PlayStation LifeStyle » Prototype

There’s Enough Room in Town for Both inFamous and Prototype Says Radical

Jonathan Leack — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:28:11 +0000

You may remember that about two years ago, when inFamous and Prototype released, drama ensued. It isn’t often that a quality superhero title comes out, let alone two within such a short span of time. Debates across the internet appeared as seemingly everyone voiced which they thought was the better game. But that doesn’t mean the developers look at it the same way.

The design director over at Radical Entertainment, Matt Armstrong, was asked about what he thought regarding the inFamous vs Prototype debates. He replied:

The first InFamous was really cool and the second one seems to be shaping up really well, but we offer something completely different and there’s space in the market for both games.

As Armstrong inferred, both might be classified under the same genre, but their gameplay, visual style, game speed, and overall delivery stray completely away from one another. One thing they do share is that sequels were warranted for each, and inFamous 2 will release this week while Prototype 2 comes out next year. Thank goodness, but you can bet your wallet comparisons will rain in once both are on store shelves.

[Source]

Japan’s Top 10 Selling Games: PlayStation Scores 8

Heath Hindman — Thu, 19 May 2011 04:45:11 +0000

Finally a 3DS game makes a big impact on the Japanese sales charts, but that’s not saying much this week, because it still lost out to a re-release of a regular DS game that’s already been on for six weeks. Sony goes on to stick eight PlayStation games in the top 10 sellers.

Indeed, while making the top 10 is a big deal and these games’ respective developers/publishers should be happy, it all kinda comes with an *unwritten asterisk, because everyone already spent their game money during Golden Week. Dipping as they may be, here are the top 10:

01. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 – Professional (DS)
02. Steel Diver (3DS)
03. The Reminiscence of Haruhi Suzumiya (PS3)
04. The Reminiscence of Haruhi Suzumiya (PSP)
05. Patapon 3 (PSP)
06. Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 (PSP)
07. Planetarian: Tohoku Earthquake Charity Edition (PSP)
08. Final Promise Story (PSP)
09. Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 (PS3)
10. Doki Doki Suikoden (PSP)

Don’t worry about seeing the word “Suikoden” up there. You’re not missing anything, as it’s not from the Konami RPG series that you’re probably thinking of. Rather, it’s a love adventure about, I don’t know, making love to cartoons and stuff.

Speaking of which, Platetarian‘s special charity re-release version managed to chart, which is nice, since all the profit goes toward rebuilding the massive amounts of tsunami-wrecked Northeast Japan.

In games seeing release on both PSP and PS3, Pro Baseball Spirits has consistently sold better in handheld form, while adventure fans are seeming to favor the big console for The Reminiscence of Haruhi Suzumiya.

* = Except when I write the asterisk.

[Source]

Clannad Ready to Love PS3

Heath Hindman — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:01:02 +0000

Who needs real love and friendship when video games can provide them for you? Visual novel series Clannad has been appearing on nearly every possible gaming platform since its debut in 2004, with games on PSP, PS2, 360, and PC. Now, it’s about to hit up the PlayStation 3 as well. On April 21, Japan will receive the PS3′s fist Clannad game. Here are some screens and the box art:

As usual for the genre, the player is faced with lots and lots of choices throughout play, most of which will have some impact on the story and ending. Visual novels, particularly love adventures, and particularly school-themed ones at that, have traditionally not been localized outside Japan, and this one has little chance of going against that trend. The developer’s official website can be found here.

[Source]

Visual PSP Novel Gets a Second Hand at Action for Charity

Heath Hindman — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:02:45 +0000

Electronic visual novels aren’t that big in the West, but in Japan, they’re a huge deal. Much to Sony’s presumed delight, their strong presence on PSP has been a noticeable part of the system’s great success in the Land of the Rising Sun. Now, an extremely rare visual novel is about to be re-released as developer Prototype does its part to provide disaster relief.

