Prototype 2 (PC): Turmoil

I will likely post a stream of Prototype 2 screens in the coming days. It launched yesterday for PC and I love the fact I can just hit F12 and produce a picture-perfect grab of whatever I'm looking at. Or using FRAPS or Bandicam and a button press automatically takes a pic after a set predetermined period.

The game finished downloading late last night -- early this morning, really -- so I haven't played anything beyond the main title screen. (I just wanted to be sure it booted up okay.) I'm not sure if I'll enjoy Prototype 2 as much this time around -- I reviewed the 360 version -- knowing that the studio is essentially closed.

This isn't a unique feeling to Prototype 2. I tried going back to TRON -- developed by the now-closed Propaganda Games -- and it's difficult for me to play more than a few minutes. I start thinking about the people that made the game that may have struggled mightily after the studio closure. Those with families to support; trying to make mortgage payments or car payments or rent. I'm sure some landed on their feet right away or got jobs in other areas of the tech sector or gaming. I want to go back and play L.A. Noire again, but after Team Bondi collapsed, it feels somehow wrong to be playing the game. This is obviously something tripping in my own brain; some intensive game therapy might be required.

It's always the last games as well. I've had no problem going back to the likes of Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction or Turok, but there's some kind of mental block when it comes to the last game a studio produced. I don't get physically ill or anything like that... I just don't feel good about it.

Deserves some additional thought....

Prototype 2 - CRISIS!

Punch-Out!! was developed by
Vancouver-based Next Level Games

Well, it's not so much a "crisis" as it is a question of "ethics" as it pertains to reviewing Prototype 2.

I don't think it's ever been a secret that I'm a booster of game development in Vancouver (British Columbia). I'm glad that games get made here, and a lot of them are good or even very good. I don't think it has ever clouded my judgement when it comes to reviewing titles that get made here, but with Prototype 2 I've at least asked myself the question because of a recent multi-part feature I wrote that focused on the history of Radical Entertainment, the developers of Prototype 2.

I got to know some people that work there and made some casual acquaintances -- people I'd stop and chat with outside the context of visiting a game studio -- so is my judgement clouded by that? Having met some of the people that poured so much time and effort into Prototype 2 is my reaction to playing the game somehow being affected by that? That's a question that a full-time Managing Editor or Editor in Chief would be examining to see if I should be reviewing Prototype 2. But The Armchair Empire lacks those roles.

If anything, I fufill both those roles.

However, the question -- can I review this with any objectivity? -- has made me think seriously about what I think about when I'm playing games.

For the most part, I'm pretty good at blocking out anything approaching Real Life. I'm not thinking about the demands of my day job, my mortgage, and all those day-to-day horrors that tend to stalk a mind that thinks too much. I'm not thinking about Radical Entertainment or the fact my commute takes me passed their building every morning -- they really need to fix the lighting for the "RA" -- or the fact that maybe I should be getting to bed right about now. Video games don't help me forget the pressures and stresses I'm feeling, but they do a great job pausing them.

So, I'm reviewing Prototype 2 secure in the knowledge that I can give an honest evaluation of the title. When I'm playing games, I'm in the moment and my focus is on the game and not on much else.

Upcoming Feature Close to Flowering

One of my pet projects that has been germinating since E3 is finally starting to really grow.

It was after a demo of Prototype 2 that I fully realized that Radical Entertainment has been around for 20 years. I wanted to know a little more of the history of the place and the Wikipedia entry was woefully uninformative. About the same time I was reading Harold Goldberg's "All Your Base Are Belong to Us" which chronicles some really interesting gaming histories, like Trip Hawkin's bold moves with Electronic Arts and the crippling emotional problems that spun out behind the scenes of 11th Guest. I got to thinking about writing a comprehensive history of Radical Entertainment.

So, I started doing some digging, making calls, and sending probing emails. At least one of the key figures in Radical's history has been stand-offish -- waiting to see just who else would agree to be part of the story and offer some insight into the company's last 20 years. Suddenly in the last few days there's been a surge of progress. Things are in the works. It's not "finished" by any means but hopefully -- my fingers are crossed -- this feature will break right before the launch of Prototype 2, the company's 35th title to see release. (Past titles include "Mario's Time Machine" (1993), "Independence Day" (1997), "The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction" (2005), and "The Simpsons: Hit & Run" (2003).

Maybe the best part of this Feature is that I'll be seeking the help/advice/guidance of an actual Editor so the whole thing makes sense and comes together as a coherent story.