On the path to ultimate destruction

It's been a while since I got a new Xbox 360 game. I suppose that's unsurprising, really. After all, this isn't the most release-heavy time of the year, and I've had too much other stuff going on to bother with games I only half want. That's why I was so excited as I left my local Best Buy yesterday, shiny box in hand; the promise of hours of entertainment ahead. I got home and turned on my faithful system, expecting to see others enjoying the same title I was about to play. But what was this? Looking down my friend list, I saw Fable 2, Quantum of Solace, a couple of people playing still playing Gears of War 2, but that was it. Did no one know about the awesome game that just hit stores that very day?

Prototype is the name of the game, and it comes to us from Radical Entertainment, the creators of The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. For those who don't remember, TIH:UD was a sandbox-style superhero game that put you in the shoes of the not-so-jolly green giant and allowed you to live out your destructive fantasies in the middle of a busy city. The Hulk was fast, strong, and agile, capable of sprinting up walls, leaping over buildings, and throwing cars as one might throw an empty soda can into the trash. In fact, TIH:UD was possibly the finest superhero game ever made, and a nice evolution from earlier titles such as Spiderman 2.

Prototype is clearly the next step in this genre. You play as Alex Mercer, a man with a bit of a problem: After waking up in a morgue with (you guessed it!) no memory, you discover that there are some serious military personnel waiting to gun you down. Which they do. The end.

Ha ha, only joking. Not about the gunning down part - that really happens - but about the ending part. For you see, what Alex Mercer lacks in memories, he makes up for in total kick-assery. You quickly find that you have abilities far beyond that of a normal human: Increased strength, higher speed and agility, the power to run up walls, and even the ability to shape shift. Yeah, that's right - shape shift. Sound cool yet? Well, let me explain a little more. Not only can you morph your arms into long spikes, T-1000-style, you can also take on the forms of those around you, er..... also T-1000-style. However, unlike the liquid metal man who almost sent John Connor to an early grave, Alex Mercer also gains the memories of those he imitates.

This is useful for two reasons. First of all, to advance the plot, giving you clues as to where to go next (remember, you have no memory of your own), but it also has another function: To gain abilities. Want to know how to pilot a helicopter? Simply absorb the pilot and bingo! - All the memories of helicopter school are yours. You can also use your shape-shifting as a way of avoiding combat: Just morph yourself into the shape of a soldier (you'll have to find one first) and wander straight into the middle of that heavily-guarded base; finding an army officer will get you even further in!

Of course, this stealthy approach might be a little slow for some, but Alex also comes equipped with a number of combat moves that make Neo look like the Star Wars Kid. Okay, most of these moves must be unlocked during the course of the game, but even at the start you're pretty bad-ass. Well, actually, at the very start you're super bad-ass, as this is another one of those titles that gives you a little taste of what's to come, before stripping you of many of your powers, in this case by going back to 18 days prior. But those first few minutes - Damn! You're leaping all over the place, running up walls, ripping apart tanks, throwing cars at helicopters, and generally using your abilities to wreck havoc on the city! It's a super-awesome opening, and one that got me instantly hooked.

In fact, It was this opening alone that inspired me to write this today. After all, I'm only a couple of hours into the game, and I don't usually bring reviews until I'm all the way through. But this isn't a review - it's more of a first-impressions, and my first impression is "This game is freakin' sweet! I have to play more!". So what comes next, I hear you ask? Well, I don't really know yet. So far, I've done a few missions, a few time-trials, and destroyed a lot of property, so I haven't had a chance to discover if the game has a lot of variety, or is fairly repetitive. After all, you could play Assassin's Creed for only an hour and think it was awesome, having only done each type of mission once, instead of the thousand-or-so times you must by the end if the game.

So will Prototype turn rather boring after a few hours, or is only going to get better as new powers are unlocked and more heavily-equipped military personnel employed? That's something I'll find out soon, and I'll no doubt have a full review before too long. At least I now know that you're all aware of the game, and I hope that you'll check it out in more detail. Which is exactly what I'm going to do right now......