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Prototype 2 preview: To Heller and back
We're just going to throw this out there, harsh as it may be: Does Prototype, 2009's open world New York-based superhero fantasy title, really need a sequel? Sure, there was some fun to be had in Alex Mercer's shoes, pulling off some over-the-top (and often just overwhelming) proto-moves, navigating a New York under alien and military siege. But by the end of the first game, we'd taken out tank after tank after tank, gutted Supreme Hunter after Supreme Hunter, and learned everything we needed to know about Blackwatch and the Blacklight virus, didn't we? There was a lot of game in Prototype -- repeated, some might say, more than even its fans wanted. Ken Rossman, the studio head at Radical Entertainment, obviously believes we do. He and his studio are hard at work on Prototype 2, and when we spoke with him at a pre-E3 event a little while ago, he made his case as to why we want to return to this world. The main problem with Prototype, he told us, was that "it had two volumes: 1 and 11. And really there was nothing in that middle range, so either you were in disguise and the world ignored you, sometimes, or all of a sudden you kicked the hornet's nest and the world's on fire. So that was something that we acknowledged and we were like, 'That's something that we need to figure out in a better way.'"%Gallery-125365%
Prototype 2's E3 action trailer
Kill a man's wife and kid and he's liable to go around a city killing other people's wives and kids. It's the circle of psychosis in this Prototype 2 E3 trailer.
Work on canned Bourne game 'Treadstone' revealed in vid
A reel showing off some rough in-game footage of Treadstone is making the rounds after being found by Superannuation. If you're suffering from a mild case of video game amnesia, allow us to refresh your memory: Three years ago, Treadstone was a multiplayer-focused title set in Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne universe being developed by Radical Entertainment. If you're wondering why Treadstone was abandoned, one needs to recall the geopolitical business of games industry in 2008. At the time, Activision was cleaning house of the properties it obtained during the Vivendi merger and the Bourne IP was dumped back to Ludlum Entertainment. A short time later, Bourne landed at EA and ... well, that apparently hasn't gone much better. Check out Radical's Treadstone work after the break.
Last-minute Mother's Day gift idea brought to you by Activision, the makers of Prototype 2
Surprise! It's Mother's Day. You forgot -- didn't you? No worries. Activision has you covered. Just zip this, uh, prototype card over to ma and get back to enjoying your Sunday.
Prototype 2 trailer explains Alex Mercer's heel turn
The Prototype 2 trailer after the break helps explain why Prototype 1 protagonist Alex Mercer is the bad guy in this sequel ... but we don't think it needs all that much justification. He was always a mass-murdering monster; he just happened to be the monster in the player's control before. It's like Godzilla movies -- sometimes he's the bad guy, and sometimes another monster will be tearing up Tokyo and Godzilla becomes the hero by default. After the narrative discussion, the trailer treats us to a little footage labeled "Pre-alpha." Luckily, Activision remembered to use that term instead of "Prototype," because that would be so confusing.
Activision tosses out new Prototype 2 trailer
Prototype 2 is still far away from the production line (see what we did there?), but Activision is teasing next year's sequel with a trailer providing some lovely flyover shots of an in-game environment. Well, not so lovely for the guy doing the flying.
'Murder Your Maker' VGA teaser site updated with Prototype footage
Last week, Activision uploaded a teaser site featuring the tagline "Murder Your Maker," which we hypothesized was hinting at the reveal of a new installment in the Prototype series during the Spike VGAs. A brief video which was recently added to the site appears to confirm our suspicions.
