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 |
> Need more? Follow me at twitter.com/danackerman.
> Video games, laptops, and more every week on the Digital City.
On Sale Now:
$52.99
- $59.99
View the latest prices for inFamous (PlayStation 3)
On Sale Now:
$30.00
- $59.99
View the latest prices for Prototype (Xbox 360)
On Sale Now:
$36.00
- $58.99
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.
But that's just me. =p
I find both games really fun in their own ways. Infamous you're a comic book character. Prototype you're almost a demigod.
Anyway, inFamous was fun but once I finished the game, it lost a lot of its appeal, while prototype, I just enjoy walking around the streets and doing a lot of endless killings without feeling bad about it...It just feels like a better way to waste time doing literally nothing :) They are both great games but I doubt they can be finished in a renting period...at least not finished enough to get the whole story down...both are about 15 hours of story(if you choose one or the other side in inFamous but not both) , and I don't think you can really go wrong with either
So true.
Honestly, neither of those 2 games have even peaked my interest slightly. If I still owned a PS3, I would probably just rent or borrow, if even that. And on 360, I'll stick to more mainstream games like the GTA's and COD's.
This is the problem with launching new IP/Franchises in the middle of the console generation. People don't want new IP/Franchises at this point in time. What we want are the sequels to the new IP that was introduced at the beginning of this console generation, or that was introduced last generation (Gears 2, Killzone 2, Assasins Creed 2, Forza 3, MGS5, Resistance 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, etc).
The biggest problem with both of these games is that they're both just simply ordinary. They aren't revolutionary on any level. They are both great games, but they're not system sellers the way Halo, MGS, and COD are. I mean, Infamous was rated about 8.5+ and Prototype was rated 7.8+. Unless you're an established franchise, you'd better get 9.0+ at least if you expect your new game/franchise to take off.
However, perhaps we'll see sequels to one of or both of these games in the future, and if they go the Killzone 2 way, they'll do much better with the sequel (in terms of sales and quality) than they did with the original game.
I have yet to get my hands on Prototype but I'll tell you this Infamous is a must have for any PS3 owner. The game is flat out awesome visually, story, build, and fun factor. It's a rare hit for all aspects of what most gamers look for. So don't go spewing crap if you haven't played either and only buy mainstream FPS crap over and over again. Hard work goes into making these games for games like Infamous it defiantly shows.
Really act anymore like cattle I'll have to buy you a bell for your neck.
Go get better games, like Killzone 2
I am sure once I finish inFamous I might consider Prototype. Right now a lot of nights without sleep (full-time job and 2 kids) and I'm almost finished on the second island. Haven't got to the end so don't know how the story plays out but a sequal perhaps?
...If I still owned a PS3, I would probably just rent or borrow, if even that."
GameFly for the win in this case. I've been using it a few months and it's helped me work-up/pare-down a list of what I would really like to own in the long run.
I wish I could drive the inFamous cars. That would be more fun. U could soo easily hotwire a car with your electricity!
According to this article they are both the same game.
how many lame FPS games come out, they are all the same and very few go above what is expected, i currently love Call of Duty 5 and Killzone 2, but look how many other shooting games come out at the same time, also sports games.
i do agree this article was bogus, if you are going to compare 2 games, do it right or let someone else do it. that is like me comapring halo to call of duty, both games have bullets, guns, enemies to shoot, grenade type weopons and multiplayer...they must be the same game. write a real article, i am big on gaming news since i am bored to death and stuck behind a computer answering stupid people all day, but i couldnt help but comment on this article. not meaning to be critical or over look the point of the article i do find it odd to read an article about differences about 2 games, and not really learning anything about either game. if someone wouldnt mind doing and actuall comparision it would be greatly appresiated to learn teh differences, granted i do not own a 360 due to hardware failure and only own a ps3 and i highly doubt i will ever get another xbox since i have been through 4, and the most recent of which was about 3 months ago, i am stuck with the ps3 game, but it would be nice to learn about both due to me not being biased on games since they have no bearing on the system, meaning a game doesnt suck becuase it is on 360, or only on ps3...a game only sucks if the game company doesnt care to put in the required amount of time to make a game fun and neat..kinda like wheelman (the game with vin deisel in it) in my opinion...or my highly anticipated Damnation game which i didnt buy due to reveiws, which i guess i am glad i didnt purchase it but i was looking forward to it.
