February 6, 2011

Prototype in Disaster

So I've tried to be accepting of all video games over the years. Even the most flawed games can have there up sides. Take Brutal Legend for example. This game starts out amazing but gradually gets a bit worse as poorly planned real time strategy aspects get added. It has many random glitches and some of the controls don't feel fine tuned. In the end, it's still a great game. The humor is amazing and after all is said and done you're left craving more. Somehow this amazing video game doesn't get a sequel regardless of a large fan base and great reviews.
On the opposite end of the review spectrum is games like Dynasty Warriors. After years of rehashing the same game with only better graphics, more characters and minor changes the reviews have fallen apart. Most of the games barely break the 50% rating and many fail at that. At the same time those games have a huge fan following and can be greatly enjoyed for mindless fun. As a result they get sequels upon sequels because of the money they bring in.
I thought I'd finally figured out how the gaming world worked, but then games like Prototype start to appear. Fairly recently they announced Prototype 2, but under what basis? The game had average to poor reviews and made average money for the creators. So where is the value in creating a sequel and not spending the money on something new?
Let me just say, I enjoyed the beginning of Prototype. Running around the city and destroying everything was a blast. There's barely any slow intro, your just thrown into a chaotic world and expected to battle. Each new power excited me, but around the half way point that quickly falls apart. The games challenge level sky rockets, but the controls and gameplay don't follow. You start spending 90% of your time running away to heal or get undetected just to run back, punch and enemy once and do it all over again. Even though your powers are constantly growing, you end up using objects and military weapons to do most of your fighting. What's the point in being a big super biological weapon if you're not going to use your powers?
The only redeeming factor is when everything is over and you've beaten the game you can return to simply running around and doing what you want, but even that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth cause I now understand all the flaws. Who can run straight up a wall but the second you try to go sideways you get unstable and go crazy directions?
I'm disappointed in the game creators and I'm more disappointed in DC for putting their name in this. I mean it's story is barely there and what is there is generic and predictable. You'd think a comic book company with years of experience would have stopped them at the drawing board and said "ok, we're out."
Now it's getting a sequel while great games like Brutal Legend, Zone of the Enders, and The World Ends With You are left twiddling their thumbs hoping their directors will come back to them some day. It's just frustrating!

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