Radical Entertainment is about to release a sequel to Prototype, the best selling title of 2009, and it’s looking better than ever. Prototype 2 has an awesome, action-packed, movie-worthy story line, and has a few new features improving the game play of the original.

The players is now a new protagonist, Sgt. James Heller, who is on a quest to destroy Prototype’s original anti-hero, Alex Mercer, in this open-world action as the ultimate shape-shifting weapon. Players will have multiple options to slay through the wastelands of post-viral New York Zero (NYZ) with unparalleled locomotion, building up a vast genetic arsenal of deadly, biological weapons and abilities as they hunt, kill, and consume their way towards the main objective: Kill. Alex. Mercer.

Like the original Prototype, Radical Entertainment announced that Prototype 2 has a comic counterpart. The three part series acts as the bridge between the two games and is published by Dark Horse Comics. The first installment is called The Anchor, which focuses on Alex Mercer’s transformation from fighting the virus to embracing it. The second comic, The Survivors, focuses on a small group of people trying to escape New York Zero. The third, The Labyrinth, introduces Heller and leads into Prototype 2.

In the beginning of the game, Heller is an uninfected human at the bottom of the food chain. The original protagonist, Alex Mercer, is now the antagonist you blame for the death of your wife and daughter during the red zone outbreak. Fueled by rage, Heller attacks but is no match for Mercer’s abilities. Impressed by Heller’s implausible survival of the Infected onslaught, Mercer sees Heller as a potentially valuable asset for his grand plan and infects him with the virus, making Heller his prototype. The graphics, audio, and story line are beyond impressive.

It’s an open-world type of game where you can play missions as you please, or just run around mastering your slaying skills. Explore and discover NYZ’s hidden lairs throughout the city and be rewarded with genetic upgrades for surviving the horrors found inside. Consume your victim and genetically inherit their shape and weapon. Take form of a Blackwatch man and gain access to the encrypted computer network, Blacknet, to find information regarding key targets associated with top-secret military projects throughout the city. With so many potential viral load outs, players can customize Heller’s power set to their liking, making him their prototype.

The game has many new and unique features: Shape-shifting is evolved to juggle between multiple genetic/biological weapons on the fly, like the all-new trauma-inducing Tendrils, the razor sharp Claws or Blade Arm, and blunt and devastating Hammer and Whip Fists (just to name a few). You can unlock and summon “The Brawlers” where a mass of “your peoples” come to fight off chaos. There are two new gnarly monsters that are two-stories tall. A 360 sonar is added to help you navigate and hunt like a predator. Once you send off your wave, a ping will indicate where your target is. Drive or hop on military vehicles and tear off their weapons to use. You become more strategic and tactical in your moves with the new and improved gaming effects to indicate where you’re getting hit from. Deflect rockets launched at you to hit a particular target, maybe a helicopter or a tank nearby. New fun “finishers” are included, like uppercutting a helicopter — woop woop!

So if you’re up for the sequel, or would like a new change in defeating an epidemic devastation to humanity, Protoype 2 is pretty f’n cool. I had the honor to testing out the PS3 demo. Did I mention it was gory? That should have been obvious.

Rated M for Mature. Available for PS3, Xbox 360 & PC. Pre-order now with GameStop, Amazon, EB Games and your local mom & pops. Welcome to NYZ…it’s time to murder your maker!

Trailer:

E3 with IGN commentary:

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