Prototype (series)

Prototype
File:Prototype Logo.jpg
Genres	Action-adventure
Developers	Radical Entertainment Fun Labs (Prototype Biohazard Bundle only)
Publishers	Activision
Platforms	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Xbox 360 Xbox One
First release	Prototype June 9, 2009
Latest release	Prototype: Biohazard Bundle July 14, 2015

Prototype is an open world action-adventure video game series that consists of two main games and two comic book series. The franchise is developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Activision. The games have been developed for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. A remastered bundle, that include both games titled Prototype: Biohazard Bundle was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles on July 14, 2015.

Main games

Aggregate review scores
As of April 11, 2013.

Game	GameRankings	Metacritic
Prototype	(PC) 82% (X360) 80% (PS3) 80%	(PC) 79 (PS3) 79 (X360) 78
Prototype 2	(PC) 81% (PS3) 80% (X360) 75%	(PS3) 79 (PC) 76 (X360) 74

Prototype

Main article: Prototype (video game)

Alex Mercer, a brilliant scientist who is seeking the truth of a conspiracy that threatens the existence life of humanity. Mercer is later aided by his sister Dana, and a morgue scientist, Bradley Ragland in his search for the truth. Mercer realizes that he was responsible for the viral outbreak in Manhattan. In order to save the city from being destroyed by Blackwatch, a shady military organization determined to stop the spread of virus and Mercer, he allies himself with Robert Cross who was part of Blackwatch. Mercer succeeds in saving the city from destruction, but becomes a ghost among its people.

Prototype 2

Main article: Prototype 2

It has been 14 months since the outbreak at Manhattan. Sgt James Heller returns to the city from war, only to find his family killed during the outbreak. Enraged at this, Heller joins the Blackwatch forces in the city. He requests to enter the Red zone, which is the highest infected zone in the city. Alex Mercer watches Heller as he fights the infected. Impressed by his grit and implausible survival of the slaughter, considers him as an asset and infects him with the Mercer Virus. Heller discovering only part of the truth, considers Mercer responsible for his family's demise and begins his hunt.

Spin-offs

Blacknet is a Facebook game that was released on June 17, 2011 by Radical Entertainment.

This Facebook application is for the promotion of Prototype 2. The application is based on the communications network used by Blackwatch. Players can access the contents of Blacknet by "Hacking" its files. In order to access this application, the users must be 18 years of age or above.

Comics

Prototype

Prototype is a 2009 comic book made by DC WildStorm that was released along with the game. It is written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, and with art by Darick Robertson and Matt Jacobs. It reveals more about Hope, Idaho, Elizabeth Greene, and the viral outbreak. There are six issues of the comic.

Prototype 2

Dark Horse Comics released a six-issue digital set of prequel comics to Prototype 2 before the game's release. They are written by Dan Jolley (the writer of the Prototype 2 game), and with art by Paco Diaz. There are a total of three chapters, each covered in two issues. The 1st chapter, titled "The Anchor" follows Alex Mercer in his journey to find the reasons to save or destroy humanity. The second chapter, titled "The Survivors", tells the story of three survivors caught in the midst of the second outbreak, and marks the rise of New York Zero. The third chapter, titled "The Labyrinth", follows James Heller during a military crisis before the events of Prototype 2.

Characters

Alex Mercer

Voice actor: Barry Pepper (Prototype), Darryl Kurylo (Prototype 2)

Alex Mercer was a brilliant but also amoral scientist who worked for Gentek prior to the initial Blacklight viral outbreak in NYC. He worked directly on the Blacklight virus, increasing its deadliness by 1,000%. When news-leaks threatened the security of their work, Blackwatch closed the Blacklight project and ordered the entire staff killed. Mercer stole a sample of the virus as insurance and escaped but was later cornered at Penn Station in NYC. Rather than surrender, Mercer smashed the vial. The Blackwatch soldiers gunned him down and he was pronounced dead.

Mercer's body was infected with the stolen virus and was soon reanimated, albeit with complete amnesia. The Blacklight virus granted him superhuman abilities of shape shifting, regeneration, parkour, incredible strength and limitless stamina. As an extension of his shape shifting and infectious abilities, Alex can consume the genetic material of other creatures and person, including absorbing their whole bodies in most instances, inheriting their appearance, abilities and memories. He worked to discover his past and later saved the city by defeating Elizabeth Green and foiling Blackwatch's attempt to nuke the city and its citizens. Afterwards, he left NYC and observed humanity, pondering his own status among them.

Alex Mercer is an anti-hero both in deed and personality. Mercer's motivations and plans are utterly personal, and rarely take any human cost into account. Even throughout the initial outbreak event, Mercer killed and consumed innocent people without remorse. His attitude is grim and impatient. He's never shown any significant affection for anyone except his sister, Dana, and his one-time girlfriend, Karen Parker (whom he later killed for betraying him to Blackwatch). By Prototype 2, Alex has become a misanthrope; disillusioned and contemptuous towards humanity, seeing them as stagnant and dying.

James Heller

Voice actor: Cornell Womack

Sgt. James Heller was a US military soldier who lived in NYZ during the first Blacklight viral outbreak and was stationed in the Middle East during the second outbreak. His wife, Colette, and daughter, Maya, were caught in the initial outbreak and killed. Since Blackwatch was claiming that Alex Mercer caused the outbreak, Heller signed up for a patrol in the infected Red Zone, hoping for a chance to murder Mercer and avenge his beloved family. While in the infection-ridden Red Zone, Heller encounters Mercer, who overpowers and infects him with the Blacklight virus, giving Heller the same shape shifting abilities as himself.

Heller has military training. Before he lost his family, Heller had a joyful life. His relationships with Colette and Amaya were close and loving. When they were killed, Heller was a man transformed: he grew grim, rude, and impatient — a dark mirror of his earlier personality. Even so, he is kinder and more sympathetic than Alex Mercer. Heller, unlike Mercer does take the lives of civilians into account as shown by his disgust towards Blackwatch and Gentek for abducting, experimenting on, and even murdering innocent people to further their own research. Despite this however, Heller's goals rarely or even convincingly exceed his own personal desires

Dana Mercer

Voice actor: Lake Bell (Prototype). Lindsay Ames (Prototype 2)

Dana Mercer is Alex Mercer's sister. Previously, Dana aided Mercer with his investigations into Blackwatch/Gentek's doings and in recovering his forgotten identity. She was utterly loyal to her brother and remains so to this day.

Dana is a kind hearted, affectionate and honest person. She seems to accept her closest allies without any intrinsic suspicion or fear. She sometimes shows fear, but it quickly evaporates when she gets down to her work. This can make her appear detached from her environment and its inherent dangers. She is so caring, honest and encouraging with her allies that she sometimes seems motherly. She also has an unusual set of technical and pseudo-scientific skills -- computer hacking, network design, surveillance, and an above-average understanding of genetics and virology -- all presumably learned from DIY sources. She is incredibly industrious and clever, and seems to have her fingers in a lot of pies.

Her whereabouts since the catastrophic events in New York City are unknown.

External links

• Official website