In the wake of the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami that followed, several companies in the gaming industry donated some money, some created downloadable content and sent the earnings to relief funds, and some have thought of new ideas. Prototype’s version of help will be to take what was once an extremely rare PSP title, Planetarian, and re-release it, with all profit going to the Japanese Red Cross to assist with providing continued shelter and basic necessities to the hundreds of thousands left homeless by the events of March 11.

Planetarian was originally on PS2 and enjoyed a very brief, extremely limited printing for PSP back in 2006. Most retailers never even saw a single copy hit their shelves, as it was mostly reserved for those diehard enough to attend a Prototype fan outing. The reprint will have the same cover art as its PS2 forefather, but with “Charity Version” written on it, as if to say “Yeah I donated money when I knew there was something cool I could get for it.” The game will have only one printing and ship on May 12 for 3,000 yen (roughly $35 US).

[Source]

Murder Your Maker Video Shows Off Scenes From Prototype

Cameron Teague — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:51:02 +0000

The latest update for the “Murder Your Maker” campaign has touched down and this time it comes in the form of an extremely short teaser trailer. Actually, short probably does not do it justice, the video is a mere 5 seconds long, so pay close attention or else it might just pass you by.

In the video we see a few scenes and clips from the original Prototype, leading proof to the belief around most of the net that this is indeed Prototype 2. So enjoy the video below and wait for more information to be released.

GameFly Subscribers Receive Huge May Savings

Jonathan Leack — Tue, 18 May 2010 17:01:56 +0000

This year has already been home to many great deals ranging from Amazon bonus credits for huge 2010 titles to PlayStation 3 Ultimate Bundles which include a game and controller. Now GameFly is hopping on the wagon and is delivering a huge used game sale for all subscribers of their service.

The popular video game rental service, GameFly, is currently holding a May Storewide Used Game Sale. Some of the best deals include the following:

BioShock 2 – $21.99
Dragon Age: Origins – $24.99
Ghostbusters – $9.99
inFamous – $24.99
Killzone 2 – $24.99
Prototype – $12.99
White Knight Chronicles: International Edition – $17.99

All games are used but include a new case as well as a new manual. These deals are available to anyone but GameFly subscribers receive FREE shipping with their order!

If you’d like to see the full-list of used PlayStation 3 games in the bargain bin, head over to GameFly and see what they have to offer.

Shoot Enemies With the XCM Light Gun for PS3

Paulmichael Contreras — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 06:37:02 +0000

Blurrycam FTL.

Footage has just surfaced on a new prototype light gun for the PlayStation 3. Called the “XCM XFPS Fire Light Gun,” it is currently about 70% completed creation-wise. Check out a video of it in action after the jump.

This gun will be available for PlayStation 3 owners around the end of February or early March. An Xbox 360 version is also going to be released approximately two months later.

The original site this video was found on is in the Netherlands, so no word yet on if this accessory is coming stateside.

Save Bundles With These Gamestop Deals

Paulmichael Contreras — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:48:40 +0000

So the New Year is upon us. When you are done partying, be sure to check out a local GameStop for the following deals, especially if you are a PlayStation fan.

Available for a limited time only, you can snag Metal Gear Solid 4 Greatest Hits Edition for $19.99, Prototype for $39.99, Modern Warfare 2 for $49.99, and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising for $39.99. You can also snag select UMD movies for a mere $2.99, including Godzilla, Mr. Deeds, Spiderman, and Secret Window. Get these deals while they’re hot!

The Top 100 PS3 Games

Ryan Rigney — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:38:29 +0000

If you like this article, be sure to check Xbox LifeStyle for a list of the top 100 Xbox 360 games!

Intros are lame. So yeah, whatever. Read this article. It’s in ALPHABETICAL ORDER so don’t freak out and post an angry comment. Also, we realize that some of the games on this list haven’t quite been released yet, but who cares? I only put games that have already been reviewing well, and this list will serve much better as a buyer’s guide for this Christmas because of it. Please note that prices listed are subject to change at Amazon’s whim, as are PSN prices. Enjoy!

1. Assassin’s Creed

Genre: 3D Platforming/Haystack Base-Jumping Simulator
Review Score Average: 79/100
Release Date: November 14, 2007
Price on Amazon.com: $21.49
Buy it on Amazon.com!

