History VideoGame / Prototype

On June 28, 2012, Activision announced major layoffs at Radical Entertainment, citing that the ''Prototype'' IP "did not find a broad commercial audience"; casting doubt on the possibility of the franchise continuing, barring the "Biohazard Bundle" of both games being released for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne in 2015. The franchise has been silent since.

* EldritchAbomination: Semi-applies in so far as you sort of are this. OK, there have been multiple FAR more impressive examples, but not exactly in a game with the ''protagonist''. You are not quite human anymore ([[spoiler:"not quite" meaning "not at all"]]) by virtue of superhuman resistance, strength and speed, you have the ability to transform parts of your body into blades and [[{{CombatTentacles}} Combat Tentacles]], you can [[Film/TheThing1982 absorb biomass and impersonate the people you assimilated]]... Again, there have been many [[{{BossFight}} bosses]] or even some [[{{EliteMooks}} especially powerful normal enemies]] like this in FPS, but hardly ever protagonists.

** That said, the guards are very picky about proper procedure. Civilian or Alex has a gun? Red alert! Tiny black mass (inactive Shield) on back? Red alert! Civilian accidentally enters base? Red alert! Accidentally pancake a cop car while running around and [[LeParkour Le Parkouring]] through rush hour traffic? Red alert! They're stupid enough that they won't punish obvious signs of your true nature (such as the aforementioned superhuman feats), but perceptive enough to punish stupid mistakes from fifty feet away.

* MultiPlatform: UsefulNotes/{{PS3}}, UsefulNotes/XBox360, PC, and as of July 14th, 2015, the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and the UsefulNotes/XboxONE.

* PeopleJars: Present in a lot of Web of Intrigue videos.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Alex Mercer and Elizabeth Greene.
* PhlebotinumRebel: Alex, of course.

* PlotPoweredStamina: Justified, as Alex [[spoiler:isn't human]] anymore in the game.

* PsychoPrototype: That would be ''you''.

** The sky becomes blood-red whenever you're in an Infected zone. For that matter, so does a lot of the ground, the terrain, the zombies and mutants and giant pulsing hives... in fact, it'd be safe to say this is one of the ''reddest'' games ever made besides those released on the UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy.

* GutturalGrowler: Alex's voice can sometimes start sounding like Creator/ChristianBale's [[Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy portrayal of Batman]].

* StateSec: Blackwatch, a black-ops style organization that may or may not have authority superseding that of the President. Their stated purpose is to prevent the spread of bioweapon infection (specifically Redlight and Blacklight), but given that every other person in their group is a SociopathicSoldier, they're using the [[SemperFi USMC]] as CannonFodder, and they ''[[NukeEm have a plan to nuke Manhattan if they think they're losing]]'', they're more clearly this trope.

** The US Government deploying the US Marines to Manhattan is this by itself, as they are mainly used for overseas operations rather than, say, first responders to a domestic operation such as the occupation of Manhattan to neutralize the threat. It would make a lot of sense if the US National Guard were to be called-in as the first responders, due to its proximity, and it would remove the aforementioned asset issues, like the Marines using Apaches and Bradley's.

[[caption-width-right:350:With great power comes great... [[IAmAHumanitarian lunch.]]]]

* The Marines are all members of “Chalk Three.” Even helicopters will use Chalk Three as their call sign. The writers seem to have thought that “chalk” is some sort of slang term for a battalion, and not a platoon-sized unit deployed from an aircraft.

As often seen those days, ''Prototype'' spans multiple media. Much like ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' and ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', the backstory of some characters along with some events unseen in the game are explored in the six-parter ''Prototype'' comic book published by ''Wildstorm''.

A sequel, ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'', was released in April 2012. This page is for the original game ''Prototype''. Please place tropes exhibited in the sequel on the appropriate page.

''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] the ''[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay T-1000]]'' meets ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}''. [[{{Gorn}} Put inside a blender]] and [[ImAHumanitarian made sure it mixes]] ''[[ImAHumanitarian evenly]]''.

** The controls can be a pain for the first time, and takes quite some practice to get the hang off it, especially in the parkour side quests. [[InterfaceScrew Direction of movement is based on camera orientation, except when it's not]]. [[CameraScrew Camera orientation shifts in the direction of movement, except when it doesn't]].

