Infamous and Prototype

I finished Infamous yesterday and I must say I really liked it. Many people compare Infamous and Prototype but the actual gameplay is very different ( I have finished both ). The reason for the comparison is mainly because of the similarities in some areas. For example

• Both cities are quarantined.


• Both game features a super powered main character ( awesomeness) .


• Both games features flash movies for the cut scenes.


• Both are open world NYC inspired environments.


• In Both the streets are in total chaos.


• In both you are not in the military or ‘other’ team, you fight for you and whoever you want to help.


• In both you can’t drive cars (don’t worry you don’t need to! ).


• In both you can Consume/Bio leach people to regain health.


• Both have some kind of shield.


• In both games the main character tells the story.

With all of these similarities it might seem that these games are very similar but they are not.

Movement
Alex from Prototype is much faster than Cole from Infamous, in fact he moves through a city faster than Spiderman himself. While Alex can run up vertical walls Cole has to climb (but he climbs fast). Both can fall from incredible height and not be damaged. The impact the fall creates looks much better in Prototype, when Alex falls from great height the cars and people that are close to where he lands are blown away with great force where in Infamous your fall barely has any impact on them. In both games you can jump from rooftop to rooftop to get around quicker. In Infamous there are power cables that you can slide on to move faster, as you progress more cables are installed and this enables you to move faster from area to area, you can also slide on the train tracks. In both games they jump high but Prototype is more extreme, you can charge your jump and jump insane heights. Ok Infamous might seem slow when compared to Prototype but when compared to other games out there it is very fast. Moving around in both games are really fun and will provide many oooow moments.



Combat
The fighting is where these two games drift apart. Infamous if more a shooter type game ( although you can’t use guns). Your main power is an electric blast that does not require any energy (that works like mana), like a pistol with never ending bullets (but much more powerful and looks way cooler). Then you get an ability to zoom in and slow time a little bit to shoot enemies from a distance, like a sniper rifle. You also get a more powerful attack that explodes on impact, like a rocket launcher. You get an attack that drops an energy ball and it explodes after a set time, like a grenade. Infamous also features a cover system. All this said the combat in Infamous is different and fresh, it really doesn’t feel like the other games out there. Prototype is more a melee fighting game although you can use guns. You get a selection of melee weapons like big hands a claw and a blade. You can shoot with guns in Prototype but it is never really necessary except some rocket launcher parts. Prototype is much more brutal and bloody than Infamous. Alex can also consume his enemies and then disguise as them for stealth purposes. One thing that I like about Prototype is that you can hijack Tanks and Helicopters. For health Alex consumes people where Cole can Bio leach people for health or he has the ability to heal by absorbing electricity from anything that needs electricity even like a TV.





Story
To me personally Infamous has a much better story than Prototype. In Infamous depending on the choices you make you become good/evil. It really makes a difference, the story changes, you get different powers, you look different, and people react different towards you and even the color of your lighting changes. This really boosts replayability of the game, for instance right now I want to play the game again just to see the difference. The story is mainly told through flash movies that looks pretty cool but real animation would have been better. I choose evil the first time round because come on the games is called Infamous! The story in Prototype is just not that hot. I think they focused more on the game itself. The story is also mainly told in flash movies that look good but not as good as the Infamous ones. In Prototype you tolerate the story for the awesome gameplay where in Infamous the story and characters draws you into the world.



Overall
Overall I think these games are completely different. I tried to choose one but I can’t, they are both fun and if you think they will feel the same you are wrong. I do hope they create sequels for both these games and that these games inspires more “Super hero with a twist” games in the future. If you have to choose only one you have a hard choice ahead and just know that whichever one you choose you will miss an awesome game.
Make the right choice and play both you wont be disappointed.