News, Prototype

You are Alex Mercer, a shape-shifting, human-consuming, one-man army. And yet, even with these powers, you'll be facing some of the most challenging (or some may say frustrating) missions in any open-world game--and that's where we come in. With our guide at your side, we'll ensure you put your superpowers to good use in order to save Manhattan…and yourself.
Here's what you'll find in GameSpot's Prototype Game Guide:

• General Tips: Check out our tips for venturing through the city.
• Walkthrough: Prototype's tough, but we're tougher. Find out how to complete each of the game's missions with our walkthrough.
• Xbox 360 Achievements: Learn how to obtain Prototype's achievements.
• PlayStation 3 Trophies: Want some of those sweet PS3 trophies? Here you go!

Consuming

Prototype is built around consuming people. That is, you can consume almost anyone you encounter on the streets by simply grabbing them and tapping the "consume" button. Doing so not only refills your health, but it also allows you to assume that person's identity and use it as a disguise.

Stealth

One of the key elements to survival in Prototype is using disguises to remain undercover. You'll gain disguises by consuming people of certain types--for instance, if you consume a soldier, you'll be able to assume his identity, allowing you to infiltrate bases unbothered. Now your disguise will remain effective so long as you don't tip off your enemies by attacking or consuming them. Virtually anything else is fair game though, so feel free to run up buildings, glide across the city, and make leaps several stories tall--none of this seems suspicious in this city. New Yorkers...nothing surprises them anymore, huh?

The disguise meter, located just right of the map, displays whether your disguise has been compromised or not. The shutter at the bottom of the meter displays if the enemy can currently see you: if it's open, you're in their sights; if it's closed, you're as good as invisible. If the shutter is open, and the enemy spots you doing something suspicious, such as attacking their friends or using special powers (oddly, climbing walls doesn't arouse suspicion), the meter just above will begin to fill. If it fills completely and turns red, your disguise is no longer effective and the enemy will open fire. To reduce the meter, find a hiding place where the enemy can't see you (such as under a bridge, in a thin alley, etc)! Once there, you can expedite the process by swapping into a non-compromised disguise--if this option is available, a "switch" icon will appear just above the map. To help you stay aware of your surroundings, the mini-map highlights enemies in one of three colors, indicating their awareness level of you. White represents enemies that currently cannot see you, yellow represents those who can, whereas red indicates an enemy who's aware of your presence and will open fire.

Powers

As you play Prototype, you'll earn evolution points by consuming people, completing missions, killing enemies, and more. You can then cash in these evolution points on the "Upgrade" screen of the pause menu. Here, you can unlock various new abilities or improve your current skills or defensive abilities.

While the skills you choose to upgrade is ultimately up to you, we do have a few suggestions. First, we strongly recommend upgrading your "Survivability" skills first, such as by purchasing Health Boosts, Health Regeneration, and improving your Critical Mass ability. Following that, we also suggest upgrading your sprint speed under "Movement" to increase your chances of escaping the strike teams. Finally, once you unlock the Whipfist power, it's best to purchase its two enhancements, the first of which allows you to quickly take out groups of enemies, while the second makes it immensely easier to skyjack helicopters.

Prologue

Kill the Military Personnel

The local military's acting up and need to be taught a lesson. They're all nearby, though they're also marked on your radar (as red dots) if you need additional help to track them down. Now's a good time to try out your basic combat skills: Attack and Special Attacks. Attacks are quicker, but Special Attacks are stronger. Either can be charged by holding down their respective button to unleash a more powerful attack. In addition, the attacks can be linked together in various ways to form combos. Thankfully, these guys are weak (or rather, you're really strong), so it should only take a few attacks to take down each one.

Go to Times Square

Follow the on-screen marker to locate Times Square. To speed up the process, try Sprinting with the Right-Trigger, allowing you to zoom up over obstacles, such as cars and even buildings!

Kill the Military Personnel

Once at Times Square, you'll have to destroy some more military members. Join them on street level and tear them apart using your standard attacks, though your Special 'Claw' Attack is great for groups. Remember to use your radar to track down all the enemies.

Destroy the Tanks

Afterward, follow the marker on-screen to encounter a group of four tanks. Run up to each one and attack it until it's destroyed--it should only take about two hits each.

Kill the Hunters

Just ahead in Times Square, a bunch of creatures known as Hunters will storm in. Because there are so many, you may want to try out the lock-on feature (by holding Left-Trigger), allowing you to hone in and focus on a single enemy--standard attacks should work fine for the most part. As for the tanks and other enemies, you can simply ignore them.

Consume the Commander

Dash up the street to the commander (as marked on-screen), grab him, then consume him by pressing the button shown on-screen. This will conclude your first mission.

Escape the Gentek Facility

Jump over the Gate to Escape

To escape the facility, perform a charged jump over the gate. To perform a charged jump, simply hold the "jump" button for a few seconds before releasing to increase the height of your jump. Now dart up the street toward the on-screen marker.

Destroy the Helicopter

After picking up the Taxi, you'll discover that you can use the Right-Stick to switch targets while locked-on. In this case, you should target the helicopter, then toss the Taxi at it by tapping the "Grab/Throw" button, taking it down.

Get to Higher Ground

With the helicopter destroyed, use your Sprint ability to dart up a couple of buildings, as marked on-screen. You can expedite the process by performing charged jumps as you dart up the walls.

Destroy the Helicopters

Once on the roof, some helicopters will swoop in. Grab the nearby air-conditioning blocks and use them to take down the helicoptersl by locking on and throwing them as they swoop by overhead.

Look for Clues About Your Past

Consume the Blackwatch Commander

Grab the commander as he approaches and consume him. You can now assume his identity at any time either by using the "Power Select" menu, or pressing left on the control-pad.

Go to Dana's Apartment // Go to the Overlook to Investigate the Area

Proceed down the street to the rooftop that's marked on-screen. Once there, hop over to nearby rooftop and step into the cone of light to trigger the next sequence.

Disguise MeterThe disguise meter, located just right of the map, displays whether your disguise has been compromised or not. The shutter at the bottom of the meter displays whether the enemy can currently see you: if it's open, you're in their sights; if it's closed, you're as good as invisible. If the shutter is open, and the enemy spots you doing something suspicious, such as attacking their friends or using special powers (oddly, climbing walls doesn't arouse suspicion), the meter just above will begin to fill. If it fills completely and turns red, your disguise is no longer effective and the enemy will open fire. To reduce the meter, find a hiding place where the enemy can't see you! Once there, you can expedite the process by swapping into a non-compromised disguise--if this option is available, a "switch" icon will appear just above the map. To help you stay aware of your surroundings, the mini-map highlights enemies in one of three colors, indicating their awareness level of you. White represents enemies that currently cannot see you, yellow represents those who can, whereas red indicates an enemy who's aware of your presence and will open fire.

Enter Dana's Apartment without Raising an Alert

Before dropping to the street, switch into your Commander disguise (press left on the Control Pad) to avoid arousing the enemy. Now drop down and enter Dana's apartment via the cone of light--make sure not to attack the soldiers along the way, otherwise they'll figure out who you are.