Yes I'm back after a long time(not like anyone actually cares >.>)
I've decided to continue my blog for the heck it, focusing on tech gadgets and gaming be it titles for the PC or consoles.
Prototype
I've recently got my hands on a copy of Prototype (what kind of copy doesn't really matter now does it) for the PC and decided to write down a few of my thoughts on the game after playing it over the past two days.
Let me begin by saying, I wasn't really expecting much from this game and it actually surprised me that I was actually enjoying myself playing this game. The game starts out a few days ahead of the storyline, when the infection has spread to a point where it is incurable. This is where you have full access to all the power-ups which you can acquire later on. It basically acts as a quick tutorial to the basic controls. You could call it a quick preview if you will.
Story : 3/5
The game revolves around a man named Alex Mercer who has a classic case of amnesia. The storyline progresses normally after you complete a mission (not gonna spoil it for anyone). If you are the type of person to leave nothing unanswered, you can "consume" web of intrigue targets to learn more of the events leading up to the initial outbreak. The reason I used the word "consume" is because you can literally consume a person be it to regain lost health, learn more of the events leading up to the infection, heck you could do it for some plain bloody fun.Although I was not impressed with the fact that the game took place in Manhattan as I believe it is overused lately a la Splinter Cell, The Darkness, Legendary.
Despite this, it actually turned out pretty well. I haven't finished the game yet, so I'm not going to go into more detail in terms of the story. I'll update my review score when I finish the game. Let's move on to gameplay.
Ok, so I finished it a few days ago and yes I stuck to my word. The twist at the end was unexpected yes but the delivery was horrible. The cutscene was lost between the earth and the sun. It was about 4-5 seconds of cutscene for the twist and I was then immediately thrown into gameplay. Really dissapointing in terms of delivery, but somehow the story did manage to get across to me. It wasn't as original as some of the other titles out there but the gaming industry has grown so much that I guess it's harder to create new ideas now than it was 9-10 years ago. Still haven't gotten all the WoI targets yet though, but I don't think their that important so I'm off to play GTA IV.
Gameplay : 4/5
The gameplay in Prototype reminds me a bit of the Spiderman games back on the PS2. This is more towards traversing through the city. You have your basic jump as high as an african treefrog on steroids, a wallrun (diagonally and horizontally), latching on to buildings, and gliding! Yes, gliding. You can also purchase "Air Dash" which lets you cover ground much faster. If you're the type who likes to move fast. The sprint button will be your best friend. It is rare for me to see a sprint button built into a third person game but it actually turned out pretty well. The upgrades for sprinting will be noticeable every time you buy a new level. This is what I like to see when I purchase upgrades, some change in pace or animation.
You start out with none of the things you see in the quick tutorial at the beginning of the game. You'll have to upgrade them in the upgrade menu. The currency used is EP, which isn't hard to get. You get EP through various means such as completing a story mission, finishing an event or even killing random pedestrians. Moving on to the graphical side of the game.
Groundspike
Graphics : 3/5
The animations for Alex are top notch. Movement is fluid and there wasn't one instance in the game where I got stuck under a car or caught in a tree and had to wait for a fire truck to come get me down. The sprint will be held down throughout most of the game I suppose. As I said the animation is fluid and vaulting over cars to transferring from the streets to the side of the building feel smooth.
Jumping off high rise buildings or helicopters in any other game wouldn't really impact the ground you land on. However, as soon as you hit the floor, the ground shatters around you sending a shockwave which actually damages the environment.
On the down side, the buildings looked almost the same every where I went that I sometimes got lost, having to resort to pausing the game to look at the map. The mini-map wasn't useful at all. Even in the chase scene (not gonna say more than that) where I constantly fell behind because I was going right when what I was chasing was going left.
One thing I did like though was the fact that you could explore the entire city without having to bump into numerous invisible walls with the infamous message popping up stating "Area Locked"
Audio : 2/5
The music in the game confused me at times. The tempo would suddenly escalate and I would find myself turning around only to see an empty street. And at pivotal moments where I was supposed to kill something the music seemed to die down. Even though the soundtrack was actually quite good on the ears, like I said, it was confusing at times.
Controls : 2/5
This is the type of game which is meant to be played on a gamepad, and sadly, the gamepad support in this game was terrible. A number of complaints were posted up on the Activision forums stating their gamepads weren't being detected. I found this disappointing as I was hoping to hook up my sixaxis controller to try it out (I did anyway, but to no avail). Anyway the default keys seemed a bit messy.
The movement keys are the basic W A S D. The sprint button is mapped to the Shift key. I found my left hands pinky finger feeling rather strange at times where I held down sprint for too long. Anyway, on the plus side, the Power Selection Wheel works just like how you would control an iPod. Just hold down 'R' and move the mouse towards the preferred power/upgrade and you're set.
The targeting system was not helpful to be honest. I would at times find myself not being able to target whats right in front of me. Switching targets was also a tedious task. I think I only managed to pull it off once or twice throughout the game. It supposedly tells you to "flick the targeting cursor" by holding tab and flicking the mouse. I even "flicked" my mouse off the table and I still wouldn't be able to switch targets.
Conclusion : 2.8/5
All in all this game surprised me in more ways than one but some of the surprises were not really desired. It's true that I actually have fun playing the game, but I would say rent it or borrow it off a friend OR you could always do that thing we Malaysians are famous for :) Either way, Prototype is worth playing but I wouldn't give up an organ for it.
Pictures courtesy of giantbomb.com
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