Prototype (video game): Difference between revisions

[[File:prototype_1_9180.jpg|frame|My name is Alex Mercer.]]

''Prototype'' is an open world sandbox game developed by Activision and Radical Entertainment (Not to be confused with Free Radical Design) released in June 2009. The game stars Alex Mercer, a [[Easy Amnesia|man with no memories]] and a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|large chip on his shoulder]] who [[Waking Up At the Morgue|wakes up at the morgue]] as a [[Voluntary Shapeshifter]] with the ability to [[I'm a Humanitarian|absorb anyone he comes into contact with]] -- assimilating ''their'' [[Brain Food|memories]] in the process. In his attempts to [[Jigsaw Puzzle Plot|rediscover his past]], he tangles with the [[Armies Are Evil|shadowy military unit]], Blackwatch, the [[Semper Fi|United States Marine]] [[Punch Clock Villain|Corps]], and the growing forces of [[The Virus|the Infected]], mutants with powers [[Not So Different|similar to his own]], albeit [[Not Even Human|much less human]]. The game is ''exceptionally'' [[Catharsis Factor|bloody]] and [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|places no moral restrictions on the player's actions]].

But '''never''' [[Dueling Games|confuse it]] with ''[[In Famous (Video Game)|In Famous]]'' -- the [[Fandom Rivalry|fans sure don't]].

* [[Action Commands]]: You need these to sabotage stationary virus detectors, hijack stuff, and counter [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]].

* [[Aura Vision]]: Two kinds -- Thermal and Infected. Both are basically the same thing but with a different palette. Thermal highlights heat signatures (non-combatants aren't highlighted) while Infected marks enemies which a much clearer glow. Thermal has the added benefit of filtering smoke out, and Infected has the benefit of cutting out ambient sound and other distractions.

** The Groundspike special attack of the Claw power. It's fairly powerful and has near-perfect accuracy. However, it has a very limited range (around the length of four cars) and a huge cool-down time. At maximum distance, it takes about a couple seconds for the attack to hit, and slightly shorter for Alex to retract the spikes, during which he is completely immobilized. Expect your enemies to capitalize on this. The net result is that using this attack will likely be more damaging to you than to your enemies -- much more than if you'd just used conventional attacks. Also, by the time you've unlocked enough upgrades to give it a good area effect and power, you won't find yourself using Claws at all.

** This is usually the reliable way to get [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]] to block your attacks, leaving them vulnerable to a grappling slam. However, if you overdo it, they'll counter you for a decent amount of damage.

* [[Charge Meter]] & [[Charged Attack]]: Most moves can be charged for greater effect, even non-offensive ones. Charging certain attacks to the max is required to perform [[Limit Break|Limit Breaks]].

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Oh, so very, ''very'' much when {{spoiler|the real Alex Mercer released the Blacklight virus into Penn Station}}, which was full of innocent people, and quite possibly doomed all of Manhattan or ''worse'' -- and did so with full knowledge of the ramifications of those actions. The reason? [[It's All About Me|Pure spite]]; first because {{spoiler|GENTEK didn't keep him in the loop about what was being done with his research, and then because [[Taking You With Me|he knew that he was going to be killed anyway]]}}.

* [[Evil Counterpart]]: The Supreme Hunter. It shares some of Alex's attacks, such as the groundspikes and tendril barrage. {{spoiler|And it can shapeshift.}} For that matter, the [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]] and Hunters do rather parallel Alex.

* [[Godzilla Threshold]]: By the time you {{spoiler|kill Elizabeth Greene}}, 80% of the city is infected. As such, the state of the city is SO far around the apocalyptic bend that the ostensible cherry on Blackwatch's villainy sundae -- {{spoiler|nuking Manhattan}} -- can seem more like a reasonable, if grim, last-ditch effort to fix their mistake.

* [[Interface Screw]]: The game says that the auto-targeting system will automatically choose the most relevant or dangerous threat, and won't target non-combatants when enemies are in the area. The game is lying on both counts. If Alex is faced with a tank, a building the mission wants you to destroy, {{spoiler|a giant blob of Infected flesh throwing rocks at you}}, or a basic common infected, the auto-target will sometimes randomly choose the basic infected -- or even a car -- over the larger and more serious threats. It may even target hives several blocks away. Part of this seems to be due to how targeting is implemented. Since auto and manual targeting both use the same button (press or depress, respectively), and the sensitivity therein is way higher than it should be, it's very difficult to get the system to properly acknowledge one or the other.

* [[Kamehame Hadoken]]: Alex can do an imitation of this, wherein he thrusts his arms forward and releases a blast of pressurized air straight forward that will kill any human-sized thing nearby. One of his [[Limit Break|Limit Breaks]] does the trope right when he fires a giant beam of biomass to crush his hapless target.

* [[Le Parkour]]: Alex Mercer is basically what every ''traceur'' dreams of being. He can run at speeds in excess of 40 mph, vaults over every obstacle in his path without skipping a beat, can jump 10 vertical stories, and is even capable of ''running straight up sheer walls''.

* [[New Powers As the Plot Demands]]: Alex's new powers can appear regardless of the [[RPG Elements]] of the game. Some that aren't forced on him during the mission have remarkably accessible costs -- stealth consume for less than a tenth of the EP of all other powers? Can't pass that up, and behold; the next few missions call for it.

* [[One-Winged Angel]]: {{spoiler|Elizabeth Greene}} has one. In a partial subversion, it isn't {{spoiler|her}} true form -- it's more akin to [[Lovecraftian Superpower]] [[Power Armor]] ({{spoiler|she falls out in human form}} after you defeat it). If you closely at the thing's "mouth" during the battle, you can see {{spoiler|Greene}} inside (covered with a skin flap to obscure {{spoiler|her}} features, but still visible). Once you get the Armor ability, you can pull this off too; you become [[Made of Iron]] and can turn your hands into a BFS, [[Drop the Hammer|clubs]], a [[Combat Tentacles|whip]], and once your health gets maxed out, you get a couple [[Limit Break|Limit Breaks]].

* [[Punch Clock Villain|Punch Clock Villains]]: The USMC is just trying to save the city and its people, even if they have to kill potentially uninfected civilians to do it.

* [[Real Is Brown]]: Largely played straight -- the city is mostly grey brick, Central Park is an autumnal brown, and the world fades to monochrome when Mercer's health is low -- until you enter the heart of an infected zone, which is tinged with color ranging from a sickly sea-foam green to a nightmarish orange-red.

* [[Red Right Hand]]: Depending on the powers you have active, your arms can range from giant freaking claws, to cudgels, to a tentacle. This is kinda noticeable -- enemies will pretty much go from "Hey, what's that?" to "OH GOD ZEUS KILL IT KILL IT" instantly if you have an offensive or defensive power active.

* [[Unfinished Untested Used Anyway]]: General Randall insisting on the deployment of [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]] after merely hearing an initial summary on the test results.

** However, at the part where you're eating people to hone your Infected Vision, when your progress gets to about 80%, Alex suddenly flips out and groans "So many minds at work... All talking, all dying..." -- Whether this is him starting to lose it, freaking over his first true contact with the Hive, or just being affected by grief due to what he's having to do for the greater good is up to the reader's opinion.

[[Category:Third Person Shooter]]