http://darksonic.wordpress.com/2009/...rd-fun-occurs/

Ever since I started playing UT2004 online I’ve found it very hard to finish single player games. I wanted an Xbox 360 just for Gears of War, and to this day, I have yet to beat it. I bought the Special Edition of Grand Theft Auto 4 and just stopped playing it mid-game. For some reason or another I just lose interest despite the games being relatively decent (well, except Gears).

Prototype broke me. From the second I was thrust into the game, thoughts of mid-air karate kicking would not leave my mind. Laying in bed at night I would picture Alex Mercer carelessly running through New York, smacking people and toppling over cars lest they get in his path of destruction. What is wrong with me? Do I truly wish to accomplish something I have not done in so many years? Am I actually developing the urge to…beat this game?

Yeah, I was, and yes, I did.

Prototype is considered to be one of those sandbox superhero games, which means you have super human powers and the world is yours to wreak havoc upon. If you’re playing this game for its in-depth story, you’ll be sadly disappointed. While Prototype has a story, it’s so convoluted and confusing often times you’ll find yourself leaning back and saying, “What does that even mean?”

Quick and dirty: Military tested biological warfare virus “Blacklight” in Hope, Idaho. Elizabeth Greene and her son survive the outbreak of the virus and are put into containment for research. Military continues research of Blacklight with company GENTEK. After numerous GENTEK employees begin disappearing, Alex Mercer decides to steal the virus as a form life insurance. Alex gets cornered by Blackwatch members (special forces people) and ends up destroying the vial containing the virus thus releasing it to the city of New York. After waking up on an operating table, Alex no longer possess memory of his past and can perform curiously amazing feats, such as leaping over a very high fence or survive being shot.

The meat of the game involves you playing a flashback essentially, as occasionally you’ll be treated to a CGI movie of Mercer speaking to a masked soldier about how everything went down. The story progesses similarly to GTA3 in that you complete “missions.” To successfully complete these missions you’ll need to upgrade Alex’s powers with experience points. Don’t fret about not having enough points though as the game hands them out like buckets of candy. That doesn’t mean the game turns into an overpowered borefest though. This games difficulty ramps up hard and fast, throwing every punch it can and more. I’m not gonna lie to you, I became extremely frustrated at certain points. The amount of curse words flowing from my mouth would have made Scarface shudder in terror.

Is that such a bad thing though? When I finished the game I actually welcomed the extreme difficulty. It’s something that video games have been lacking as of recently. Take a look back at recent games that hold your hand all the way though, never truly allowing you to break free from that grasp. You’re not my mom, let go of me. Prototype not only lets go of your hand, it picks you up and hurls you at a brick wall.

While the graphics aren’t going to make you **** your pants, they certainly aren’t 5.5 out of 10 bad (I’m looking at you, IGN). I played the game on my computer at the highest possible settings so I’m sure it looked better than its console counterparts. Even though the graphics weren’t A+ material they never took away from how much fun the game was and that’s all that matters to me. Oh, and to address something that Eurogamer said: “Radical includes Crackdown-style orbs, but the poor draw distance means you stumble onto them rather than really discovering them…” I’m sorry, but were you playing the game on dated hardware? I had no issue spotting the hidden packages and didn’t really experience any sort of draw distance issue. Also, of course you stumble onto them: they’re called hidden packages for a reason.

Bottom line: Prototype is a balls-out action game that never stops challenging your gaming skill. Most reviewers bashed the game due to the difficulty but I’ve decided to praise it. Not since Donkey Kong have I literally cursed out a game. If you’re in the mood for some mindless and stupid-amazing fun, don’t hesitate to check out Prototype. While it may not be a must buy it certainly is worth a rental or two.