The open-world superhero game subgenre is experiencing a rebirth of sorts. While Spider-man 2 pioneered the formula (and did it quite well), there was a real drought in games that let you feel what it was like to be a superhuman character with an entire city to explore. However, that has all changed, starting with SCEA’s inFAMOUS (which launched last month to good critical response) and continuing with this latest title from Activision, Prototype.

From Radical Entertainment, the fine folks behind the great HULK: Ultimate Destruction game on the original Xbox and Scarface: The World is Yours, Prototype is their take on the open-world superhero genre. Taking cues from games like Spider-man 2, Prototype strives to allow gamers the means to tear through the world in true badass fashion, killing hordes of enemies and leaving carnage in their wake.

The game’s set mechanics are pretty solid, and getting around by running up buildings, smashing through cars, and even hijacking vehicles here and there is definitely a blast to do. However, there are quite a few problems that plague the game as well, including a lackluster storyline, sketchy combat system and some rough camera issues, as well as some pretty uninspired missions.

Prototype puts you in control of an amnesiac named Alex Mercer, a man who finds himself imbued with some pretty amazing abilities and no memory of how he got them. He also finds himself in the middle of a viral outbreak, which is turning a substantial portion of the populace into zombies, something to which he could be connected. Therefore, he goes on a mission to discover what happened to give him his abilities, as well as reconnect with people from his past life in order to discover more details onto who he is and what lead to his current circumstances.

Prototype is a sandbox-style action game, and gives you plenty of ways to get around and defeat enemies. Your character can run at superfast speeds, leaping automatically over cars and plowing through pedestrians should they be unfortunate enough to get in his way. Additionally, you can even sprint up the side of buildings and leap great distances. As you progress through the game, you’ll be able to unlock new abilities that will allow you to float for short distances, making getting around even easier.

In terms of combat, the game allows you ample ways to fight enemies and even avoid them altogether through stealthy means. You’re able use cool attacks like hammer fists (which let you pound your enemies with a blunt smash) and razor sharp claws that lets you slice your way through them. As you defeat foes and complete missions, you’ll also earn experience points (called Evolve Points here) that you can then dole out in the upgrade menu in order to unlock more abilities.

You’ll also be able to devour people and soldiers alike, gaining some of their memories (which you’ll then be able to piece together to determine your own past), and also take over their form, letting you learn new abilities (including the means to drive new vehicles) and gain access to hard to enter areas and avoid enemy detection.

The game’s mission structure is pretty open ended, but shouldn’t be too overwhelming for most players. Your map will display points of interest, be they storyline missions that progress the plot, or side quests that you can perform to earn more points and thus better abilities.

Unfortunately, as balls-to-the-wall intense and fun as Prototype can be, it can be quite frustrating at times. The game’s camera can be quite problematic especially during intense battles with multiple foes. It gets caught up on walls and objects often, which makes hairier battles very frustrating.

Additionally, the game’s combat system isn’t quite as comfortable as it should be. You’ll be able to perform attacks and combos while targeting your opponents, but you’re unable to block and your dodge function is very limited, and since some enemies basically hit you with strung-together barrages of attacks, getting out of their way can be very tough and frustrating.

The game’s missions aren’t too terribly uncommon from what you’d find elsewhere. The main quest missions aren’t terribly exciting, as you’ll find yourself doing escort missions and taking out the same enemy types over and over again to complete them. The side quests are also pretty blasé, and don’t add a whole lot to the formula.

Graphically, the game has its strengths, but also its weaknesses. Even though the character models are pretty simple looking and don’t stand out against other titles on the Xbox 360, the environments are huge. The framerates also stay pretty solid, without a lot of slowdown even in intense battles. However, there is still a general feeling of blandness with the game’s general aesthetic, and it lacks the pop of other titles in the genre.

The sound is pretty decent. The game’s soundtrack keeps up with the game’s pace and helps add to the mood, and the voice work is solidly done. The game is also the first to support Neural 7.1 Surround sound, a huge plus for gamers with 7.1 surround sound setups.

Prototype is fun when its best, namely when your terrorizing through town and using your powers to their fullest. Unfortunately, the problems with the camera angles, combat, and weak mission design make it an experience that ultimately doesn’t fully live up to its potential.

Gameplay: 7.9
The game gives you a lot of great moves and lets you feel like an overpowered beast of a man, but unfortunately doesn’t offer you a whole lot to do with that brute strength. The mission design is pretty ho-hum, the cameras are very frustrating, and the combat could definitely use some polish.

Graphics: 7.0
The scope of the city is pretty nice, especially when you’re standing on top of a building and peering over the edge, but the general look feels pretty bland and uninspired.

Sound: 8.5
Some good voice work is here, and the music does a fine job with the onscreen action. 7.1 surround support is also quite nice.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.9
The game does a pretty good job of giving you a bunch of great abilities, but the storyline leaves much to be desired, and the mission design is meh.

Overall: 7.8
Prototype has a ton of potential, with some solid mechanics and a big world to explore. Unfortunately, that world is ultimately gimped by weak missions and rough combat.