By Jim Rossignol on April 4th, 2009 at 10:41 am.
Do we care about the story of ultra-death freeformer, Prototype? Perhaps not, but it still has one: a tale of memories sucked out of brains the hard way, and New York City as an evolving character. It’s explained below the cut, and it might just surprise us with phrases like “the buildings themselves become infected.” The story trailer also suggests that there’s some level of interactivity in piecing together the protagonist’s memories, as well as introducing two new characters: Alex’s sister, and a helpful pathologist. Thanks, Pathologist.
04/04/2009 at 10:49 sana says:
This sounds really exciting and I believe they hit the nail of badassery on the head. I am going to enjoy this!
04/04/2009 at 10:53 Meat Circus says:
No, really. I’ll be playing this game solely for its literary merit.
I have no interest in its enormously fun looking freeform ultro-destruction. No ma’am.
04/04/2009 at 11:21 SlappyBag says:
“The buildings themselves become infected” – Pathologic anybody?
I’m excited about this, looks fun to play and will most likely run better than silly ol’ GTA4.
04/04/2009 at 11:33 sockpuppetclock says:
Man that mass-genocide phase of New York City looks interesting.
04/04/2009 at 11:44 Dr_demento says:
Thapologist?
04/04/2009 at 11:58 Tarn says:
Mmm, this game suddenly looks a lot more interesting. The crazy violence of the previous trailers looked like great fun, but it also looked like something I’d play for an hour and never come back to. That it’s got this intriguing mystery running through it gives the OTT action a context and purpose.
The evolving city idea looks very cool. I wonder if that’ll be a gradual, dynamic thing or whether it’ll switch from one to another after specific story points/cut scenes.
04/04/2009 at 12:07 Larington says:
Oh yeah, now this looks promising.
04/04/2009 at 12:10 Garg says:
@Dr_demento:
Thank you ants. Thants.
04/04/2009 at 17:57 Lucas says:
@Garg:
Look Around You just kills me. I really want so much more. I think you expanded that quote though, it should be just “Thanks ants. Thants.”
04/04/2009 at 18:04 Scandalon says:
I’m conflicted about this – does seem to give it a bit more depth/context. (But didn’t he just tell us the whole story?)
I’m amused how the voiceover guy stumbles over saying “hell” and says “heck” instead, while he has no problem “being the ultimate badass”, which apparently includes killing swaths of innocent civilians, and probably-semi-innocent soldiers. (Seriously, when you absorb some poor schmuck, do you get to see his last thoughts of his family, including the crack-baby they adopted and how he signed up to pay for school to support them?)
Also: It eventually becomes about zombies. Of course it does. Military = evil/stupid = genetic experimentation = zombies.
I also like how he has the ability to look like anyone/thing, and he defaults to a hoodie/jacket combo – which must not be real clothing, because he can take a missile to the chest and with nary a torn thread.
04/04/2009 at 18:09 Rei Onryou says:
@Dr_demento: Thathologist?
Game looks good. Story looks like a B+ movie at least. I’m fairly sold. I just hope it won’t end up as a console port. :(
04/04/2009 at 19:35 KP says:
craaaaawling innnnn my skiiiiiiiiin
04/04/2009 at 20:12 IdleHands says:
I can throw people into helicopters causing them to crash into tanks, I don’t need no backstory.
04/04/2009 at 20:43 klei says:
The backstory sux bad. Real bad.
Come on, you go around killing legions of (ty Scandalon) innocent and mostly innocent people. And you have ALLIES?! How the hall can they look at themselves in the mirror? Who cares about who’s sister to whom? This game was supposed to be about being alone, the only creature of it’s kind – and hunted. no talking. No emotions. No stupid interaction with “friends”. You are the goddamn PROTOTYPE.
I sure hope the cutscenes are skippable and the voiceacting of the ally scum can be replaced in the game dir with empty files.
04/04/2009 at 20:55 Eldoop says:
I don’t get the whole “revenge” aspect of this. Like the voiceover guy said, Alex has been made into “the ultimate badass” by these people. So why does he need to “make them pay”? Is losing your memory really so bad that you need to kill those responsible and anyone around them (including random civilians)?
04/04/2009 at 21:15 KP says:
emo rage fantasy game. I hates the corporations and da gubment and all the people who dont understand meh! Q_Q
04/04/2009 at 21:57 DigitalSignalX says:
“I just hope it won’t end up as a console port”
Is it exclusively for pc? Then it will. And unless this is the EXCEPTION to rule, the PC controls will suck without a console controller.
Sry, lots of rage after purchasing Saints Row 2 and finding it unplayable on PC bc of fucking hideous KB “port” of the controls.
04/04/2009 at 22:52 Deadend says:
I predict the real plot twist is that Alex Mercer is DEAD. That you in fact ARE the prototype which simply thinks it might be Alex Mercer. At least it would make the most sense to me.
05/04/2009 at 06:31 Publius says:
So the opening of the game is pretty much completely ripped off from Shadowrun on the SNES
05/04/2009 at 06:37 Mike Russo says:
@Publius: or, you know, Torment. Or the ten other places it’s been done. Shrug.
(And if Deadend is right, then it’s also ripping off the beginning of Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing).
But I think that the fact that when the initial voiceover is talking about how they were trying to find the motivations and figure the emotional beats of the story, the video depicts the character picking up a car and throwing it into a helicopter, shows nicely the role that originality of story plays in the appeal of this one.
05/04/2009 at 12:23 Nick says:
“So the opening of the game is pretty much completely ripped off from Shadowrun on the SNES”
I hope it has an equally good funky digitized slap bass tune as well then. I loved revisiting those guys and them freaking out again unless you wore sunglasses.
05/04/2009 at 12:32 Charles Cassar says:
You can throw a car at a helicopter. Best game ever.
05/04/2009 at 14:31 Saul says:
Story = not terribly original. But why should it be? It’s a mish-mash of genre tropes pumped full of meth and with explosions to the power of explosions. Doesn’t mean it can’t be great fun.
And I really like the idea that you pick up the plot in snippets via people you consume. It’s like the PDAs of Doom 3, but fun.
06/04/2009 at 08:52 Catastrophe says:
Best super hero power ever.
Eat your heart out Spiderman, with your silly webs.