* WhipItGood / WhipSword: The Whipfist. Though not an actual sword, but slices up things as viciously as the Claw or Blade powers would.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Radical's ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction''. One who has played both will easily notice that the gameplay remains the same for the two games (moreso than your typical spiritual successor), and a good deal of mechanics and moves have been retained... in fact, let's just call ''Prototype'' a sequel in gameplay only.
** WordOfGod supporting this: The guys at Radical got the inspiration for Alex Mercer's shape-shifting abilities while playing ''Ultimate Destruction'' and using the Hulk's [[ImprovisedWeapon "weaponize" skills]]. They asked themselves, "What if [the character] could weaponize ''himself?''" and an idea was born...
** Also a successor to the ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'' game, in a way. The two were developed by the same people, and it's impossible to not notice the similarities if you've played the other one. Alex's running animation is ''identical'' to Spider-Man's. His charged jump is ''identical'' to Venom's superjump. His throw is ''identical'' to Venom's throw. Finally, his tentacle attacks are ''identical'' to Venom's tentacle attacks... except for some of the Devastator moves, which are identical to Carnage's attacks.
** In large part also to ''Spider-Man 2: TheMovie'', the game. The setting in Manhattan, the Landmark objectives (although the Spider-Man ones only gave a BraggingRightsReward), the various optional events to collect points, the LeParkour gameplay, the WideOpenSandbox world, these can all be traced back at least this far.
** ''VideoGame/SpiderManWebOfShadows'', anyone? Both games are by Activision, both start with ATasteOfPower shortly before the plot ends, both have a ZombieApocalypse going on in NY, in both cases it is the fault of the protagonist to a certain degree, in both cases the protagonist gains dark/evil powers. Even the attacks are very similar, with combat tentacles, body surf attack etc.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Alex survives significantly more punishment in story cutscenes than he can in regular gameplay. This is presumably because if he were as strong as he is in cutscenes during normal play, the game would be too easy.

** [spoiler: General Randall insists that people call Alex an "it" rather than a "he". There is actually a pretty good justification for this.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:In the autopsy at the beginning of the game, a doctor comments that "He was Blacklight."]]

On June 28, 2012, Activision announced major layoffs at Radical Entertainment, citing that the ''Prototype'' IP "did not find a broad commercial audience"; casting doubt on the possibility of the franchise continuing.

However, in a method seemingly befitting of the modus operandi of both Alex Mercer and James Heller, on July 14th, 2015, with little to no warning at all, ''Activision'' and ''Fun Labs'' released an UpdatedReRelease for both ''PROTOTYPE'' and ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'', the latter of which included all forms of DLC with it, in the form of the ''Biohazard Bundle'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and the UsefulNotes/XboxONE with both games being available separately via digital download.

* BreakMeter: "[[spoiler:'''SUPREME HUNTER''']] '''STUNNED'''. GRAB [-THE-] [[spoiler:SUPREME HUNTER]]." Cue ActionCommands for [[ButtonMashing free hits]] if you comply.

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: The boss fights gradually represent some sort of a hierarchy where the next is stronger than the last - Hunters, Leader Hunters, Greene are more of a direct line since the latter is the one who controls the HiveMind. Captain Cross is by far the strongest human soldier that you encounter before you fight Greene. [[spoiler:When Cross returns, the last missions reveal that he is actually the Supreme Hunter who performed a KillAndReplace, and its goal involves nuking the city, while trying to consume Alex himself and be om the top of the food chain.]]

** One of Alex's unlockable moves, "Hammertoss" is unmistakably a [[StreetFighter Shoryuken]], and his little fireball move seems to be based on the [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters hishoken]].

** Super Soldiers are notoriously known for these; when there's a group of them being pushed around by Mercer or the Hunters, they will let out a really big "no" from time to time. They can [[UpToEleven go beyond]] by screaming in rapid-fire succession on Military vs. Infected events.

** In large part also to ''Spider-Man 2: TheMovie'', the game. The setting in Manhattan, the Landmark objectives (although the Spider-Man ones only gave a BraggingRightsReward), the various optional events to collect points, the LeParkour UpToEleven gameplay, the WideOpenSandbox world, these can all be traced back at least this far.

* VideogameDashing: The Air Dash. It can be upgraded to make you dash further and [[UpToEleven dash a second time after the first]]. Charging up attacks also amplify the extent in which Alex will lunge towards his target. This is justified as Mercer is propelling himself forward by expelling extra mass behind him, simialr to his Glide ability where he expels mass downward to keep his body from falling faster.

* CapePunk: The game follows a character equipped with all the powers of a superhero (something between the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk and a [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos shoggoth]]) who's stuck in a city under lockdown by the military. It shows a cynical view of good versus evil being a poor fit for a BlueAndOrangeMorality being that is an OutsideContextProblem for humanity.

* GroundPound / ShockwaveStomp: Alex can slam his fists into the ground to create a potent shockwave. More true to the trope, he can do the same thing in the middle of a jump. He also has a leg smash move which does something similar, as well as the Hammerfist Elbow Drop, the Bullet Dive Drop, and his Air Graveyard Spike Devastator.