2. Assassin’s Creed 2

Genre: 3D Platforming/Italian People Hobo-Stabbing Simulator
Review Score Average: NA/100
Release Date: November 17, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $55.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

3. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Genre: Action-Adventure/Vent Exploration
Review Score Average: 92/100
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $52.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

4. Battlefield 1943

Genre: FPS (First Person Shooter)/Deep-Sea Swimming Simulator
Review Score Average: 86/100
Release Date: July 9, 2009
Price on PSN: $15

5. Battlefield: Bad Company

Genre: FPS/Deforestation Simulator
Review Score Average: 85/100
Release Date: June 23, 2008
Price on Amazon.com: $17.49
Buy it on Amazon.com!

6. The Beatles: Rock Band

Genre: Music/LSD Simulator
Review Score Average: 89/100
Release Date: September 9, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $53.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

7. Bionic Commando: Rearmed

Genre: Platformer/Amputee Victim Simulator
Review Score Average: 88/100
Release Date: August 13, 2008
Price on PSN: $15

8. Bioshock

Genre: FPS/RPG (Role-Playing Game)/Little Sister Choking Simulator
Review Score Average: 94/100
Release Date: August 21, 2007
Price on Amazon.com: $17.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

9. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

Genre: Fighting/Anime On-Screen Explosion Of Nonsense
Review Score Average: 88/100
Release Date: June 30, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $49.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

10. Borderlands

Genre: RPG/FPS/Headshotapalooza
Review Score Average: 83/100
Release Date: October 20, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $53.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

11. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway

Genre: FPS/WWII/Siblings In Limbs Simulator
Review Score Average: 76/100
Release Date: September 23, 2008
Price on Amazon.com: $19.59
Buy it on Amazon.com!

12. Brutal Legend

Genre: Action/RTS (Real-Time Strategy)/Jack Black Thing
Review Score Average: 83/100
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $53.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

13. Burnout Paradise

Genre: Racing/Skin-Peelingly Fast Crystal Meth User Simulator
Review Score Average: 88/100
Release Date: February 5, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $17.49
Buy it on Amazon.com!

14. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: Game of the Year Edition

Genre: FPS/Life-Destroying Addictive Substance
Review Score Average: 94/100
Release Date: November 6, 2007
Price on Amazon.com: $46.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

15. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Genre: FPS/That Game EVERYONE Will Buy
Review Score Average: NA/100
Release Date: November 10, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $59.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

16. Call of Duty: World at War

Genre: FPS/Not CoD4
Review Score Average: 85/100
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Price on Amazon.com: $55.43
Buy it on Amazon.com!

17. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Genre: RPG/Platformer/Dracula Assassination Simulator
Review Score Average: 90/100
Release Date: July 19, 2007
Price on PSN: $10

18. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

Genre: FPS/Vin Diesel’s Boyhood Fantasy Simulator
Review Score Average: 81/100
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Price on Amazon.com: $27.49
Buy it on Amazon.com!

19. Civilization Revolution

Genre: Strategy/Abraham Lincoln VS. Ghengis Khan Pitfighting Simulator
Review Score Average: 85/100
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Price on Amazon.com: $27.99
Buy it on Amazon.com!

20. Comet Crash

Genre: Tower Defense/The World Record Holder For Ugliest PS3 Game
Review Score Average: 86/100
Release Date: April 2, 2009
Price on PSN: $10

Sony to Display New Holographic Technology

Jonathan Leack — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:17:13 +0000

For the past few months, Sony has been pushing a new 3D technology. The technology utilizes 120hz displays and splits the image into 60hz for each eye. However, the technology requires the use of special glasses, which is a hindrance for many consumers. Thankfully, it seems that Sony has another great 3D technology up its sleeve as well.

