24 Jul, 2011
When we hear the word “sequel,” we often think of where we’ll be going next with the same protagonist. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Radical Entertainment’s Prototype 2. Much like Vigil’s upcoming action-adventure title Darksiders II, we’ll be following in someone else’s footsteps to discover what happened after the events of the original Prototype.
You already might have heard of him. His name is James Heller, and he’s just as angry as Alex Mercer, but for vastly different reasons. In the latest preview sandwiched comfortably between the pages of GAMES’ July issue, we’re given a peek of just what to expect with Mr. Heller and what following Alex Mercer will yield.
A long time ago, James Heller had a wonderful family. He lived a normal life, and had a job as a sergeant in the U.S. military. That all changed when he became infected. His family was killed by the infected roaming the streets of New York, and he himself started to grow giant claws, a new-found motion-sickening parkouring habit, and Hulk-smash strength.
I'm pretty sure that's not the backup we called for.
You might wonder if he and Mercer are related, but that’s not the case. Heller’s infliction is a slightly different strain, suggesting that while Mercer initially caused the infection, it has since mutated in Heller’s body. How else would you be able to explain continuity in this strange tale?
Premise aside, there’s plenty of new juicy bits to get our inner smash-’em-up junkie to dance with glee. A new perk system is going to be making its debut, and unlike the first Prototype where you could equip everything at once, this system is going to make you mix and match. You’ll have the ability to upgrade in a large variety of different ways, but you’ll be limited to the number of those upgrades you can equip at once. Finding your perfect combination will be key here.
Whether these selections will be made permanent once you pick your upgrades is uncertain, but it would make the most sense to have everything in a menu and then be able to choose on the fly to deal with different mission scenarios. There will also be the introduction of underground lairs, where Heller can travel to consume its shady residents and increase his powers. Whether the underground inhabitants will differ in strength and amount of Evolution Points gained than their above-ground counterparts remains to be seen.
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...some dude with a blade arm?
An improved physics engine also will be incorporated into Prototype 2. Running around and ramming cars into space was all good and fun in the previous game, but you really had to wonder whether those cars were made out of styrofoam or really cheap alumnium. Cars shooting ten feet into the air after running through them just doesn’t happen in reality, although it would be hilarious to watch from an office building.
With the new science in Prototype 2, players will be forced to be more considerate of their surroundings. Sorry, no more picking up a sedan and pretending you can run the length of Times Square without being stopped.
Alex Mercer wasn’t the most lovable main character in existence, and Radical Entertainment aims to improve on that with James Heller. Our sergeant isn’t as hateful as Mercer, and he needs to be a little more considerate of the environment this time around in Prototype 2, but Radical needs to tread carefully if they’re hoping to keep faithful fans that enjoyed the first Prototype‘s “must destroy everything” attitude.
Start looking for answers in Prototype 2 April 24th next year on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Source: “Prototype 2.” GAMES tm. July 2011 #109: pp. 40-41.
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