Prototype

[Azazel]

I continue to watch this thread intently, since Australia (and Germany) have neutered versions of the game, so if I want to play it, I'm going to have to import it from the US or HK or somewhere.

[Venkman]

Mulling this for PC. Need a fix and none of the MMO betas are doing it for me atm. Anyone play the PC version or has it all been console?

[Samwise]

I keep seeing the ad for this each time I fire up Steam.  My will's bound to crack soon.

[schild]

I keep seeing the ad for this each time I fire up Steam.  My will's bound to crack soon.

Don't let it.

[Samwise]

Is it that bad?  Or is just the PC version that bad?

[schild]

From all accounts, it's just an incredibly bland game. With a bad story.

[Kitsune]

Prototype is less a game than a toy.  Whether this is a good or a bad thing hinges entirely on the person playing.  If you're the sort of person who can amuse yourself for hours by blowing shit up and making helicopters explode by throwing pedestrians at them, Prototype's a two-thumbs-up sort of deal for you.  It's interesting to be able to sightsee around Manhattan in the game and climb all over famous buildings, and the character moves like a ninja on speed, dealing out a pretty satisfying degree of ass-whooping.

Just... don't pay attention to the plot, dialogue, or characters.  It hurts in the brain.

[Morfiend]

I played a bunch more today. I am enjoying the game a bit more than I was, but I would say rent or wait for the bargin bin. I could imagine this thing being downright horrible with a mouse and keyboard.

[Kitsune]

The sad irony is that inFamous would be helped greatly by mouse aiming with so many ranged powers but has no PC port, while Prototype's third-person melee fighting is not at all good for mouse users but has the PC port.  Wacky world.

[Lantyssa]

The roomie seems to do just fine with a mouse and keyboard.  It very much is a game to get for messing around and not the plot.  It's cool how they reveal a lot of it, but it's very disjointed because of it.

[Yegolev]

I got this (PS3) and I'm having a blast.

It very much is a game to get for messing around and not the plot.  It's cool how they reveal a lot of it, but it's very disjointed because of it.

Agree.  Fortunately, I don't really give a shit about story.  Now, finding people in the Web of Intrigue, that's fun because I love collecting things.  This game has tons of things to collect and I find the gameplay to be very fun and interesting.  The VO is crap, though, and the visuals don't match up to inFamous, but that's perfectly fine due to the speed.  Alex is, literally, a monster.  I'm leaping, flying, devouring, and smashing my way through NYC at high speed.  It's a rather different game from inFamous, which is more like Prince of Persia or Assassin's Creed with Force powers.  Cole has to use cover and run and dodge and be smart; Alex can stand being shot by a tank, two choppers and a host of infantry with minimal damage.  Also he doesn't have good/bad karma, it's all bad.

Anyway, I don't have a problem with the controls.  They are tight enough to do things without pissing me off, although the button combinations can be a bit much when do start doing crazy shit like jump->air dash->fly->dash again->fly->hammer drop.  I can't imagine trying to do that shit on a kb+m, but whatever.

[ffc]

Now, finding people in the Web of Intrigue, that's fun because I love collecting things. 

I don't like collecting things but when I see a Web of Intrigue person I feel compelled to run over and say hi.  But my "hey collecting this stuff is fun" feeling goes down the tubes when I accidentally kill them because I have my shield armed.

[Mazakiel]

Finished it last night.  I had fun with it, but not as much fun as inFamous.  For every cool moment in the game, there were probably three times where I felt like I was having to fight clunky controls to do what I wanted.  It's worth playing, but it's not a game to get if you can only get one game this summer or whatever. 

[rk47]

I enjoyed being low key more than being a raging monster on rampage. Quite odd, and the hive destruction was laughably easy once you're on the scene. The military had 3 tanks and 2 choppers unloading at it and couldn't take it down, I entered a tank in my soldier uniform and took it down in less than 10 seconds. 

[jakonovski]

I beat the game yesterday. The story had potential, but in the end it was a bit too pedestrian. Which is a bit odd since it was written by Dennis Detwiller of Delta Green fame. Great gameplay though, the different abilities were actually useful. Especially the armor: if you ever have problems with a boss, put it on.

