Prototype

Prototype is set in New York during the outbreak of a mysterious virus.

As a ‘sandbox’ game without a fixed structure to follow, players are given freedom to throw themselves, or rather the game’s protagonist Alex Mercer, around the city Parkour-style, piecing together the events that led to him developing some extraordinary powers and the civilian population gradually turning into mutants.

Alex is a former employee of Gentek, a bio-engineering company behind the viral outbreak. Beginning the game with amnesia, you must start piecing together what has happened by dismantling much of the city and its population, absorbing people to disguise yourself, or read their memories to fill in the so-called Web of Intrigue.

There’s not much in the way of detective work or chitchat with strangers, however. The player is encouraged to use his range of deadly moves to carry out various missions which often end up in a melee of residents, military and mutants. Each task, be it infiltrating a military base or crushing a hive of mutants, offers rewards that can be spent on upgrading Alex’s abilities.

Some interesting mini games include point-to-point foot races, gliding from the top of a building to hit a target, or hunting down and consuming various people, and these also offer experience point rewards.

The city can feel a bit soulless, and the detail in the buildings isn’t as good as many similar open-world games, but Prototype’s character animation is superb and the story is good enough to make the game work.