In the red corner, released on May 26, 2009, a PlayStation 3 exclusive title, and starring the lean fighting machine Cole MacGrath, Infamous! And in the blue corner, released on June 9, 2009, a game for all platforms, and follows the shape-shifting protagonist known as Alex Mercer, Prototype! These two games are very similar in style, story, and even release times. But which one is better? Will it be Prototype, the fast-paced straight action game? Or will it be Infamous, with its strategy and story second to none? Two will enter, only one will emerge victorious. Who will it be?
Plot/Summary
Prototype – Prototype is a game based on the near future. The story begins with Alex Mercer (the player) about to be dissected by two scientists. Just before the scientists cut you open and take out your entrails, your character suddenly wakes up. They then chase him outside, where he is shot multiple times. Alex is stunned, but not out of action. He manages to escape with little to no damage thanks to his new regeneration abilities. The player is then told that Alex has amnesia and cannot remember anything about his past or who he is. That’s right folks, you guessed it, now you’ll have to spend the entire game finding out who Alex Mercer is and seeking revenge for whoever turned him into the horrible creature that he is. Along the way, you’ll be given various weapons and ways to kill and destroy things, ranging from an outstretched arm like Mr. Fantastic, to stealing some poor, pitiful soldier’s assault rifle, and using it to kill all his other soldiers. fellow soldiers. . He will also be given the ability to “consume” an enemy, which plays an important role in the games setting. Consume will appear on almost everything you do, you consume to learn about your past, you consume to trick enemies, and you consume to quickly recover health, almost everything. This can get a bit tedious, but the sheer number of ways to consume enemies keeps it from becoming obsolete. The military and the infected are your main enemies throughout the game, you can choose to help one or the other more, but both will attack on sight.
Infamous – Infamous takes place once again in a near future world. However, this story starts as soon as you hit the play button. His background will immediately explode with what looks like an EMP shockwave, leaving the player shocked and confused. Cole MacGrath is your protagonist in this adventure. It starts when you wake up in a half-destroyed city, your friend Zeke will immediately call you and inform you that you need to escape the chaos of a city you are currently in. While on the run, you realize you have superpowers (who would have guessed?), and you don’t know exactly how you got them. Once you reach the bridge that leads to the next town, the sky will rain with lightning and all nearby policemen and civilians will die. Once you cross the bridge, Cole conveniently passes out. He will then give you a comic book style slideshow explaining what exactly happened. Your main objective here is to kill the people who caused the destruction of your city, get out of the city (which is locked after the first mission) and save or destroy the city along the way. Cole has the powers of electricity, which allows him to do almost anything he needs. Kill, blow up, heal, destroy, whatever; Cole can do it using his electrical powers. Along the way you will face more than three different types of enemies. First up will be the Reapers, a motley crew of thugs that come in large packs but are easily destroyed. Next up is Dustman, a group of homeless people, who come together after the explosion to take over the district they live in. Lastly will be the First Sons, an ancient fraternal organization, who are the strongest and most persistent group of enemies.
side quests
Infamous – In Infamous you will be given the option to do various side quests along the way. As you go through these side quests, the city will be cleared of the bad guys and allow you to walk around freely without getting shot at. Missions will consist of doing anything from your basic kill missions to posing for photos from a local photographer. Although each side quest is repeated 2-3 times throughout the game, the large number of different quests and the randomness of the quest order keep it fun and interesting. Jobs specific to your karma level (good or bad) will appear. The good jobs usually require you to help the police and take out the bad guys in a clean and legally fair way, while choosing the evil missions usually involves a lot of bloodshed which is usually demanded by people. These jobs will help your karma level switch back and forth, unlocking more upgrades for your abilities. However, there is a downside to side quests, once they are completed the area is cleared, forever. Which means that if you finish all the side quests, there will be no more enemies to play with.