Assassin's Creed 2, Dragon Age: Origins win Canadian game awards
We like to playfully rip on Canada every now and then (America's hat!), but we must admit that The Great White North knows how to make some quality games, evidenced by the winners at the inaugural Canadian Videogame Awards ceremony. While Game of the Year went to Bioware's Dragon Age: Origins, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 made out with the most awards, winning Best Console Game, Best Visual Arts, and Best Game Design, and sharing the award for Best Technology with Radical Entertainment's Prototype. That's not to say all of the awards went to the triple-A titles, as Toronto's own darling, Capybara Games, received nods for two of its titles: Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, which won Best Handheld Game, and Critter Crunch, which secured victory as the Best Downloadable Game. Maybe now that cute little guy will stop crying so much! [Thanks, Alan Strangis]
Xbox 360 copies of Singularity to offer free Prototype 'for a limited time'
Here's a real concern everyone should be cognizant about: Just how many times can you reduce people to decrepit, withered husks writhing in agony until it starts getting a little ... old? Wouldn't it be nice if, between face-melting blasts of temporal energy, you could resort to dismemberment, impalement and tentacular catastrophe? What if you didn't have to suffer the slightest penalty or inhibition for spending the day shooting and stabbing anonymous meatbags, just as your desires dictated? We'll likely never find out, but you can do all of that stuff in a video game if you buy Singularity on Xbox 360 and take advantage of a limited-time mail-in offer for a free copy of Infamous Prototype. Raven's time-twisting shooter is out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on June 29th. %Gallery-45668%
Luxoflux shuttered as layoffs hit Activision dev studios, publisher confirms
Reports began circulating this morning about major layoffs at a handful of Activision-owned development studios, affecting as much as half of Radical Entertainment's staff (Prototype), an undisclosed amount of Neversoft employees (Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk), and the entirety of Luxoflux (Tranformers). An Activision rep confirmed two former studio layoffs to us this afternoon, though a representative didn't city any official numbers -- the rep also told us he could "confirm the closure of Luxoflux." The full, significantly more vague, company statement given out to everyone reads: "Activision Publishing continually evaluates its resources to ensure that they are properly matched against its product slate and strategic goals. In 2010, the company's SKU count will be smaller than in 2009 driven in part, by a decrease in the number of music-based games we will be releasing. As we discussed on our earnings conference call yesterday, we are directing our resources against the largest and most profitable business segments, and as part of this initiative, we are realigning our resources to better reflect our slate and the market opportunities. At the same time, we are increasing our digital/online capabilities as we expect that digital/online will continue to become a more meaningful part of our business model in the years ahead."
Steam slashes price on Prototype until August 13
Fans of Barry Pepper and blowin' the crap out of everything in sight need to pay attention to this next string of words: Steam is discounting Prototype by 20% until August 13, bringing the game's price down to $40. While the story is largely forgettable, there's big value in elbow-dropping tanks and throwing air conditioners into helicopters. Oh, and consuming everyone in Manhattan ain't too bad a time, either.
Amazon offers up Prototype at $40 on consoles, $30 on PC
It appears that Amazon is slashing and absorbing the extra cost of Prototype, as the action-packed, vertical sandbox gorefest has been reduced by $20 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC for today only.The game was certainly well-received, so nobody is going to spit on you for deciding to take Amazon's offer. Well, inFamous' Cole might spit on you, which would be shocking. But not as shocking as these photos of him and Alex Mercer when they aren't saving/destroying the world![Thanks, Lesek]
UK chart get: Prototype on top, Ghostbusters debuts at third
According to Chart Track's UK software sales figures from last week, we know the Barry Pepper-voiced free-roamer, Prototype, has managed to secure the top spot. It wasn't an easy battle, as Radical Entertainment's title had some stiff competition in Terminal Reality's Ghostbusters, which made its debut in the UK last week. The ghost bustin' reunion was not enough to topple the "go anywhere, kill everything" game, and managed to secure the bronze with a third place showing. It should be noted that this is the all-format charts, and with it being a PS3 exclusive in the territory (Xbox 360 owners do have options, though), third is pretty impressive for a game on just one platform (excluding Wii Fit). As for second place, The Sims 3 dropped down from its cushy throne last week thanks to a 49% decline in sales. Don't feel too bad for the game, though -- it did have the best PC launch in EA's history, you know.
Metareview: Prototype
