You can call me Al

You almost got out the way in time, but not quite. It's okay, though, as you managed to fire off a couple of heat-seeking missiles in the seconds before your helicopter was blown to pieces. That, plus the fact that you're a near-invincible, shape-shifting instrument of death who's just as dangerous without the helicopter as with it. You watch your targets explode in a burst of fire, then snap your head around to check your rear. Let's see, three more birds headed your way - shouldn't be a problem.

You extend your arms and casually glide towards the first of them, changing your position into that of a deadly kick at the last moment - one down. Tucking your feet inward, you barrel through the air towards the second, striking with pinpoint precision - two down. Finally, as you begin to fall, you throw out your arm like some kind of deadly, black snake; lashing onto the third and pulling yourself in. The pilots don't stand a chance, and soon you're flying off into the distance. All this without even touching the ground.

These are the good times in Prototype, a game that I've been enjoying for a while now. You may recall my early impressions last month, after just a few hours of play, but now I've had more than enough time to build up some solid opinions of the rest of the game too. Does it live up to those first ten minutes, or do things get real repetitive, real fast? That's what I'd like to spend a few minutes discussing.

For those who don't remember, Prototype is the story of Alex Mercer, a man who wakes up in a morgue one day and discovers that he's now more monster than man. The government are out too get him, but they have enough on their hands already, what with this infection spreading through the city like wildfire. Alex may have no memory, but he has the power to take the thoughts and feelings of anyone he consumes. Can he piece together what happened, and maybe get a little revenge? That's up to you.

I'm not going to pretend that this premise is the most original idea for a story, and I can't say that the rest of the plot is, either. Actually, I found myself quite confused before long, and never fully understood exactly what was going on. Part of this may be because of the optional nature of many of the cutscenes - they only play if you find the specific target that has the knowledge you need. This means that some parts of the story may be unlocked in a slightly different order than intended, so it's not always as cohesive as one might like.

The plot really plays second fiddle to the action, though, and this is where Prototype is strongest. I found myself getting constantly sidetracked simply because I couldn't help but attack a tank or helicopter, drawing sudden fire from all directions and giving myself a few minutes of highly destructive fun. In fact, I think that all these battles helped break up the otherwise-slightly-repetitive missions. For you see, the game consists of about 30 story missions (which are fun and varied), and a whole bunch of time-trial-esque sub-missions. Okay, they're not all time trials, but all have that same feel - kill this many enemies within the time limit; get to this point within the time limit; use a certain weapon to destroy this many tanks within the time limit, and so on....

All of these sub-missions have medals to unlock, so compulsive gamers who feel the need to get gold in everything will have plenty to do, and shouldn't finish Prototype in less than 20 hours. However, those who choose to focus on the main missions alone may find themselves at the end in about half that time. Either way, it's still a decent length (some may even say a bit too long). There are also plenty of new powers and moves to unlock, so you get that constant feeling of advancement. However, many of these abilities are pretty similar to others, so I quickly found a handful that I liked the most, and ignored the rest. Still, it's always nice to have options.

Of course, as with any new franchise, Prototype has it's fair share of faults which could be improved upon in future instalments: The helicopter controls aren't great (you can't ascend and turn at the same time); Precision jumping is tough due to Alex's speed; and I really wish you could collect experience orbs without leaving your vehicle. Oh, and who the hell decided to have the 'skip cutscene' button flash onscreen every time you consume a target? Games like God of War have conditioned us to quickly press any button that flashes like that, and I almost found myself skipping the story on more than one occasion.

These gripes all feel quite minor, though, when compared to the thrill of eviscerating an entire army squadron and taking out their base at the same time. You may do this a lot throughout the game, but it's still fun to find new ways of causing destruction. In fact, it's almost a bit too easy to dismember anything that stands in your way, and I sometimes found myself wishing that the military had something a bit tougher than just helicopters to attack with. Of course, those who want to take the stealthier approach always have that option, but the whole turn-into-whoever-you-consume aspect just didn't quite work out as advertised. Basically, you have no need to morph into anything other than military personnel, and I found that I used this ability more to escape from battles than anything else. Yes, it's sometimes necessary to escape, just because it's far quicker than facing everything head-on.

So despite it's faults, I had a good time with Prototype. It may not have the best story, it may be a little repetitive at times, and it certainly could do with a few control improvements, but what it does well, it does really well. In fact, I enjoyed it enough to start playing on hard mode, even after 20+ of normal mode. It's not quite as fun the second time through, but I still plan on getting to the end and unlocking a few more achievements along the way.

And now I must go. I hear the sound of chopper blades in the distance, and it won't be long before the sky is awash with explosions, like a crazy 4th of July parade. Wish me luck - not that I'm gonna need it!