Battle of the suspiciously similar superhero games: Infamous vs. Prototype
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
- Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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
 |  |
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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