Hitting retailers just two weeks after the PlayStation 3 exclusive (and highly regarded) inFamous, we were a bit worried about the fate of Radical Entertainment's Prototype. It seems from the response that most game reviewers are having to it, our worries were somewhat unfounded. 1UP (B-): "Making Alex [the main character] such a badass also proves to be Prototype's undoing. It becomes a fight to follow and control Alex in the midst of the action. This problem mounts the further you get into the game, leading to more frustration than fun ... Alex can essentially fly around the city. With his jump, air dash, and glide abilities fully powered up, and the basic ability to run on any surface, the buildings become like a giant jungle gym." Eurogamer (7/10): "Fans of serious hero fiction will find Prototype a bit of a turn-off. You're infected with some sort of virus ... and the story of why, told through snatches of video obtained by absorbing key characters (basically, weakening and eating them) and in moody cut-scenes, is basic and yet difficult to follow ... Mission design isn't very open-ended, usually boiling down to doing something violently or stealthily, but with such a vast array of attacking options you often have the luxury of trying something different." IGN (7.5/10): "How long can you do flying elbow drops onto tanks or throw people off of rooftops before it gets boring? The world itself here is far from the most engaging ... Since repetition is oftentimes the name of the game here, you can be sure you'll be doing uninspired tasks over and over again." Giant Bomb (4/5): "Radical almost went too far with its kitchen-sink approach to combat design, but the gameplay here is satisfying and broad enough that you can have plenty of fun with it even without mastering the nuances of every last combo and attack ... Prepare to be frustrated from time to time when the mission difficulty amps up to insane levels and you feel it's you against the entire world all of a sudden." %Gallery-5779%
Watch four minutes of Prototype, the death of a helicopter
So, Prototype, we're a little worried about you, not gonna lie. Considering the recent wave of positive inFamous reviews, talk of Crackdown 2, and APB's E3 reveal, a game we once looked forward to greatly could quite possibly fall by the wayside. Luckily, the developer walkthrough of "mission #7" (found after the break) helps to assuage our concerns and brings back some fire into our lonely, cold hearts. Unfortunately for the person piloting Prototype's main man Alex Mercer, things don't go so well and the video ends in tragedy (spoilerz! omg!). Hopefully we'll do better when we get our hands on the retail copy June 9.%Gallery-5779%
Joystiq hands-on: two hours with Prototype
Soon, Prototype will be shipping to stores for its June 9 launch, exactly one week after E3 kicks off. So how did Activision and Radical Entertainment decide to spend the intervening weeks between finishing and launching the game? By having a press event at the New York, New York hotel in Las Vegas, where one of the bars was done over in Prototype fashion: think New York covered in trash (including rats and crows), faux battle damage, zombie-fied go-go girls, dense fog, and even a model helicopter overhead. Amidst all this (and some pulse-pounding techno music) there were game stations set up to distract us from the theme park environment. We managed to ignore the actual bizarre sights long enough to dive in and enjoy the virtual ones. Head past the break for our thoughts on the two hours spent with the upcoming action-adventure title (spoiler alert: it's fun).Also be sure and check out the new images from the game and the event below, along with the new "Boss Battles" video at the end of the post.%Gallery-63848%%Gallery-63857%
Joystiq interview: Radical prez Kelly Zmak on Prototype
Radical Entertainment president Kelly Zmak donned zombie makeup (and cowboy duds?) at the last-hurrah-before-launch event for Prototype (besides E3, of course) in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Surprisingly, it's the first time we've ever seen the head of a company appear as a member of the undead -- or whatever it is that's happening to folks in the game.We took our chances, closing in on Zmak with a microphone -- well within range of his open sores -- to get his answers on all things Prototype. Continue on after the break for the full interview, and then join us in petitioning Radical to release "Tank Battle" (not to be confused with Battle Tanks). As for us, we've got to go rinse off ...%Gallery-63857%
Radical job listings might hint at Wii Prototype port
We're doing our best not to let our imaginations run away with this, so here are the facts: As superannuation recently noticed, Radical Entertainment is looking for a Wii designer with an "affinity for 3rd Person 'Open-World' Camera Design/Functionality" and a Wii programmer to "take game features from concept to execution for a port of a 360/PS3 game to the Wii."Now, we'd like to think that this is an indication that Radical's bringing upcoming open-world action game, Prototype, to the Wii. Considering the company's track record, however, there's every chance that this is for another Crash game. Less depressingly, the listing could also be recruiting for an unconfirmed Spider-Man game. Not as juicy as Prototype, but hey, at least it's not Crash. What are you hoping for?Source -- Senior Wii Programmer (Systems & Rendering)Source -- Wii Gameplay Designer
Watch the full Prototype introduction (It's rated M for Mature)
Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, freaks and mutants, right here, right now, we have the full CG intro to Prototype for your viewing pleasure. The first half may look awfully familiar to some readers, as a shorter version was released earlier this year. Still, the full introduction is definitely worth watching and it sets up the story and atmosphere of the game quite nicely. Oh, and it's really, really violent. Enjoy.Prototype releases on June 5 in Europe and June 9 in North America.
Prototype pre-order goodies revealed
click to Proto-size Activision has officially announced the pre-order bonuses for Prototype and, as has become custom, they will depend on where you place your order. Those who pre-order from GameStop will get an action figure of Alex Mercer, the game's main character, complete with jacket-over-a-hoodie style! GameStop pre-orders will also receive a double-sided map / poster.GameCrazy pre-orders will get a hardcover art book, which contains illustrations of the game's characters, enemies and locations. Amazon orders will receive a Prototype comic from Wild Storm. The comic actually sounds fairly interesting, as it looks at the game's events from the perspective of two police detectives on Alex's trail. As we've reported before, Alex makes a habit of killing or destroying everything around him, so we imagine the cops have their hands full.Check out hi-res images of the action figure and comic in the gallery below. For now, you'll just have to imagine how sweet the art book looks. Activision sent us an image of the art book. We've added it to the gallery.%Gallery-51753%
