RETRO – There are some viruses, which got you just sneezing, there are some, where you get very sick, there are some, which kills you, and there are some, which makes you super hero. The heroes of the two Prototype games got the latter.

Prototype 2, which was already released some months ago on consoles, and just came out not long ago on PC, seems to lack some originality after the first game from 2009. It’s already considered as a failure in terms of profit, but it’s not one of those games that you’d just throw out the window, while bitching at the developers. Prototype 2 should be considered as the swansong for Radical. They’ve been on the scene for 21 years, but Activision shut the door on them… Thanks for everything, guys.

“I’m gonna fucking KILL YOU!”

The game starts out with our antagonist (James Heller) striving for only revenge… and his target is – surprise, suprise – Alex Mercer from the first game! But as you progress escaping from the lab, he’ll meet you and inform you that he’s not the evildoer around here. After “putting some fucking clothes on”, you start to attack Gentek’s and Blackwatch’s soldiers.

Later on you’ll find that doctor from the lab named Köning (actually it’s Koening, but “oe” is a German “ö” anyway), whom you will consume (get used to consuming people, that is disgusting yet entertaining to watch). Then later on you’ll get to know that Mercer actually lied (you will see him releasing the virus), revenge will be so more tasteful… I’m not going to spoiler the entire story, so let’s just say my previous sentence actually has some meaning behind it.

An enjoyable sequel

I really enjoyed playing Prototype 2. There is something beautiful seeing Heller’s glide in mid-air, as well as punching the shit out of Blackwatch soldiers, seeing them ending up as “food” and health after a nicely planned hunt… Sure, it wasn’t a big selling game (I think Prototype 2 is sadly underrated), but it still is a damn enjoyable ride, supported by a well-designed and well-optimized Titanium 2 engine.

Of course, the default keyboard controls are stupidly bonded, but thankfully you can easily assign everything to a different key. You’ll need to do that in order to survive the helicopter chase, for example. Just please, take your time binding everything to keys you’re used to from other games, because this will help the fun factor.

The music, the speech and the sound effects are nicely done. Radical did this as good as possible – hell, they even released a soundtrack disc.

What failed in this prototype?

What I really missed, are meaningful and interesting additions to the first game. It could have used a bit more creativity. However, if you didn’t play the first game, you won’t find this a problem.

Overall…

…it’s a good game, but not a great one for sure. Will not be a hit for 2012, but everyone should give this a go. This isn’t about shooting the shit out of everyone in sight, this is about survival. Confronting your enemies WILL hurt you bad, so you need to be careful and grab some people in order to survive.

It’s worth playing, it’s worth buying, and it’s worth your time. Blame Activision for closing Radical – Activision could have invested more in advertising, yet they blame the developers. Geniuses.

-V- (2012)

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Radical Entertainment

Genres: akció, 3D, open world

Publication: 2012 április