Prototype – With Prototype’s complex story, it’s hard to see where side quests would come into play in Alex Mercer’s life, and Radical Entertainment makes no attempt to explain how they fit. Side quests in Prototype are generally used to gain additional experience points, which are the main way to upgrade your abilities (along with consumption). However, the experience from the main quests and the amount of experience you get from random kills is enough to get 90% of the skills you need and want, so most will use them to take a break from the main story or just to have a little fun. Missions come in three forms, the first and most random being the standard race missions. Get to checkpoint A, checkpoint B, checkpoint C, etc. In the allotted time, the faster you get there, the more experience you’ll get. Your second and more fun will be the kill missions. Most will give you a set power and allow you to run around like crazy killing as many enemies as possible, the more you kill the more experience you gain. The last type of mission will be your consumption missions, which start by consuming marked military personnel. You will then be asked to consume X number of people. Do everything correctly and in the given time, and you will get a good amount of experience. While these quests are fun and a good starting point for the main story, they will go out of style quickly. And for those who have more achievements, Prototype will tell you how many more side quests you have to complete, so if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to finish it just to say you did it.
Sandbox
For those who don’t know, when someone mentions the word “Sandbox” in a video game, they are referring to the ability to reign free and do whatever you want. Well, some games, like Call of Duty, are extremely linear, others like Grand Theft Auto let you freely explore and do whatever you want. Both Prototype and Infamous are set in a sandbox-style game, which means you choose when you want to do the quests and how many side quests you’d like to do.
Prototype – Prototype does an excellent job of allowing the player to really feel like they are in control of the city. The city itself is sprawling and laid out to look exactly like Manhattan. Alex himself is able to climb buildings very easily, jump from buildings and fly to the next one using his “Glide” ability. This makes running around town fun in itself. Also, since the game has no moral obligations to be good or bad, you have the ability to kill whoever you want whenever you want. And with the abundance of civilians noticeable at every turn, you’ll find yourself whipping out one of your many weapons and heading into town at the nearest patch of bystanders. This part of the game (unlike almost every other aspect) never seemed to get old; I enjoyed just running around in the middle of a military base and fighting for five minutes before running off. I have to seriously thank Radical Entertainment for the work that was put into the sandbox style opus.
Infamous -While his counterpart (Alex Mercer) is able to run up walls with no problem, Cole literally has to scale buildings. He will have to grab onto windows, gutters, wires, dents and scratches on buildings to get to the top. This can make free-roaming a bit more tedious and time-consuming, but it’s a good challenge on buildings that have few notches to climb. As mentioned above, the side quests will put a serious cramp in your style if you choose to finish them all. Once they are all complete, you will be left with the civilians. If you choose the evil route and choose the evil end, there is no major problem with this, however, if you are good, you will run out of things to shoot, and fast. From time to time some enemies will appear in contained areas, but the civilians along with the few remaining police members will usually take them down before you can get a shot off. You will most likely end up turning bad or starting a new game to continue having fun.
Final score?
Both Prototype and Infamous are extremely well developed games, well worth buying. If you have to choose one and you have a PS3, choose Infamous. Its superior story and ability to keep you entertained is an extreme plus. However, if you are more of a sporadic player, who doesn’t usually finish games, Prototype may be your game.
Infamous –
advantage
o Incredible story that is captivating and interesting.
o Simple and fun, easy to learn and play
o Enjoyable side quests
o Karma decisions, resulting in a different story, abilities, and endings
Cons
o Quite short if played directly
o Climbing can slow down the game and frustrate
o Enemies become very difficult to kill.
o Completing side quests can cause the player to run out of enemies to fight
Prototype –
advantage
o Fun sandbox mode
o Many different weapons and skills to choose from
o Movement and travel is easy and simple.
o The map/layout fits Manhattan exactly and looks well done
Cons
o Confusing and complicated plot
o Fairly easy, even on hard difficulty
o Repetitive missions
or repetitive action
In general, Prototype gets a 4/5
Overall, Infamous gets a 4.5/5