Hands on with Prototype...

I’ve been having a great deal of fun with my review copy of Prototype (or should that be [Prototype]?) I reckon it’s time to sum it up in one neat, evocative sentence. How’s this: It’s like grafting the free-running skills of Assassins Creed’s Altair onto the shape-shifting powers of Resident Evil’s Tyrant and letting the resulting monster free roam around a plague-struck New York smashing up tanks.

Ok, that’s quite a lot to say in one breath, but that pretty much sums up the experience so far. It’s incredibly fast and furious, with huge crowds of civilians, soldiers and infected people, ludicrously exhilarating runs and leaps up and off the sides of enormous buildings and shape-shifting skills that range from growing a huge blade in your arm, worming your stretchy limbs along under the pavement before bursting forth to impale your enemies, or simply turning your fists into rocky lumps that you can use to smash up tanks.

Phew! And all that is before we even get to the whole consume-and-impersonate aspect of gameplay, or the expanding list of powers that eventually necessitates a petal menu.

From what I’ve played so far, Prototype seems to be determined to rush my speedy free-running hoody-wearing self headlong from one action-packed tear-up to the next, and has already had me smash up tanks, throw taxis at helicopters and steal rocket launchers from squaddies. My only misgiving is that sometimes, when a game tries to set such a full-on pace from the start, to deliver a huge complement of skills and kills from the opening moments, it’s too easy to become jaded very quickly. Be honest, how quickly did you get bored with MadWorld?

Still, it hasn’t happened yet, and hopefully it never will, though I’ll be sure to let you know if it does. In the meantime, it’s also worth noting that Prototype’s graphics, despite what you may have heard elsewhere, look rather good to me: there’s a fair amount of detail, some good smoke effects, a huge depth of field and lovely lighting and reflection effects. My only concern as I explore the huge city is that there won’t be enough variety to build on what we’ve already seen.