Sony has a new holographic display in development that is able to render a 24-bit, 96 by 128-pixel image. Without the use of special glasses, the display shows an image that can be viewed from all angles. Apparently, Sony is going to be showing off this impressive piece of technology this Thursday at Tokyo’s Digital Contents Expo. Here’s to hoping that this technology will evolve into something that can benefit gaming.
[Source]
© jleack for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Deal of the Day: Prototype for $39.98

Anthony Severino — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:19:14 +0000

Today’s Amazon.com Deal of the Day is a $20 price reduction on a just released game. So if you were on the fence about picking up Prototype, this great deal should sway your decision.
Prototype, the sandbox style game from Activision has received much praise from the gaming community. For the low price of $39.98, now is the time to pick up this great title.
Prototype is available now on Amazon.com for the price of $39.98 for both the PS3, and Xbox 360. The PC version is available for only $29.98!
© Anthony Severino for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us

inFamous Crowned Winner in The Escapist Challenge

Kishen Patel — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:31:24 +0000

Ben “Yahtzee” Crowsaw, creator of the renowned Zero Punctuation films, did a special video comparing inFamous to Prototype and came to the conclusion that they were different games with different strengths and weaknesses, thus labeling the comparison as a draw. However, as a joke, he instated a challenge to both Sucker Punch and Radical and to Yahtzee’s surprise, both developers came through.

The sardonic challenge was for either developer to remodel the competing game’s main character into a woman. Shown below are Cole MacGrath and Alex Mercer rendered by the opposing studios for the Zero Punctuation faceoff:
Miss MacGrath by Radical

Miss Mercer by Sucker Punch Productions
After resisting the temptation of calling another draw (and risking another tie-breaker), Yahtzee crowned inFamous the winner of the Prototype vs. inFamous Challenge.
“It’s a close call, but I’m going to declare Sucker Punch the winner by one lovingly-rendered pair of breasts. Also their unicorn is a much prouder, mightier steed, and Alex’s expression is delightfully coquettish. Therefore InFamous must be the better game. Buy InFamous.”
All jokes aside, Prototype and inFamous are both triple-A titles of this year that any sandbox fan should have.

[Source]
© Kishen Patel for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us

PS3 Review – Prototype

Joseph Peterson — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:00:23 +0000

When Prototype was announced in Game Informer not too long ago, it instantly became one of the most anticipated titles of 2009. The title is developed by Radical Entertainment, a team who’s famous for their work on the hit title Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. And fans of that game will not be disappointed in Prototype. It has some of the same core concepts as Hulk, but manages to both separate and elevate itself at the same time.

The main character of the game is Alex Mercer, and he has unexplained powers that allow him to not only shapeshift, but also move at incredible speeds and possess extraordinary strength. The player begins the game with fully maxed out powers and is put through a tutorial of sorts. After the completion of this tutorial, the game flashes into a cutscene with Mercer talking to someone on top of a building. The city is in shambles and fully infected as Mercer explains everything to the unkown assailant. This is where the game really begins. It flashes back to Mercer in a morgue where he awakes on a table. The whole game you are trying to find out who did this to Mercer. Along the way, he has to deal with infected civilians, military, and advanced infected species.

Where the game really shines is the mayhem that you have to deal with. The game is fast, very fast. Not only does Mercer move fast, but so do some of the enemies. So the player needs to constantly keep their eyes open while moving throughout the city and completing missions. Failure to do so can result in being overwhelmed by many enemies, and having the choice of either running away or performing a devastator attack, which is an attack that hurts and takes out multiple enemies.
There is also more to the game than just the story. There are several sidequests for Mercer to complete, all of which offer rewards and perks to the player. These sidequests consist of time trials, consume missions, mayhem, and many other types. While a lot of these don’t add much to the story, they are still entertaining to a certain degree, though they can become a bit repetitive. But at least variation was included on the sidequests. Based on your performance in a sidequest, you can earn medals for it as well.
Weapon-wise the game has a very large variety for the player to choose from. It is also fairly well balanced. Depending on the enemy, some weapons are more effective than others.The weapons consist of a whip attack, double strength, a gigantic blade for an arm, and many others for the player to unlock. And thankfully, the game isn’t just about weapons; the developer made sure to make many defensive techniques available for use. Whether you want to just defend yourself using the shield or the armor suit, or take a more stealth-like approach and go undetected, the choice is yours.
Everything from powers to running speed is upgradeable through EP, which is earned by completing missions, killing enemies, etc. Also, Mercer can gain abilities in other ways, such as infiltrating military bases as a commander, or flying a helicopter or tank. He must consume the right personnel to fully understand how to operate the equipment. Also the game features an interesting feature to expand the story by simply consuming certain people. They will be marked with an orange symbol or a light blue DNA strand when Mercer gets near them. This is known as the Web of Intrigue. When Mercer consumes them, he has a flashback of sorts to see what they know in regards to the situation going on within the city and the outbreak of the virus.

