Prototype 2 is starting to come into focus. The latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly carries a large feature on Radical Entertainment’s sequel, complete with the first proper screenshots of the game, and the details paint a picture of a follow up that is more focused than the sprawling original. The news was rounded up from the EGM feature after fans on NeoGAF picked through the issue.
The biggest change is structure. According to the magazine, Prototype 2 is considerably more structured than the first game, which means a more linear experience overall. Optional side missions are still there, but rather than being disconnected busywork scattered across the map, they all tie into the main storyline.
Sergeant James Heller Trades Muscle For Tendrils
The star this time is Sergeant James Heller, a soldier who takes over from Alex Mercer, the shapeshifting antihero of the first game. Heller does not inherit Mercer’s full toolkit. The muscle mass ability is gone, replaced by tendril powers, one of which featured in the most recent trailer. EGM also describes a sonar style ability that lets Heller track down people with ease, which sounds well suited to a game about hunting specific targets through a crowded city.
Progression has been reworked as well. The power store from the original has been removed. Players will instead earn new abilities by tackling missions in underground lairs, where Heller absorbs powers and upgrades from the enemies he faces. Those upgrades then go into a limited number of slots, a system EGM compares to the perks in Call of Duty, so players will need to make choices rather than unlock everything at once.
New York is once again the playground, but it is now divided into three zones marked green, yellow and red according to how badly each area has been hit by the infection. Combat looks as messy as fans would hope: enemies and vehicles can be dismembered, an approach the magazine likens to Dead Space.
Radical Builds On Its 2009 Original
The feature follows a busy few days for the game. Activision put out a fresh trailer this week showing Heller in action, building on the teaser that has been doing the rounds since the game was announced at the Spike Video Game Awards in December. That initial reveal established the basic premise, with Heller cast as the new lead and the series heading back to a ravaged New York.
Radical Entertainment, the Vancouver studio behind the first Prototype as well as Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, is developing the sequel for Activision. The original Prototype launched in 2009 on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC and was built around the fantasy of a nearly unstoppable hero tearing through Manhattan, so the more structured approach marks a clear change of direction. Prototype 2 has been announced for 2012, and with EGM’s feature now out, more information and screens are likely to follow in the months ahead.