Prototype: First Look

[Henry9]

GC 2007: Prototype First Look

 

August 21, 2007 - "More gameplay per square foot than you've ever seen;" that's the tagline developer Radical Entertainment used to describe Prototype at a recent press event. And from what we saw during the demo, that statement may end up being more than just marketing hype.

 

In Prototype, you play as Alex Mercer, a hooded, mysterious denizen of New York City. So mysterious, in fact, he doesn't even know anything about his origin. As Radical describes him, Alex is a "dark anti-hero." When he awakens in the city, Alex has no idea who, what, or where he is. All he knows is he has some truly freaky powers, and he's pretty much an unstoppable juggernaut.

 

Alex is the Prototype, a powerful shapeshifter walking the streets of modern-day Manhattan. To alter his appearance, all Alex has to do is "consume" a human victim, then he can assume their identity. It's effective, but probably not a talent you want to show off in front of your mom. While you have no clue as to who or what you are, you do know that a top-secret military branch of Black Watch Special Forces are currently rolling into the city to declare martial law at just about the same time you happen to be there, so you figure there's a connection somewhere.

 

Trailer: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/814/814145p1.html

 

There's also another faction thrown into the mix: the Infected. The Infected are strangely mutated creatures that have taken up residence in NYC, giving you an even stronger suspicion that there's a common link to everything that's currently going down in the Big Apple.

 

While it begins as a mystery, the story behind Protoype focuses on real world issues of today revolving around disasters, distrust of the government, viral outbreaks, and conspiracies. It's this overarching conspiracy that you have to unravel in order to learn the true nature of your origin. As lead designer Eric Holmes puts it, "there are hundreds of 'Web of Intrigue' nodes to unlock during the game that will reveal the story."

 

New York City itself plays a big part in the game, and the layout and structure of the urban landscape evolves over time as the game progresses. The city is split up into dozens of zones that switch control between secure (controlled by the military), neutral (controlled by no one), outbreak (controlled by the Infected), and war zone (under heavy attack by all factions). Each zone will take on the appearance of its current status, so secure zones will be blocked with concrete barricades and chock full of military vehicles, while outbreak zones will look twisted and mutated, and be teaming with hordes of Infected. You have some say so over the status of the zones as your actions can determine who controls (or doesn't control) each section. Think of it as a three-way war between you, the military, and the Infected. Neither are willing to work together, and they're all badasses in their own right.

 

During the pre-demo slideshow presentation, words such as "kill," "devour," "psychotic," "isolated," "lonely," and "tragic" were interspersed on the screen, so you can understand the feeling and mood Radical is going for with Prototype. This is not the game to evoke a flowers and butterflies kind of feeling, unless those flowers are 40-foot tall carnivorous mutants, and those butterflies prefer to burrow into your skull, absorb you soul, and take your identity.

 

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Endret 21. august 2007 av Henrymeen21