Infamous is kinda overhyped, because you will see a lot of PS3 fanboys or PS3-only webpages say this is the greatest game ever made, that it's a game worth buying a PS3 for, etc... but in the end, it's okay, I enjoyed it, but don't go buying a PS3 for this game alone. Prototype is just as good, if not better (IMHO), and you can play it on other platforms if you don't own a PS3.
Prototype grabbed much more at first -- it seemed gritter, and the stealth element (and the storytelling through recovered memories) was a unique spin on the genre. I also liked how the neighborhoods changed with the rate of infection, with the fires and panic in the streets.
But, after several hours, it felt as if the game lacked variety, and I was just repeating same few mission types. Plus -- the really engaging idea of the city slowing moving from normal to infected was glossed over, and seemed highly arbitrary, no matter how many hives I destroyed. And again, all the people in the city seemed to have only two settings -- walking around calmly or running and screaming.
In the end, both were well-made action/adventure games that could have benefited from some more unconventional thinking.
The story played out beautifully and the comic cut scenes were perfect for this type of game. This game was not goofy at al;; might have just caught a reflection on the TV.
The powers were well done even with a generic power like electricity. The control over the powers was fluent without having to learn combos.
The story changes along the way depending on your karma, so no not arbitrary at all.
The populous reacted fine to the environment and made more cence in infamous then the mindless sacks of meat in Prototype. All hells braking out a few blocks away and infection all over the place in a quarantine zone; yet lets walk around in a sute with the other dozen that look alike. In Infamous If there werent thugs around they would react to you either being a hero or villai;; the minute a shot goes out from the area they run. Not prefect but better then a lot of sandbox styles I?ve played including prototype and overly ghetto stereotype crackdown.
Just because there both sand box style really doesn?t mean they?re the same. Both very different and Infamous is all around a better game. Everything in prototype screams generic and bland; the game is way too easy too it?s like crack down with a cheat code.
i only own a ps3 becuase of the problem i had with my xbox 360 systems i had and got tired of the problems (RROD on one system and constant game freezing on 3 other systems after the new chipset, and it did it on every game i had) i took it back and got a ps3 and havent had any issues so far so that is what i have for the time being.
in my opinion sony lost the only reason i would be a ps fanboy and that is becuase final fantasy is no longer system exclusive, so anymore both systems are about the same to me. even ps3's system exclusives i do have are good, but not worth buying a new system for, like killzone 2. i have had it for about a week or 2 and havent played it longer than an hour. i am still into call of duty world at war right now and am eagerly waiting for modern warfare 2 which is also on all systems.
anyhow, enough babbling about nothing, thanks for pointing out some of the actuall differences in the 2 games. it gives me a better understanding, and i beleive i will rent rather than buy, if i even do that since i onyl have a ps3 and cant play the one that sounds cooler.
Step into a blue beam of light to start a main mission.
Step into a yellow beam of light to start a side mission.
Collect glowing blue objects for bonuses.
Destroy the infected water towers on rooftops to prevent the polluted water mutating more people.
Enemies are marked red on your round mini-map in the left corner and main missions in blue.
Main characters even kind of look alike - see http://www.curiousonion.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/title-image1.jpg
-
by zschork
July 12, 2009 9:02 AM PDT
- ill probly go with infamous because I played the demo at game stop and the graphics are INSANE! but i might check out prototype too
-
Like this
Reply to this comment
-
(28 Comments)