Prototype is the most enjoyable superhero game that I’ve ever played. While most are built around certain existing characters in a comic book canon, Prototype instead has its own super powered anti-hero. Alex Mercer isn’t just the protagonist – he is you – and like you, he learns more about himself and his world as the story unfolds.

The game begins on the eighteenth day of a viral outbreak that has torn New York City apart. Mercer has more powers than the player knows what to do with, and there’s no explanation given for any of them. Instead, we very clumsily fight, run, and survive as Mercer only to flash back before it all began to let the story unfold from his recently recovered memory.

When the clock winds back eighteen days, we see a significantly weaker Mercer lying on an autopsy table, about to be cut open by seemingly inept doctors in hazmat-style suits. He escapes and evades capture, but has no memory of how he got to be in that situation. He also has no idea where his super strength came from. Unlike the powered-up Mercer, the one from day one is more like Samus, stripped of any power, in an unfamiliar setting, and driven by survival instinct. This isn’t entirely a unique concept in the medium of videogames, but here it’s done so well that not acknowledging it would be like not noting that MadWorld is bloody.

Mercer’s playground is vast. Countless civilians, policemen and, later on, military and mutants inhabit the city. The streets are full of vehicles (though most of them are taxis) and, while you can’t pull someone out of their car, you can stand on it and go for a ride about town. Some detail, like the interiors of buildings, is sadly missing. But with the ability to scale every building and leap from rooftop to rooftop, this is a forgivable offense. In fact, there’s so much to do in the game that it’s very easy to become distracted from the plot-progressing missions, even when in the midst of one. What starts off as an innocent attempt at smacking around a New Yorker who tells you to fuck off can often end up in a military strike force being called in to try to take your ass down. In many other ways, the set-up of the city reminds me of some of the recent Spider-Man games, only taken to a whole new level.

I used the word “try” when describing the military force against the player because Mercer is obscenely powerful, and despite the number of troops and mutants that will get between him and his goal, the odds are very much in his favor. It seems weird, then, that I still found the game enjoyable despite the apparent lack of challenge – but there are a few tricks to this. Mercer gains experience points as he does certain things about town. Completing missions, evading strike teams, and putting an end to those who stand in your way are all ways to gain experience points. These in turn are used to unlock new moves, with many of them being upgraded versions of weaker ones. It’s therefore really easy to go into the upgrades menu, spam the confirm button, and exit back into New York City as an overpowered fool tripping over his feet.

You wouldn’t try conducting an orchestra without first knowing the music, so I wouldn’t recommend unlocking every single power without first being comfortable with the ones you have. In a way, Mercer is comparable to Sylar from Heroes. Both men have the ability to learn new techniques but need to get the hang of each one first. So what I’ve found helpful was to play along until things got so hectic that I had to pick up another power just to survive. Additionally, some missions force upgrades on you before giving you the chance to try them out.

Aside from being able to learn new skills by purchasing them with experience points, Mercer can also learn new abilities via his consumption technique. It’s a gruesome move in which he completely absorbs someone else’s body. Whenever this happens, Mercer gains some health back, and this means the thousands of New Yorkers milling about become fodder. Unlike games such as inFamous, there is no moral penalty for doing such a thing. In fact, morality doesn’t ever enter the equation. Mercer survives, and if he has to kill to do so, well, tough shit.

When Mercer absorbs a human character, he can also take on that person’s appearance by shifting his shape. This is a helpful technique for evading enemies and for gaining access to restricted military areas. Throughout the city, there are certain characters whose memory Mercer can access by consuming them. When a key character is consumed, a short flashback from that person’s perspective is shown, and each memory is a key to the overall puzzle of the game’s narrative. It’s an interesting way to progress the story in that it’s both out of sequence and entirely optional. Consuming certain military characters gives Mercer new skills as well as these often-creepy montages of back story. If you think the game is cool when you’re running around on foot, just imagine how much fun it is to call in air strikes, drive tanks, and pilot helicopters.

The game’s timeline moves forward when missions are completed. Cinematic scenes play out prior to each one, and these both explain a little bit about Mercer’s situation as well as set up the actual mission. It’s here where we’re introduced to other characters in the game. Mercer has allies and enemies, and those that pretend to be one but are actually the other. The missions are usually straightforward, but compared to the conflicts found in free-roam mode, the difficulty is ramped up considerably. What begins as a quest to find the responsible party in Mercer’s transformation soon devolves into a crisis that threatens the entire city (and without giving too much away, you’re partly to blame for rushing into things without a Plan B, so to speak).

Apart from the plot-progressing missions, there are points in the city where you can perform short quests such as seeing how many military dunderheads you can eliminate with just your claws to seeing how quickly you can traverse the rooftops to hit several key points. On that note, movement plays as big a role in the game as combat skill does. I’ve already mentioned the stealth aspect of the game, and Mercer’s more advanced movement techniques will have you gliding across the cityscape, dashing in mid-air, and drop kicking attack choppers from the sky. It’s actually just as fun to run around the city as it is to beat up on bad guys.

Combining both of these elements is a guaranteed recipe for fun. You can start a firefight, destroy a bunch of tanks, throw cars at helicopters, and take out dozens of troops. Then you can run up a building, hop to another rooftop, jump down into an alley, and morph into a regular Joe (or Jane) to walk out of the alley to admire your handy work while the soldiers shout at each other about having lost you. For added hilarity, if you morph into a trooper, you can actually then jump into one of their still-remaining vehicles or pick up one of their dropped weapons to start shit up again. Another excellent detail is the way the people react to your fits of rage. The ones immediately around you will freak out, run away, and cause others to panic. If you toss a vehicle into traffic, drivers will react. Some will spaz out and crash into other cars, pedestrians, and structures. Just down the street, everything is fine.

Seriously, that does not get old. Don’t even get me started on throwing people fifty feet into the air just to have them land in the ocean. Despite some very minor camera issues, Prototype is an immensely enjoyable game full of great action and storytelling. Alex Mercer’s incredible set of powers and his determination make for an excellent anti-hero, and Prototype puts you in his shoes so comfortably well that when you’re not playing, you’ll want to be able to run up walls and glide through the air from building to building. You’ll also never look at rooftop air conditioners the same way again.