Review of [Prototype] for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC by Protomario
27Who is Alex Mercer?
Prototype is an open world video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Activision. The game was released in North America on June 9, 2009, and in southwestern parts of North America as well as Oceania on June 10, and was released in Europe on June 12.
The game is set in New York City, where a virulent plague is spreading through Manhattan. Those infected are mutated into hideous monsters. The United States Marine Corps, under the command of the black ops organization Blackwatch, is dispatched to contain it. At the center of it is the protagonist, Alex Mercer, a shapeshifter with no memory of his past. Alex has the ability to absorb other individuals, taking on their biomass, memories, experiences, and physical forms. Parallel to the game's storyline is the ability to play the game as a sandbox-style video game giving the player freedom to roam Manhattan.
Many reviewers compared and contrasted it with Infamous, a game released in the previous month by Sucker Punch Productions which features a superhero with developing powers in an open world. However, the gameplay is very similar to The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, also by Radical Entertainment.
Alex's primary superpower is his ability to shapeshift, changing his form to suit his needs. Going hand in hand with this power is his ability to "consume" others, absorbing them entirely. This process allows Alex to quickly regain health by absorbing the biomass of his enemies. This also allows him to take on the forms of the enemies he absorbs, thereby allowing the player to move about the enemy as one of them. The disguise will only last as long as Alex remains inconspicuous. Alex has super-strength, and will kill most humans in a single punch. He can perform various melee attacks without shapeshifting, as well as more gymnastic moves such as air combos, sliding along the ground using any human enemy's body, and a high-speed rolling cannonball attack.
The game follows the story of Alex Mercer (voiced by Barry Pepper) who wakes up on a morgue slab in the basement of Gentek, a large and influential genetic engineering company based in Manhattan. Alex escapes and sets out to recover his memory and find out exactly what occurred. He soon discovers he now possesses powerful shapeshifting abilities that grant him superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, weaponry and the ability to "consume" people to gain their memories, skills and appearance. With no memory of his previous life, Alex is forced to track down and consume those related to the conspiracy in order to uncover the truth. During his quest, Alex faces two factions: the military, consisting of the United States Marine Corps and Blackwatch, a Fort Detrick special forces unit dedicated to combating biological warfare; and the Infected, monsters created by a strange virus that is overrunning Manhattan. Captain Robert Cross (voiced by Jeff Pierce), a Blackwatch officer, is specifically given orders to find and contain Alex.
A comic book series made by DC Comics Wildstorm was released along with the game. It reveals more about Hope Idaho, Elizabeth Green, and the viral outbreak. There are a total of 6 issues of the comic.
Reference-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prototype_%28video_game%29