Hack and slash – That One Thing

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Some of the images in this post show graphic violence.

Prototype is the oldest game that’s ever existed in the history of the entire planet and it runs like a fat, sweaty dog. And it’s ugly, too. The color palette is dirty and dull.

Alex Mercer, our SuPeR cHaRiSmAtIc protagonist is an indestructible rhino that nobody, not even the army, likes.

And you won’t believe the amount of trouble it took me to raise the framerate to 30 from 15 on my PC. Oh, and there are weird, unforgiving difficulty spikes that come out of nowhere.

At low fps this game is headache-inducing and I can’t tell what’s happening at any time

Yo, and the story?! Don’t even get me started on it.

Strictly speaking, I know there’s a story to Prototype, I do. I’m generally aware of a story being present. However, everytime a cutscene ends, I can’t remember whatever it is I just watched.

And anything I do remember is completely baffling. Um, like, why does Alex’s ex-girlfriend just accept he’s alive and send him off with orders to capture a tank within 5 seconds of seeing him? That’s been really bugging me.

But for some reason, despite all this, Prototype is damn fun. It has no right to be so fun, but here it is. Trying its hardest to be serious and edgy and accidentally stumbling across genius.

Don’t worry about those guys. They’re totally fine.

If you haven’t played then I don’t know what to tell you. Usually, I’d write a little something here about the plot or characters, but I don’t have too much commentary on those. Alex Mercer is amusing in an ironic way, and he’s only fun to control thanks to his abilities and not much else.

Man, I’m usually not this critical about the game. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Prototype, but certain aspects of it like characters and story feel wasted in their mediocrity. If those parts could be perfected, or at least have a small amount of personality injected into them so they don’t feel so bland, the game would be so much better for it.

Sometimes the setting looks very bland, and nothing stands out except… is that a DC billboard?

So, I guess, if you haven’t played, Prototype takes place in a city where a virus outbreak has just begun spreading. People are becoming infected and slowly the city transforms into a chaotic, sick mess. Alex wakes up in a morgue with amnesia and freaky super powers that let him eat people and turn his fingers into knives.

I think where Prototype strives is in Alex’s abilities.

Definitely not his personality, but in the easy way he does impossible things. The way he casually runs up completely vertical walls, jumps over buildings, and punches pedestrians without the need of a combo or special move. Also, yeah, I know that last item wasn’t an impossible thing, but it’s still something Alex does automatically.

Anyways, you’re given this stuffed bag of goodies, aka superhuman abilities, and told to go nuts and have fun. The game actively takes a step back and lets you roam the world without nagging you about some story mission or side quest.

Alex may be a total lug, and amnesia may be an overdone cliche, but the sensation of running so fast that colliding into pedestrians kills them is totally fresh and new. Which is odd, considering how old the game is.

When “move it or lose it” becomes literal.

If I had to explain it without using game terminology, I’d say that Prototype is like setting a piece of paper on fire, where the fire is Alex Mercer and the paper is everything else. It’s an addicting experience.

And I never get bored of it. No matter how many times you pick on NPCs, they’re always freaking out. No matter how many times you use a disguise, the army is still completely baffled as to where Alex went.

WE’VE LOST SIGHT OF THE TARGET WHERE DID HE GO?????

And you can purchase more moves and upgrades, so it feels like Alex is always evolving to become more deadly, making that stagnant world around him easier and easier to dominate.

Truthfully, this means that despite some brief difficulty spikes, the game is relatively easy. When the objective is to clear an area, you can pretty much just sneeze in the clueless army’s direction to pass the mission.

Some people prefer a challenge, but personally, I don’t mind a trollingly easy experience every so often. Since Prototype feels like such a low effort game for me, it makes it perfect for relaxing or playing just for the fun of it.

Besides, I think this feeling contributes to the best part of the game.

When you’re playing Prototype, you feeling absolutely invincible, and it’s fantastic. Even for a game that hasn’t aged well, it somehow manages to make me feel like the sky’s the limit, like I can do anything in its world. It feels like a lot of games strive to trigger that feeling in the player, but I’ve never played one that compared with the feeling I get with Prototype.