The graphics are average, but most likely because of the sheer size of the map and how much is actually going on at once. The entire map is open from the get go, and features no loading times unless you enter a military base or start a mission. The sound of the game is great. People react to you both physically and verbally depending on your actions. If Mercer shapeshifts in front of the pedestrians, they flip out and run away. If he grabs a soldier and begins running up a building, expect to hear more than a few curse words from his victim. The gameplay itself is smooth. The best part is the fluidity between the free running and gliding when traversing through the city. The fights can get pretty hectic as well. If you don’t master the controls, there will be a lot of ‘Game Overs’ to be had.
The only problem with the game is that the story is really lacking. It’s interesting to the point of where you don’t get bored with it, but it’s not very engaging. The reason to play this game isn’t for the story though, it’s for the sheer amount of destruction and mayhem you can cause as Alex Mercer. If you are someone that enjoyed Hulk: Ultimate Destruction then this title is definitely worth a look, if not then stay away, far away. It’s a sandbox title that essentially takes the city of Manhattan and places it in your hands to do whatever you want with Mercer.
At the end of the day, Prototype will continue to be compared to the PS3 exclusive, inFamous, when in actuality they have nothing in common other than being sandbox titles. This may end up hurting sales of Prototype on the PS3, which is a shame since that shouldn’t be the case. Both titles are definitely worth a look for very different reasons. Radical Entertainment made great use of the extra development time they were given, and Prototype is a fun, exciting game that deserves to be played.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score

Well balanced combat system.
The story works, but could have been more engaging.
Fast-paced, exciting gameplay with tons of variety and hectic situations.
© Joseph Peterson for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Prototype Gets Annoying Installation Bug

Dan Massi — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:35:01 +0000

Now that [PROTOTYPE] is available in stores now, PlayStation 3 owners have dived into the destructive mind of Alex Mercer, created by the developers who made The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. But unfortunately, it seems that most PS3 owners can’t dive into that mind quite yet.

Gamers who have purchased [PROTOTYPE] have found an unfortunate installation bug, which tells you that there is not enough hard-drive space for the installation of the game. To fix this, you’ll have to change the amount of free hard disk space on your system by 700MB. Sound familiar? Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction had a similar problem, where you’d have to delete or add on 500MB of memory.
The problem can be easily solved, though shouldn’t even had happened in the first place. To get the game up and running, you’ll have to download anything that will eat up 700MB of memory. You can either download a demo, install another game, or download some videos. You can also remove any downloadable content you may have lingering around on your hard drive.
For something to download, may we suggest the inFAMOUS demo? Trust us, it works, unlike this sucker.
[Source]
© Dan for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us

PlayStation Release Horizon 06/08/09

Anthony Severino — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:02:23 +0000

This Is Living
Here we are, the week after E3! There are quite a few games to choose from this week, but without a doubt there is one in the bunch that is a must-own title. Rock Band Unplugged will be released this week exclusively on the PSP. Besides the usual yearly sports releases, this week will also see the release of Prototype. We’ll see if this game is able to stand up to inFamous.

PS3 –
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 06/08
Prototype 06/09
Virtual Tennis 2009 06/09
PSP –
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 06/08
Class of Heroes 06/09
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings 06/09
Rock Band Unplugged 06/09
PS2 -
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 06/08
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings 06/09
© Anthony Severino for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us