Battle of the suspiciously similar superhero games: Infamous vs. Prototype
Hollywood brains occasionally act in unintended tandem, producing simultaneous movies about, say, dangerous volcano eruptions, or killer meteors threatening to wipe out mankind. It's all completely unintentional, at least according to the lawyers, so we shouldn't be surprised to see the same seemingly cloned concepts come to game consoles.
Two of the most buzzed about current games are the PS3 exclusive Infamous--an open-city game with a superpowered anti-hero--and Prototype--also an open-city game with a superpowered anti-hero. How deeply do the similarities go? We've created a handy chart to sort it all out.
Infamous vs. Prototype
Infamous | 
Prototype |
|
NYC-inspired open city environment |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Mysterious terrorist attack causes military to seal off the city |
Yes |
Yes |
|
General chaos in streets/breakdown of public order |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Protagonist searching for answers as to why he suddenly has superpowers |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Required to fight both the military and mutated bad guys |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Said superpowers upgradeable by earning XP |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Can scale the sides of buildings, glide through the air, and jump really far |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Drop by your friend's house to pick up missions |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Dubious ethical choices required |
Yes |
Yes |
|
City is fully populated with people you can't talk to and cars you can't drive |
Yes |
Yes |
|
PS3 Exclusive? |
Yes |
No |
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On Sale Now:
$52.99
View the latest prices for inFamous (PlayStation 3)
On Sale Now:
$36.75
- $59.99
View the latest prices for Prototype (Xbox 360)
On Sale Now:
$46.99
- $49.99
View the latest prices for Prototype (PlayStation 3)
New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and the New York edition of Editors' Office Hours. Dan's new album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan.
Former radio DJ turned
journalist Dan Ackerman grew up in the Bronx and now lives in
Manhattan. He’s covered music, technology, and video games for
more than 10 years. His latest album, Tales Out of Night School
is available now. 
Joseph Kaminski,
when not juggling the dual demands of parenthood and HD gaming, is a
life-long Manhattanite and can be found testing the latest tech in
CNET’s Lab. 
Julie Rivera grew up
and currently resides in Brooklyn. When she's not deejaying,
bartending, or fixing gadgets for friends on the outside, you'll find
her testing, troubleshooting and developing benchmarks for laptops in
the "fish bowl" known as CNET Labs. 
Scott Stein, CNET's
newest laptops editor, was born in Queens and grew up a Long Islander -
and is now raising a kid in NYC. In addition to covering games and
tech, writing screenplays, and performing improv in seedy downtown
establishments, he's also a die-hard, season-ticket-holding Jets fan.
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