[Prototype] Review - Part 2

As cool as suddenly being Guyver was, I was not willing to risk my TV. I already noticed the burn as a random mini-map shaped circle drifted in the corner while I watched NCIS on my DVR. On that note (yes, NCIS is relevant to this. I'm getting to it.), I feel like I should point out something amusing in this game. For those of you who may have played Assassin's Creed, you may remember that there was a button to press if you wished to wade through a crowd more efficiently. You would hold it and Altaïr would push people aside. However, if you stayed in place while holding the button, preferably in a very thin walkway, anyone coming close to Altair would find his hand against their chest, keeping them away. It was mildly amusing and likely a programming oversight. I immediately thought of this early on in Prototype, after discovering something I found hilarious.

Holding the R2 Button (I have the PS3 version), you will run fast. You will leap and bound over obstacles and shove people out of your way with shoulder charges. But if you merely walk down a path, slowly, when people come to close to you, Alex will lift his hand high and deliver a mighty smack to the back of their head. This is not a light tap. This is a hard smack, that knocks them aside. The exact motion instantly brought to mind the kind of smack Agent Gibbs (played by the ever-awesome Mark Harmon) delivers at least once per episode in NCIS, almost like it was modeled specifically after that, which is what makes NCIS relevant to this. And of course, since this is New York, they will curse you off and continue on their way. This was clearly intentional and I cannot fathom why. Alex thus far has been painted as a somewhat sympathetic, if murderous and psychotic, character. So why make him such a massive prick for no reason? Because it's fun. Because these developers like to see humans suffer. That is the only explanation for this game.

I say this because, unlike inFamous, Prototype does not give you a moral choice. There is no Knights of the Old Republic Light Side/Dark Side choice in this game. You are a prick and you are going to have to deal with this. You follow the Path of the Closed Fist and you rip peoples' spines out with it. This is not really a bad thing, but just something I feel I should mention, because it's rather important and further expands on why this game fails at storytelling.

Alex Mercer is, without a doubt, an asshole. My definition of an asshole is a rather specific one when it comes to fictional characters. Almost every person who you would, in real life, call an asshole, I would simply call a jerk. For a fictional character to be an asshole in my eyes, they have to be something really fucking special. The epitome of my definition of an asshole in fiction comes in the form of Wesley Gibson from Mark Millar's opus, Wanted. I mean the comic book specifically, by the way. Wesley in the movie wanted is merely a pussy. But enough of that. For those of you familiar with the comic, you should instantly know what I mean. For those unfamiliar, let me explain. This breed of asshole does not give a shit about anything. He will usually maul, maim, steal, kill and a slew of other horrid things just for shits and giggles. Sometimes, not even that. This kind of person will punctuate the sentence "Fuck you" with a bullet, delivered between the eyes of whoever is unfortunate enough to be an irritant.

My realization of Alex's asshole status came when I accidentally grabbed a pedestrian on the street. Since the military was nearby, and I did not want to attract attention, I tried to put him down and walk away. And something occurred to me.

There was no way for me to get him out of my grip without killing him.

This might sound odd, but hear me out. Circle is the button to grab. Circle is also the button to throw, after you have grabbed. Throwing pedestrians will, 100% of the time in Prototype, result in them being a bloody streak on the pavement. Triangle is "consume" which would have Alex maim and brutalize the poor old man (I had grabbed probably the ONLY old man character model in probably the entire city, by the way) before absorbing him into my being. And none of the other buttons would allow me to release him. This was a strange, elucidating moment for me. As a gamer, I tend to respect the humble NPCs. The bystanders. I try to help them when I can, or at least change direction if I'm going to run over them. In Assassin's Creed, I did not shank and gut the humble pilgrims for fun. I did not dive and tackle the random, crazy women begging me for money. As annoying as they were, they were still human in their world. They were people. This twisted logic usually means that in games with a moral choice, I will invariably choose the path of good. I blame my parents.

But this was something new and different. I realized that no matter what I did, it was out of my hands. This man was going to die. I held his neck in the palm of my hand, but I could do nothing but tighten my grip, like a man's thumb caught in a wire crimper, fated to be crushed harder and harder to the point of oblivion before it could be released. This man was already dead. So I ran up the nearest building, dragging him alongside me and when I reached the top I hurled him as hard as I could. He flew off, flailing in the air until he finally collided with the ground with a satisfying splat. And with that splat, I was free.

Prototype is officially the game that made me stop caring about Civilians. Oh what a horrid thing you have wrought this day, Activision. I hate you for it, but I love you. With this single act of hurling an old man off of Penn Station, so began my merciless reign of terror over New York City. I found myself letting go, shredding civilians to pieces with wild abandon. They no longer mattered to me in missions. Which is good, because when you're driving a tank, it's almost impossible NOT to run the little fuckers over, crushing them into a gooey sanguine frappe. It was liberating and horrifying.

And I have to believe that this is the feeling is what Activision was going for.

Well, if I want to give them credit for something good, anyway. What I mean is, I think they didn't want you to care about the average civilian turning into weird zombie things. Who cares about them? This is about ALEX FUCKING MERCER because the world revolves around his pain. Is he even in pain? I'm not entirely sure. He never really seems to be in pain from his superpowers. I'm not even sure why he really wants revenge. I mean, he's basically cursed with AWESOME, although not being human (he certainly looks human, when he wants to) is sort of a problem. Also, I really must wonder why all the pictures from him in the past have him looking clean cut and happy while he apparently "died" in the shadiest clothes I have ever seen.

At this point in time, I feel like I'm getting off my message. Wait, did I have a message? I think I did. Right, whatever. At the point of Prototype I am at, I am still enjoying the gameplay deeply, but the storytelling is horrific and when it injects itself into the gameplay, the result is frustration and fail. But I can honestly say I enjoy it, despite how its story arouses my ire like an ingrown nail on fire. I will likely write a follow-up to this review when I actually finish the game, which may be more forgiving and less rage-filled. Or maybe I will wish a pox upon all involved in the development of this game. Who can say?

Was Prototype worth the US$60 I spent on it? Probably not. But I did preorder it, so I got a neat little rage-filled Alex Mercer figure. And in the end, isn't that all we can really ask for?

... well, maybe it's all I'll ask for. I'm easily pleased.

...

Oh and also, why the hell are there no street signs? It's New York, god damnit, I want to know where I am.