PS3 Review – Prototype 2

Balancing out all of the action is a forgiving stealth mechanic. Heller “consumes” enemies, which gives him health and access to their forms. Heller will need an enemy form to enter hostile enemy territory to mostly accomplish one of the following goals: destroy something, kill/consume someone, or obtain intel for side quests. Unfortunately, the game rarely sticks to the stealth mechanic, almost always offering an all-out chaos option at one point or another. Even when in public and using the enemy form to maintain a low profile, if Heller accidentally or deliberately lets on who he is by doing something that indicates that he has powers, he only needs but a second to transfer back to the enemy form unseen and the enemy alert will fade immediately. So much more could’ve been done with the stealth mechanic than is present in the game — to the very least, more rewards could’ve been offered to players who opt to use or maintain stealth.

Also, speaking of mechanics — and this may seem like a more minor complaint — is that some of Prototype 2‘s combat could use a little more fluidity. The controls aren’t stiff or unresponsive, but Heller feels less than fluid in combat at times. He’s such an overpowered hero and has powers like speed, gliding, and so on, and him not feeling like he could freely move around a battlefield is just a bit odd. Furthermore, the button that allows Heller to run, climb, glide, and more (R2 on PS3) has so many functions mapped to it that sometimes getting it to do a specific function asked of it can be difficult or requires a few tries before it actually occurs.

Prototype 2‘s missions aren’t that long — most can be beaten in just a few minutes, with the exception of multi-mission side quests and a few others. They all follow very similar mission structures, many of which end in Heller killing or consuming someone on his hit list of Gentek or Blackwatch employees. Not much variety is had in how missions are set up or executed, either. Furthermore, the action in the missions many times is next to no different than Heller changing forms in public and drawing out the Strike Team in Free Roam (when Heller is not on a story mission or side quest). When the missions are as similar to one another as Prototype 2‘s are, they quickly become repetitive.

Offered to owners of new copies of the game is RADNET, a free offering of developer-issued challenges, events, and rewards. RADNET actually is mostly an extension of goals one might find in a Trophy list and some mini-game-style events as well (i.e. “kill X enemies in X seconds,” or “destroy soldiers with attack x”). RADNET, though, does offer the kind of events that gamers who enjoy Prototype 2 would like to participate in. In terms of what it offers, RADNET isn’t anything revolutionary, but it is a unique spin on additional content that really does attempt to reach out to a game’s audience.

What it may lack in depth, Prototype 2 makes up for in solid open-world action and fun. It’s highly recommended to anyone who feels that open-world games have offered too many constraints and would just like to engage in some havoc. However, the game’s lack of variety and repetitive mission structure may not offer other gamers the experience that they’re looking for, especially when compared to other games in the genre. Anyone who can look past those issues, though, will find an enjoyable game that tries to take open-world games back to their old school, rampage-driven roots — and that’s not a bad thing at all.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score



+ An old school style of open-world action that provides fun with over-the-top super powers

– Story and gameplay could be deeper, offer more variety

– Short, repetitive missions

7 out of 10

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