mercer can take lots of damage, but his offensive powers may be limited.
Aerial Assault
The coolest enemies in the game that we've seen are the Apache helicopters and the Brawlers. The Apaches are just as agile as Mercer and fire homing missiles. The trick is to actually jump up and mount these bad boys, commandeer the pilot position, and lay waste to the swarming enemies below. The thing is they are so quick that by the time you leap into the air they have moved to another position, but I found the key secret. Once Mercer is in the air he can perform a zip kick that fires him forward at high speeds. No helicopter can escape the fearsome zip kick.
Intercept an Apache helicopter in mid air, eject the pilot, kill the co-pilot and the ride is all yours.
The Brawlers look like hell hounds turned inside out with their innards showing on the outside. It's difficult to say if the Brawlers were once human, but they are surely infected by the viral epidemic. Maybe the military were testing the Prototype on dogs before Alex Mercer, the first human subject? That's purely speculation, of course. By this point the demo was coming to a close, but the action was still snowballing. I thought to myself that this game is non-stop crazy. Do you ever get a break to relax and reflect on all the things you just destroyed? At this point, Mercer scaled a nearby building, broke the line of sight and things settled down. But not for the Brawlers and military down below who began fighting each other. It's clear there is a three-way war occurring in Prototype, but all intentions are still unclear until I can get some solid answers from Radical and Sierra. Stay tuned because I'm all over this game.
The trailer below will give you a visual companion to everything I mentioned above. Enjoy.
![Screen Update: Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory [PC]](/screens/111246/197628-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Infamous [PS3]](/screens/134601/197568-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Mushroom Men - The Spore Wars [Wii]](/screens/135221/125868-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Midnight Club: Los Angeles [Xbox 360]](/screens/136701/197588-1-1.jpg)
