Prototype 2 follows James Heller as he takes up his personal vendetta against Alex Mercer – protagonist from the first game, and cause of all of Heller’s anguish.
On his mission, he will be tracked down and hunted by Blackwatch, and will have to battle it out with the many monstrosities that have spawned from the effects of Gentek’s Blacklight virus.
Not sure what’s going on? Never fear – just read on for everything you need to know about Prototype 2: how everything fits together, the world you can expect to explore, gameplay, and more.
The Blacklight virus in action
What is the Blacklight project?
The Blacklight project was a military project lead by Gentek to create a virus that would target and kill specific races.
However, the virus mutated and instead became highly volatile, infecting the entire population of Hope, Idaho, where the virus was being tested.
There was only one survivor, Elizabeth Greene, who through a genetic anomaly bonded with the virus, becoming an incubator for it.
Soon after the incident, the project was cancelled, and Blackwatch was called in to clean up the mess.
Who is Blackwatch?
Blackwatch is a special forces unit that specializes in containing and counteracting biological weapons and warfare.
They were established to combat and deal with the outbreak of the Blacklight virus in 1969 in Hope, Idaho, where the entire population was infected and erradicated.
Upon termination of the Blacklight project, Blackwatch was tasked to eliminate all personnel who were a part of the project – including Alex Mercer.
Blackwatch in action
Who is Alex Mercer?
Alex Mercer is a doctor who was part of the Blacklight project, and after all personnel were ordered to be eliminated, Mercer took the virus as insurance. He was eventually killed by Blackwatch, but released the virus before he died.
The virus consumed his body and mutated to create a super-human being. The entity took on the identity of Mercer, but had no recollection of prior events.
During the course of Prototype 1, Mercer on a mission to discover his past, infiltrates Gentek and frees Elizabeth Greene – unwittingly unleashing the Blacklight virus on Manhattan, causing people to mutate into monsters.
Mercer tried to help but aggravated the situation, resulting in Greene mutating further – becoming an even greater threat. After a whole lot of twists and turns, he was able to eventually stop the virus and save the city.
Or so it seemed…
Alex Mercer as seen in Prototype
New York Zero
14 months after the events of Prototype, New York City is under quarantine and has been redubbed as “New York Zero”. The Blacklight infection, while not everywhere, is still very much active – resulting in the city being divided into different zones: red, yellow and green.
Alex Mercer, who was believed to be dead, has been appearing more and more – and seems to be in control of the city.
The Red Zone is Mercer’s domain – it’s the destroyed Manhattan, and it has the greatest level of Blacklight infection. So it’s basically filled with monsters, and poses the greatest threat.
The Yellow Zone has moderate levels of infection, and serves primarily as the Gentek testing ground for their experiments. It’s dilapidated and occupied by the poor or moderately infected, and you’ll doubtfully find friends there.
The Green Zone is the virus-free zone – but where the virus is absent, Blackwatch prevails – and you can be sure you’d not want to come to head with those guys; you’d probably be better off with the monsters.
James Heller
During the events of Prototype, Sergeant James Heller was on his way back from his military tour of Afghanistan – only to return and find his family being burned by Blackwatch due to infection of the Blacklight virus.
The exact same virus that Alex Mercer was responsible for releasing in Prototype.
Fuelled by rage and a desperate need to die and join his family – Heller runs head-first into danger and takes on dangerous missions – one of which results in him being mortally wounded.
In an ironic twist, Mercer infects Heller with the mutated Blacklight virus, saving his life – something which Heller doesn’t appreciate, further catalysing his hatred for Mercer.
Now infected, Heller is a Blackwatch target – but he doesn’t care, because now he only has Mercer in his cross-hairs, and plans to chase him down across all of New York Zero.
James Heller
Features
- Prototype 2 is a third-person action game, set in the sandbox world of New York Zero (NYZ).
- Missions won’t be given out by people in New York Zero, but will rather be selected by you through hacking into the Blackwatch network.
- Each zone will have missions, and mission difficulty will depend on the zone in which the mission takes place.
- There will be a wealth of side-quests and side-missions.
- Heller’s mutated infection powers can be upgraded and new abilities can be unlocked.
- Heller’s mutation provides him with tendrils, which can be used extensively in combat.
- Heller can take on the appearance of people he consumes – which will be used strategically when in different NYZ zones to avoid detection or being overwhelmed.
- A new sonar ability allows you to identify key people and items in the area.
Prototype 2 is being developed by Radical Entertainment, published by Activision, and will be released on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 27 April 2012.
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