Edit: first playthrough unlocks New Game+ mode, which lets you run around with everything unlocked from the beginning. That is going to be Awesome.

[Dion]

Mulling this for PC. Need a fix and none of the MMO betas are doing it for me atm. Anyone play the PC version or has it all been console?

The PC controls are fine. Game isn't worth 50€ though. I'd suggest you wait a while and see if you can't find it cheaper.

[Big Gulp]

I played a bunch more today. I am enjoying the game a bit more than I was, but I would say rent or wait for the bargin bin. I could imagine this thing being downright horrible with a mouse and keyboard.

I enjoy the game in the same way I enjoyed Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.  It's fun causing carnage, tentacling from helicopter to helicopter, and just gliding around the city.  The story is appallingly bad, though, and don't expect much replay value out of the game.  If you can get it on sale over Steam, in a bargain bin, or you can rent it, do so.

Oh, and the whole mouse and keyboard thing?  Who doesn't have a 360 controller for their PC?  If not, why not?  It's pretty much the standard now for gamepads.

[Big Gulp]

I enjoyed being low key more than being a raging monster on rampage. Quite odd, and the hive destruction was laughably easy once you're on the scene. The military had 3 tanks and 2 choppers unloading at it and couldn't take it down, I entered a tank in my soldier uniform and took it down in less than 10 seconds.  

I needed to grind XP for a little while so I'd just start some shit, steal a helicopter, and travel around rocketing hives for a while.  When I was out of rockets I'd head over to the nearest military base and use my hellfires on it.  They scramble choppers, I leap out of my helicopter and steal another one they just scrambled after me.  Rinse, repeat.

[Ashamanchill]

My roomate just finished this title, with me watching him play most of the way through (console games aren't for me).  This thread seems right on the money.  The controls, especially the targeting suck, the main character is an unlikible, monotone douche, and the story is not that well told, yet he liked it.  Not enough to buy, but certainly enough to rent it and give it a run through.  He synopsis is that it's like a crummier version of Saint's Row 2 (which is a compliment, coming from him).

[Kageru]

Zero Punctuation reviewed it this morning.

Edit by Trippy: fixed link

My apologies for wasting your time, should have checked it.

[UnSub]

If anyone hasn't seen it, the Prototype and inFamous devs picked up on Yahtzee's challenge and we are all winners as a result.

[Hawkbit]

That's actually pretty awesome when designers can have a laugh at themselves. 

[Der Helm]

Just finished it, I liked the story and the presentation, could have lived without the minor, notreallysuprising twist at the end.

I was a bit disapointed with the ending. But I would play the sequel.


I had no problems with the controlls, in the big boss fights it got a bit messy, now I hope for a PC-port for inFamous.

[fnddf2]

I am a couple of weeks into it now.  I paid $50 for it, and I don't regret it.  For me, it's been a lot of fun.

Basically, the main point about Prototype has already been covered in this thread, which is that it's all about the combat and destroying things.  I think that some reviewers out there gave it some low scores because they were expecting something a little more profound in the rest of the game, like the plot, missions, the city, etc.  But really, everything from the plot to the missions to the city itself is just there to cater to your destructive tendencies.  I don't think the devs really expected you to care about the city or anything because you are just there to wreck things, and you don't need to be emotionally attached to what is essentially your plaything rather than a living, breathing city.  Someone in one of the previous posts used the word "toy", and I think it's perfect.

So as long as you don't expect any cool puzzle type missions or pseudo-roleplaying stuff like in some other games, Prototype could be worth your money.  You just have to be okay with the fact that the game is very one-dimensional.  You will be doing the same things over and over again, but that's just the point of some games.

I myself did not have any issue with controls or camera angles.  Personally, I find the controls to be great, and given the speed and chaos involved I don't think they could have done any better with the camera.

After two weeks I still haven't beaten the game, mostly because I love to just go around and destroy things while earning EP and collecting things.  But I am the kind of person that likes these kinds of one-dimensional games, as long as that single dimension is very fun.