Inside Prototype

Logan Booker splices genes with Radical Entertainment’s Tim Bennison, executive producer on Prototype.

Not everyone can be a superhero. Otherwise we’d all just be heroes. For saving lives, someone like Superman would not be rewarded the key to the city. Instead, his mates would call him a show-off behind his back. Before long, old Superman would find himself ‘accidentally’ forgotten in the work email for Friday night drinks at the pub. The comfort of a cold beer and friendly companionship would be replaced by an evening alone with a copy of The Notebook and a litre tub of double-fudge chocolate ice cream.

No, superheroes have to be made of sterner stuff than the rest of us, hopefully stern enough to resist bullet impacts, survive drops from ridiculous heights and metabolise double-fudge ice cream in mere seconds.

In recent times, we’ve had a chance to weld a few chunks of this magical superhero material to our bodies. 2007 had us leaping around a metropolis as a mega cop in Crackdown, while Assassin’s Creed allowed players to perform unbelievable feats of athleticism as Altair. Now, Radical Entertainment is swinging its giant super arms around the open-world superhero genre with Prototype. Radical doesn’t want to just punch a few street thugs 400 metres into the air or toss tanks around like tiddlywinks. No, with Prototype, Radical is aiming to deliver fun, depth and an interactive, yet crazy-creepy story the likes of which we’ve not yet seen.


What’s a mutant to do?
Tim Bennison is executive producer on Prototype and as such, has a firm grasp on what the game involves. He was kind enough to explain the crux of the story, including details on its protagonist.

“Prototype is essentially an origin story revolving around a shape shifter called Alex Mercer,” says Bennison. “It begins in 2008 and is set in New York City. As Alex, you will be gradually entangled in a three-way war that spirals out of control and spills onto the streets of New York.”

Building New York’s skyline from scratch.

Behind the scenes is a government conspiracy that will be revealed over time through Prototype’s multi-layered plot. Radical has named the delivery mechanic for the story the ‘Web of Intrigue’, and it believes fans of the TV show Lost and Tom Clancy novels will love the tangle of details as they add up to a thrilling whole.