Prototype review

Apart froma fairly lengthy installation that clocked in at close to an hour for us, it's difficult to find anything notable to complain about regarding Prototype's PC edition. There's no apparent DRM (not even a serial key!), and even on a middle-of-the-road machine, we were able to run relatively high settings at a respectable - if slightly choppy - framerate.

Above: A shot of Prototype running at 1920x1200 resolution (click for full-size version)

That said, controlling Alex with a keyboard and mouse feels a little weird; if you have one, we recommend using a gamepad instead.

So%26hellip; Manhattan again?

While we’re on the topic of exploration, it’s worth pointing out that games set in Manhattan – particularly sandbox games – are anything but novel at this point. We’ve played in versions of New York’s central borough dozens of times, as superheroes, cops and criminals, and by now it’s old hat. Prototype’s version, however, has three things going for it: it’s filled with crowds of civilians who scream, scatter and panic when you start unleashing ultraviolence. The scenery usually goes by so fast that any familiarity you might have with it doesn’t matter. And it’s the most detailed rendition of Manhattan in a superhero sandbox game to date.

If you need further proof, we’ve grabbed hold of three other Manhattan-set superhero games of varying quality – The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows – and compared them ontwo arbitrary criteria to see how Prototype stacks up.

The skyline

Prototype

The Incredible Hulk

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows

Prototype

The Incredible Hulk

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows