Prototype 2 Discussion Thread: Consum 'er? I 'ardly know 'er!

[Wings of Peace]

I was just curious to hear what the Playground opinions on Prototype 2 were. Personally, while I enjoyed the combat a lot I hated Heller. He had SLAB (Stereotypical Large Angry Black man) Syndrome bad and that made him too one dimensional for me to care about.

Honestly I think I would've enjoyed the game a lot more if Dana had been the protagonist. Sure we only meet 2/3 through the game roughly but in that last 1/3 she showed a broader range of emotion than Heller ever did in the preceding 2/3.

I'm not saying that I want Heller to be as angsty as Alex was in Prototype 1, but what-with his first npc buddy being a priest I sort of expected Heller to at least have a small moral crisis about the sheer amount of innocents that end up as collateral damage whenever he decides to go for a walk.

My complaints with Heller aside, as I said I did enjoy the combat. I mainly stuck with claws and tentacles but there were times I used each of the powers (and not just for lols). The emphasis on combos as well as the addition of block and dodge mechanics was also a nice touch as it made combat a lot more engaging for me than it was in Prototype 1.

[Runestar]

I don't have the game, and likely won't be playing it anytime soon (mac port not available, and I don't feel like springing for a new copy of windows). However, I have watched the walkthrough on youtube, and overall, my greatest gripe is the ending.

Basically, after having played the 1st prototype, I have trouble understanding the apparently sudden change in Mercer's outlook and philosophy. In the first game, he wasn't outright evil, we see that his actions are more driven by circumstances than any conscious plan. So while he does result in lots of destruction and loss of lives, I kinda sympathise with him some (even though he is directly responsible for the virus outbreak).

Now in P2, he just wants to end the world? I suppose that one way of explaining this would be that after his death at the end of P1, his humanity died along with it, and he is really just the blacklight virus now.

I guess my biggest hangup was that I was initially envisioning the sequel as another Legacy of Kain game (Heller as Raziel, Mercer as Kain). Then again, Mercer wasn't really very smart; he was pretty much just fumbling his way through the 1st game, and it is possible he just overestimated himself in P2?

Perhaps we will see a Prototype 3, where you get to play as both these characters? Pariah is still likely out there somewhere... :smalltongue:

[Wings of Peace]

I don't have the game, and likely won't be playing it anytime soon (mac port not available, and I don't feel like springing for a new copy of windows). However, I have watched the walkthrough on youtube, and overall, my greatest gripe is the ending.

Basically, after having played the 1st prototype, I have trouble understanding the apparently sudden change in Mercer's outlook and philosophy. In the first game, he wasn't outright evil, we see that his actions are more driven by circumstances than any conscious plan. So while he does result in lots of destruction and loss of lives, I kinda sympathise with him some (even though he is directly responsible for the virus outbreak).

Now in P2, he just wants to end the world? I suppose that one way of explaining this would be that after his death at the end of P1, his humanity died along with it, and he is really just the blacklight virus now.

I guess my biggest hangup was that I was initially envisioning the sequel as another Legacy of Kain game (Heller as Raziel, Mercer as Kain). Then again, Mercer wasn't really very smart; he was pretty much just fumbling his way through the 1st game, and it is possible he just overestimated himself in P2?

Perhaps we will see a Prototype 3, where you get to play as both these characters? Pariah is still likely out there somewhere... :smalltongue:

From what I got out of playing the game Mercer is actually a -good- guy in his own mind. He claims that he's improving things all around by converting people into the Evolved (note, converting not replacing). Honestly I didn't think it sounded like a terrible deal.

My greatest issue with Mercer was the fact that they make him a "Heart in the right place" kind of villain. Mercer is Prototype 1 was only ever altruistic towards Dana and at the ending of Prototype 1 I felt like he even lost that a bit with the realization that he's not actually Alex Mercer. So why he's now trying to make the world a better place (in his mind) is lost to me.

And yeah, I was kind of hoping for a Soul Reaver scenario like you.

[MachineWraith]

I've played and beaten both games. I didn't mind the admittedly one-dimensional protagonist that is Heller, and I'm sort of indifferent to the ending. Really, though, that's just because I don't buy Prototype games for story or depth of characters. Both could be better, no doubt, but the combat and feeling of power over everything around you are the two big draws to the franchise for me.

[Opperhapsen]

I don't have the game, and likely won't be playing it anytime soon (mac port not available, and I don't feel like springing for a new copy of windows). However, I have watched the walkthrough on youtube, and overall, my greatest gripe is the ending.

Basically, after having played the 1st prototype, I have trouble understanding the apparently sudden change in Mercer's outlook and philosophy. In the first game, he wasn't outright evil, we see that his actions are more driven by circumstances than any conscious plan. So while he does result in lots of destruction and loss of lives, I kinda sympathise with him some (even though he is directly responsible for the virus outbreak).

Now in P2, he just wants to end the world? I suppose that one way of explaining this would be that after his death at the end of P1, his humanity died along with it, and he is really just the blacklight virus now.

I guess my biggest hangup was that I was initially envisioning the sequel as another Legacy of Kain game (Heller as Raziel, Mercer as Kain). Then again, Mercer wasn't really very smart; he was pretty much just fumbling his way through the 1st game, and it is possible he just overestimated himself in P2?

Perhaps we will see a Prototype 3, where you get to play as both these characters? Pariah is still likely out there somewhere... :smalltongue:

Wait.
From what I remember the the Mercer you play as was not human in the least, it was purely virus all the time.
Alex Mercer was a sociopath bastard who wanted the outbreak, but the blacklight virus it self is pretty cool about the whole thing and actually possesses some human empathy.

[Runestar]

Wait.
From what I remember the the Mercer you play as was not human in the least, it was purely virus all the time.
Alex Mercer was a sociopath bastard who wanted the outbreak, but the blacklight virus it self is pretty cool about the whole thing and actually possesses some human empathy.

Well, in the first prototype, he didn't know he was the virus in the beginning, he still thought of himself as human, replete with memories and emotions, and acted accordingly, including caring deeply for his sister. Sure, he took tons of lives, but the way the game portrays it, he is doing so out of a sense of self-preservation. In other words, his enemies had it coming.

This was also the guy who literally took a nuke to the face trying to save a city from complete and utter devastation. :smallconfused:

In addition, I prefer Mercer's personality. I never did like protagonists who trash-talk too much, and from the videos I watched online, Heller basically spends the whole time swearing, cussing and making sarcastic quips. Conversely, Mercer was more the silent brooding hero type, talked little, but sounded way more intimidating because of this. :smalltongue: