![]() With time and practice, you can learn to manipulate both of these elements in such a way that makes combat feel fluid and natural, but players should probably not be expected to train themselves in the use of a mechanic which should function in a self-explanatory manner in the year 2009.Īs Brad mentioned above, boss encounters are a problem. It’s a bit easy to lose your head (figuratively and literally) in the midst of everything going on and the game’s camera and targeting systems do little to make the player feel more comfortable at the outset. Main story missions quickly become chaotic affairs with Alex stuck in the middle of a rapidly escalating war between the infected and the military. Reserving a button for a simplified scroll-through selection would have been a nice option to make changing gears on the fly a little simpler. Finding the right ability in a snap is annoying, and once you unlock the Blade power, you’ll probably just want to stick with it, negating the other powers altogether. The sheer volume of abilities is also a pain in the arse to select from, with a wheel you access in bullet-time. ![]() Sometimes I’ve killed a crucial consumption target because Mercer is hard to control (that’s when other enemies didn’t accidentally kill it for me). The same is true when it comes to grabbing enemies. Hijacking vehicles can be difficult because there are so many options that you risk Mercer doing the wrong thing and stuffing it up. ![]() A number of enemies are also infuriating to contend with, able to shrug off your attacks but nail you with their own and break your combos, and every now and then you’ll just get swamped with foes that specialize in countering everything you can do, which ends up more irritating than challenging.Īt times the game suffers simply from trying to do too much. Making Alex run up buildings automatically is great when you’re not in a hurry, but he’s far too unwieldy when you need to get somewhere quickly, and the in-game map is not very good at helping you find a location in a pinch, especially as it often makes targets appear closer than they are. Some of the side missions have considerably tight time limits, but the control system is far too loose to cope with them. Each new combat power brings with it its own set of upgrades and special moves, and Prototype seeks to constantly reward players, showing them with so-called “Evolution Points” and constantly serving fresh abilities to unlock.Īs much fun as Prototype is, however, it has its frustrating moments. As Alex gains experience and attains upgrades, he’ll be able to turn his arms into claws, hammers, whips and blades. Alex is a shapeshifter, and that naturally means he’ll be transforming himself into all manner of vicious and sadistic weapons. Of course, nobody cares too much about story when there’s killing to be done, and the sheer volume of death on offer is staggering. Unfortunately, he spends so much of the game moaning and smoldering that it’s difficult to find him likable the way an amoral protagonist needs to be. I’d have loved for Mercer to be more sardonic, especially as he shows flashes of personality now and then, with an evil smirk or a swaggering boast. It’s just a shame that the characters are not very compelling. ![]() Discovering, hunting and ingesting targets remains fun throughout the game, and some really cool scenes can be unlocked in doing so. The Web of Intrigue is a clever and unique little system that, while not a revolutionary form of exposition, keeps the game rather interesting.
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