A game of 'three halves'?

User Rating: 7.5 | Prototype PS3
Prototype is a strange game. The middle part is best; or, rather, the middle part of the game experience is best. Initially, all is underwhelming and for the first hour you have that horrible feeling that you are attempting to justify to yourself that the £40 was somehow worth it (while knowing deep-down you are kidding yourself). The in-game graphics are poor, the rendering and texture on buildings is actually shocking. The powers seem feeble. The map screen would not be out of place on a PS1 game (let alone PS2 or PS3). The story is generic, and the repetitive cut-scenes that precede each main-story mission quickly become a chore. The high-end quality of certain moments – the 'web of intrigue' cut-scenes, the lead character model, sporadic scripted effects – ironically serve only to highlight the poor and clearly unfinished quality that pervades much else. Then, suddenly, the game picks up. Most of the weaknesses just cited are forgotten as one is sucked into the sheer arcade-like challenge. New powers keep the action fresh. Challenges are sufficiently difficult, but not impossible. The side-missions provide an intriguing distraction – at least first, second or third time around. There is enjoyment to be had in the genuine free-roaming possibilities, in ignoring the main-story missions and simply finding things to do. Yet, four to five hours later, as the main-story game approaches its final third, the same weaknesses, and some new ones, appear. One becomes aware that the entire game is really based on the repetition of a few standard mission-types and strategies. For example, most will find the 'kill as many as possible' challenges interesting for a while, but the novelty quickly wears thin. Moreover, there are sudden difficulty spikes, especially outside of the main-story line. [Possible spoiler alert]. For example, the absurd number of overlapping static and mobile viral detectors renders it almost impossible secretly to infiltrate a military-base, during free-roaming, in the latter stages of the main-story. [End possible spoiler]. The game was clearly released too early – the contrast between the good (perfected) and the bad (needed another 6 months of refinement) is too obvious as to imply anything else. There are some genuinely fun missions, but nothing represents the unfinished quality more than the final boss battle, which is especially disappointing, given it is essentially a repeat of an earlier battle in a different setting and does not compare in scope or difficulty to a number of preceding boss battles. The 7.5 reflects the sporadic quality, the potential, and the moments of genuine fun, but, in the end, finishing the game feels like an obligation to money-spent rather than a challenge to be met.