Alex Mercer is a name everyone in New York Zero is familiar with. One man in particular knows that name very well, because it belongs to the man responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter.

But when James Heller becomes infected himself things start to around him just as fast as they do inside.

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Sgt James Heller is not a man to mess with, even before he became infected by Mercer. With his new abilities and powers he decides to learn more about what is really going on with GENTEK and the Mercer Virus. Finding out the truth is only half the battle though and he’ll need every ounce of power the virus can give him.

Those of you that played the first game know what they are getting themselves into in terms of controls, save for the fact that Heller’s abilities evolve in a different manner. As a result, he handles a bit differently when it comes to combat, which is the biggest change that this game really has to offer. Getting around the city seems a little more precise, though it’s still easy to get stuck in tight spaces. Consuming others to take their identity as well as they biometrics to access areas works just the same as well. My biggest complaint, outside of getting stuck occasionally, is that it’s sometimes really difficult to target a specific enemy.

Graphically the game seems pretty decent, though some of the textures seem a little low res on closer inspection. However, there won’t be a lot of time to stop and look at the finer details due to rushing about the city completing missions or evading detection. Sound is great, especially the music as it helps convey the mood. Either it aids the sense of urgency or gives you a nice backing track for utter destruction. All in all the game looks good and sounds good, but don’t expect anything spectacular.

Prototype 2 is a fun game, but doesn’t have a lot of depth outside of the story and the carnage. Every mission boils down to pretty much the same thing with the environment being the biggest change throughout. Sure, the enemies get tougher and the situations that require being stealth become more tricky, but it’s still doing more of the same. The real stand out and challenge come in the form of boss fights, but they are sadly few and far between and don’t offer up enough. While the visuals are decent and do their job, a lot of the areas end up looking the same. Without location markers, this game would be very frustrating to play as I would have needed to constantly check my map.

Overall, it’s a decent game with a lot of repetition that somehow manages to remain fun throughout, but only marginally so. Once you’ve completed the game, you’ll find little reason to go back through it as there are no big stand out moments. It is definitely a step up for the previous title, but I wouldn’t call it a big step as it ends up feeling like more of the same. In fact, that pretty much sums up the game as a whole “more of the same”. If you were a big fan of the last game you’ll love this sequel. If you didn’t really like the last one, however, you might want to borrow this from someone instead of buying it.

GO Rating: 2.5/5