Games

There has been no shortage of games that try to make you feel like a superhero, with Batman: Arkham City still reigning supreme as the benchmark for the genre. If Prototype 2 doesn’t quite measure up to that title, it’s not for want of trying, and in the process it comes closer than any other game.

This third-person action-adventure is set in an open world recreation of New York, overrun by sinister military types and hordes of mutants. As you progress through missions your abilities are boosted – with each skill upgrade bringing further superpowers, such as Wolverine-esque claws or rock-hands like the Fantastic Four’s Thing. In doing so it gives players a sense of empowerment like no other game around, and before long you’ll be swan-diving off a skyscraper, landing on a helicopter and bringing it down with the missile launcher you rip away from its undercarriage. All of which goes a long way to making up for the repetitive nature of the missions and ham-fisted storytelling.

This high-octane action explodes onto the screen in a riot of razor-sharp visuals and pounding audio that brings the best out of the current generation of games consoles. Add that to the superb gameplay and, even if Prototype 2 isn’t quite perfect, it’s still a bloody thrilling and absorbing game that I know I’ll be returning to again.

Activision, Xbox 360/PS3/PC, £50 Approx, On sale now
HCC VERDICT: 5/5