Prototype 2 review.

Those infected are going to get carved up.

I play games for many different reasons. Some for their engaging narrative, some for their challenging gameplay and some for a fun diversion. Prototype 2 definately falls into the latter category.

Staying in New York (now NYZ) we have a new protagonist for Prototype 2, Sgt James Heller, with Alex Mercer now filling the role of antagonist. The story is quite flimsy in terms of its execution.Heller blames Mercer for his wife and daughters deaths at the hand of the 'Mercer Virus', and in a show of poor judgement, Heller attacks Mercer (who can throw tanks)with a knife. Unsurprisingly this fails which leads to Heller becoming infected gaining Mercer like powers.

The story makes some twists and turns and attempts poignancy, but overall it's pretty poor and isn't helped at all by some truly dismal, obscenity laden dialogue which for me destroyed any empathy I had toward Heller very quickly. And that's without mentioning the evil 'pmc' Blackwatch who really like murdering innocent people in an X-rated, pantomime villain kind of way. I doubt Heller would agree but he has a lot in common with them.

The fact is the story is only present to set up the carnage. Glorious, open world, bloodsoaked carnage. Much like its predecessor Prototype 2 is at its best as hurl yourself through the environment. Gliding gracefully through the air from rooftop to rooftop, running up a skyscraper and then jumping from the top are exhilarating and genuinely brilliant. The environment itself contributes to take the edge off of this enjoyment however, especially early on. The two new islands (you visit Manhattan later) are a bit devoid of excitement and aren't great playgrounds for Hellers abilities which isn't a big issue, more just mildly disappointing. The visuals contribute as well. Whilst improved from the original, they are merely servicable and won't be dropping any jaws.

Luckily Prototype 2 has hugely improved combat. It is more responsive, more chaotic and more rewarding. The introduction of a powerwheel (accessed by hold L1) allows you to quickly map Hellers growing arsenal of powers on the fly. You'll feel truly empowered as you tear into a brawler (a medium size beast which you can later summon) with your Wolverine style claws before carving him in twain with your whipfist. Being attacked by a helo? Throw are car at it, or jump on and steal its rocket pod, or even steal the whole thing. The combat just throws options at you which is never a bad thing and Hellers abilities are dished out well through the course of the game meaning you always have something new to play with. It is a shame however that the lockon is still terrible meaning that rather than targetting the tank in front of you, you'll target a pesdestrian a hundred feet away.

The main missions in which you'll be using Hellers myriad of powers fall into the same pitfall as the story. They are pretty mundane and unimaginative although the thoroughly chaotic combat means that this may not be at the forefront of your mind as you play. They also suffer from being far too easy and the game itself is short for an open world title. Throw in some ill fitting stealth elements involving consuming soldiers for not only health but their identity and memories as well, and a hunting mechanic which is only used when the game lets you and the story missions feel more like......

...Sidemissions and activities which actually offer more incentive to play them past just gaining experience so Heller levels up and becomes (even) more powerful. Completing the Blacknet missions, finding collectibles and destroying lairs will offer you a unique bonus mutation or perk if you will. It's actually one of the best implementations of sidemissions in any open world action game i've played.

The main issue I have with Prototype 2 though, is that as a package it lacks cohesion. The story takes itself seriously due to the subject matter (viral outbreak, genocide) but the frankly comical dialogue just ruins it all and when your being fed the idea that Heller is a good guy in a cutscene, when within a minute of gameplay he's off cutting innocent people in half it all feels a bit braindead. Like the shambling infected.

Prototype 2 is a fun, very easy, terribly written and therefore not particularly memorable distraction with its strongest suits being combat and traversal.

7/10