 Originally Posted by Wyldwraith
It will be interesting,
Prototype is making the same sort of grand promises that get made when an open-world GTA-style game with a lot of money behind it nears completion. The 64,000$ question is whether or not it's going to fulfill those promises, or if truncated compromises will end up being the order of the day.
For example, the Association Web. It's an interesting mechanic based on the Six Degrees of Separation principle. Whenever the protagonist assimilates the knowledge/skills/memories/etc of an individual, an entry-node is unlocked in the Web. As more individuals are assimilated, the Web grow more complex and develops links between individuals linked to other characters the Prototype has assimilated.
Example: If the Prototype notices a large military roadblock that's preventing him from crossing a bridge to an area he's interested in traveling to, the Prototype might assimilate a military officer who strays from the larger mass of soldiers, then adopt the assimilated officer's appearance to gain peaceful permission to cross the bridge. If the Prototype later assimilates a police detective to sneak into a police station, the Association Web might reveal a direct linkage if the detective was being paid off by the military officer for services rendered. Multiply this principle hundreds of times, and a massive web of interconnected assimilated individuals' memories will reveal an ever-larger piece of the Big Picture of what's going on in NYC.
If they don't turn this mechanic into some sort of hyper-simplified Find the X number of Special Highlighted Individuals that are part of a predetermined web-puzzle, it could truly be a groundbreaking innovation in Action RPGs.
Another major promise is that the actions of the Prototype will have an immense impact on the NYC environment, its inhabitants, and the way the game develops plot-wise. Fable made this promise, but in the end gave only the illusion of choice affecting the environment or storyline of the game. I truly hope that Prototype doesn't cop out in the same manner.
Finally, and perhaps the most important part of the game. The Evolution Abilities of the Prototype. I sincerely hope they turn out to be more than a list of novel weaponry derived in large part conceptually from various shooters. I want to see the Prototype climb a wall far faster when he's digging six inch claws into it than when he climbs barehanded. There should be a visceral difference between punching a soldier with a hammerfist-mutated hand and a regular punch. If it simply takes X less augmented vs unaugmented hits to down an enemy I'll be seriously disappointed.
Ever play Crackdown for the Xbox 360? The one thing that game did well was make you feel a serious difference when you altered your super-soldier's physical capabilities. Crackdown didn't even make that mechanic the game's primary focus, but Prototype does. With that in mind I'm expecting to see some amazing options as far as the Prototype Evolutions go.
Bottom line: If Prototype can deliver what its promised it will become the unquestioned benchmark against which Action RPGs are judged. If not, it'll simply be Prototype: Fable.
Personally, I think Fable and Fable 2 were outstanding games, so if this can live up to those games quality wise, despite not really being a traditional rpg, then I think I will be one happy camper.
I think it will be far better than Crackdown...Crackdown was cool and all but the world felt a little bit too ''empty'', and there wasn't a whole lot to do in it.
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