Prototype 2 - E3 Preview

2 million copies is an impressive feat for any new intellectual property. In an industry that's economically dependent on sequels and iteration; where the majority of triple-A new IPs suffer a loss, 2 million sales marks a breakeven or borderline profit mark. In short, it gives a developer at least half a chance of convincing its publisher to fund a sequel. That's what Radical Entertainment managed with the first Prototype back in 2009, hence Activision's decision to green-light a sequel that's now due for release next year. While Gearbox Software's Borderlands and BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins were the undisputed champions of new IPs in 2009, selling in excess of 3 million units each, Prototype topped the best-of-the-rest category and, with that, managed to set its stall amongst the likes of Assassins Creed and GTA as a viable alternative in the open-world genre.

So, what was it that gamers enjoyed about Prototype? Radical would have you believe that it was the power fantasy. Summed up neatly in a Penny Arcade comic strip that was proudly displayed during our Prototype 2 presentation, the ability to karate kick a helicopter apparently formed the lasting appeal. Think of this as a shorthand description though really. In Prototype, you could leapfrog across city blocks in one fell swoop and destroy tanks by jumping on them while 'consuming' the consciousness of bystanders at your will (a feature that redefined the term NPC, or at least made it very difficult to use in a review of the game). This is what Radical means by 'power fantasy', so it'll come as no big surprise to hear that the mantra for this sequel is more of the same and new features that extend the fantasy even further.

That's not without a couple of considerable realignments to the game's storyline though. Presumably because the first game's lead character, Alex Mercer couldn't have been more of a douche bag if he'd worn Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts and carried around an acoustic guitar for impromptu jam sessions, Radical has settled with a new protagonist for Prototype 2. Sergeant James Heller now steps up to the plate and it turns out that he's not too happy with Alex Mercer, which has probably got something to do with the fact that Mercer is responsible for the death of his wife and daughter. In the 14 months that have past since the first game, the virus that Mercer originally unleashed has now decimated New York City and killed Heller's loved ones in the process. Heller learns this after Mercer takes pity and infects him with the particular strain of the Blacklight virus that gave him mutagenic powers in the first place. In short then, this means that Heller plays the protagonist of Prototype 2 and Mercer is now the antagonist.

A lot has changed in New York in the year and two months since we last saw it, and by this we don't mean that the Dow Jones has gone down 20 points year-on-year and the Yankees have won the World Series. Quite to the contrary in fact, Manhattan is now a dystopian wasteland strung together by the kind of viral outgrowths that spewed from Mercer's body whenever he did something cool in the first game. Joining Manhattan in this sequel are two additional islands referred to as Yellow Zone and Green Zone (unless you haven't connected the dots already, Manhattan is the Red Zone). While the Yellow Zone is a former industrial quarter that's now turned into something of a shanty town with all of the refugees from Manhattan, Green Zone is the HQ of the dastardly Blackwatch special forces unit that uses Draconian measures to contain the spread of the Blacklight virus. As the name and inhabitants suggest then, Green Zone is one of the few areas left in the city that is quarantined.

Our first look demo took place in the Green Zone as Heller perched atop the roof of an apartment building. Down below at street level, Blackwatch soldiers patrolled a cordoned off area where a strange creature had been found dead. Civilians protested behind the cordon, fearful that the creature might spread the virus. In a trademark act of Blackwatch brutality, the troop opened fire into the group of civilians and killed everyone in sight. Heller's aim was to get to the creature and absorb its memories, thereby gathering another piece of the Blacklight puzzle but, in order to do that, he'd have to fight through the Blackwatch troop first (cue a perfect opportunity for radical to demonstrate a raft of Prototype 2's new combat options).

First-up: the Biobomb, not to be mistaken with a Bob-omb of course, but similar in its effects. When Heller implants a Biobomb in someone, they effectively become a walking time-bomb. It makes for a nifty stealth device, enabling Heller to take out a cluster of enemies before the real carnage begins. And when it does, the new Tendals Power should help - it allows Heller to use a viral tendal as a kind of sling-shot, propelling him into a cluster of Blackwatch soldiers with devastating effects. Blackwatch won't take this sort of abuse lying down of course, dispatching their usual array of tanks and choppers as backup. A new ability to rip off parts of vehicles and use them as weapons should help to bring the combat back in Heller's favour though, as he can now perform neat tricks like ripping the turret off a tank so that he can use it as a clobbering tool.

All of these weapons and abilities come with their own upgrade tree and levelling system, while Mutations offer something akin to perks by adding to abilities like Air Dash as you unlock them. And you'll need Heller to be on top form if he's going to take on some of Prototype 2's new Lairs, which are pretty much as they sound. These underground pits of mutated beasts can be found around the game world and challenge Heller to kill off multiple mini-bosses amid flurries of more pint-sized mutants. They'll act as side-missions really, something akin to the Sons of Romulus lairs in Assassin's Creed. You'll also find side-mission respite though Blacknet outposts that are dotted across Manhattan. Each Blacknet outpost forms part of an encrypted network that you can tap into by finding Blacknet vehicles around the game world and hacking them. From here, you're able to secure intel on targets that Heller can then locate using a kind of sonar and, in the time-honoured Prototype fashion, a swift bit of consuming then provides Heller with more memory clues.

Radical Entertainment is building solidly on what it started with Prototype 2 by expanding on things that were popular and rejigging parts of the game that didn't quite work last time around. It may not be the sexiest way to make a sequel but it's certainly a proven one, and it looks like the approach will bring about a better pace and balance to the gameplay alongside wider variation, which is hard to complain about.