Parents' Guide to

Prototype

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Very violent and profane action game with extreme gore.

Game Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows 2009
Prototype Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 27 parent reviews

lah B.
lah B. Parent of 4-year-old
March 20, 2023
age 7+

INSANE GAME

Game is amazing would reccomend amazing amzing no gore at all, would recommend for 7+ yrs

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
Easy to play/use
Maaah
Maaah Adult
October 25, 2013
age 2+

;)nearly;)

This game is nearly better than gta. It has bad language and gory violence but nonetheless it is great.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
See all 27 parent reviews

What’s It About?

PROTOTYPE is an open world action game designed for adult consumption. As Alex Mercer, a man who wakes up in a Manhattan morgue with super-human powers and a hunger for revenge, players lay waste to New York, killing scores of military personnel and pedestrians in horrific ways that often involve impalement or dismemberment. Civilians are often caught in the crossfire, sometimes dying in greater numbers than Mercer's legitimate enemies.

For adults able to stomach the gore and questionable morality, there's plenty to do. Players will spend much of their time leaping from rooftop to rooftop, \"consuming\" enemies to gain memories of Mercer's missing past. You can also search out side quests, such as checkpoint races, and learn new abilities, like how to glide and generate a shield. Completing everything in the game takes dozens of hours.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (27):
Kids say (35):

Though not exactly original -- there are lots of adventure games that allow players to freely explore massive cities -- Prototype is nonetheless well constructed and surprisingly easy to play. Players can move through the streets unhindered, automatically leaping over obstacles such as cars and running up the sides of buildings in spectacular fashion. And while Mercer has enough different moves to make controlling him a bit more complex than the average action game, they are introduced slowly, giving players time to master his claws, kicks, dodges, and leaps.

Prototype does, however, begin to drag after a while. The missions tend to fall into a few different categories and eventually become repetitive and predictable. Plus, there's something distasteful in the fact that even careful players will accidentally kill hundreds of pedestrians along the way. The narrative could have been much more powerful had players been given the option to try to make Mercer a little less amoral; You ought to have greater control over whether or not you injure innocents. Still, its scope is remarkable, and its action leaves an impression. Worth a look for mature gamers with a taste for the genre.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in games. When is it appropriate? When is it not? Is it more or less offensive if it appears sensational and without purpose? Do you prefer it when violent games offer some sort of morality meter, so that players are encouraged to avoid civilian casualties? Do you believe the type and extent of violence in this game is warranted within its narrative context?

Game Details

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