That’s why I think that one thing about Prototype that makes it fun for me is that feeling of invincibility. It almost feels like you’re using cheat codes in vanilla gameplay; it’s insane. Alex is an absolute tank who could run a 200 meter dash in a half second and then, you know, sprint up a building like a freak.

Bonus: anything that’s not tied down is free game.

The civilians around you feel like paper. Land on them, they die. Punch them, they die. Trip over them, d e a d. Cars, buildings, heck, even tanks, all seem like child’s play.

And Alex doesn’t just have you covered with his strength and agility. He can also disguise himself. As funny as putting on a fake mustache would be, Alex instead consumes people until there’s nothing left and takes their form. So, when the spotlight is on you and you’re getting shot at, you can just whoop completely change your whole body and the trouble passes with minimum effort.

As Alex Mercer, you’re completely untouchable.

That’s a tank. A TANK. It’s supposed to stop Alex, not tickle him.

Add to that a completely open world (although it’s not as complex as modern open worlds) and Prototype elevates itself from drab amnesia story to who cares when I can punch a tank story.

Even now, when I’m feeling low or need an outlet for something, I get the craving to just mess around in Prototype for a few hours. I think it’s an excellent testament to the game that with all these new Triple-A releases I have burning a hole in my game library, I still return to Prototype even today.

(Also, Alex is a cowboy; he sounds just like one. And, umm, the boots? C’mon. The boots. Can’t forget about those.)

Blasphemy!

It might sound like a strange question, but: How is the 2013 game DmC: Devil May Cry like a bee?

And let’s put aside the whole DmC remake vs. Devil May Cry originals debate and just focus on this bee thing — I think this bee thing is really demanding our full attention.

Apparently, bees can see different colors than we can. Bees can’t see red, but in exchange, they can see ultraviolet light. Some photographers try to simulate what bees see and it can look completely alien. There’s this entirely different world that we can’t see, but bees? Bees can.

The idea that there are things we can’t perceive surrounding us and our daily lives is a huge, possibly essential idea in DmC. That’s because, in DmC, there are two worlds: the land of the living, aka our world, and Limbo, land of bees.

Although Limbo is technically a different space from the land of the living, one can influence the other, and some agents, like Dante (our playable character) and certain demons, can move between the two like a pinball bouncing between bumpers. The two realms are not completely separate, because you can see silhouettes of the people outside of Limbo, who are standing on the same street you are but just out of reach.

There’s a good amount of thought and detail put into the idea of Limbo as it appears in DmC, and some of the locations are just plain cool, like a prison that’s completely-upside because it’s a reflection of the original building in water.

In contrast, there’s the land of the living, which is extremely bland and severely muted. Even in terms of story, the real world is a boring place used for exposition dumps and setting up the eventual cut to Limbo.

A street in the land of the living
Same street (from a different angle) in Limbo
Warehouse
Same warehouse in Limbo

Even more interesting than its design is how Limbo feels like a character, right beside the main cast, perhaps even more bombastic and likable than any of the main cast.

Unlike most settings, it isn’t static, and it has so much personality. It’s crabby, it’s childish, it’s mean, and it hates Dante a lot. Compared to the land of the living, it feels alive, ironically. Listen to me, I sound like I’m waxing poetry about it.

Limbo is lovely,
you should really go there soon.
Bright, vibrant, alive.

Limbo will even speak directly to Dante, with friendly little messages meant to encourage the player.

And that attitude is shown in its movements. Limbo will block the way when you run up, it’ll crush the alleyway like a tin can with you inside, or it will completely decimate the path you’re on because it’s petulant and it hates you.

If this game only took place in the world of the living, it would be worse for it. Especially considering that the game has been done before, with, in my opinion, stronger stories and more endearing characters. That’s why Limbo is that one essential thing for DmC.

If I had to make up an answer for the dumb question I asked, which I do, I’d say DmC is like a bee because it explores a world we don’t spare much thought for, even though it’s right under our noses. Although DmC is kinder than a bee, considering it shares that colorful world with us.

Do bees go to Limbo? I hope not.

Sources: https://www.beeculture.com/bees-see-matters/

Category: Hack and slash

Alex Mercer is a parasitic cowboy change my mind

Do bees go to Limbo?