Prototype 2

Set after the first game’s outbreak, Prototype 2 follows Sergeant James Heller through New York Zero, a city divided between infected populations and Blackwatch control. Heller gains viral shapeshifting powers and pursues Alex Mercer, using consumption, military disguises and evolving combat abilities to navigate the quarantine zones.

Prototype 2 shifts the lead role to Sergeant James Heller, whose family is lost during a renewed viral outbreak. The infected protagonist holds Alex Mercer responsible and sets out across New York Zero to confront him. The setting follows the first game’s devastated Manhattan, now reorganised under quarantine and military occupation. Blackwatch controls access and conducts operations while civilians and infected creatures occupy the same damaged city. The pursuit gives Heller a personal objective, but the missions also take him into the machinery of the outbreak, where military activity and the infected population shape what stands between him and his target.

New York Zero is divided into Green, Yellow and Red Zones, which Heller can reach through airbridges shown on the map. The Yellow Zone is heavily controlled, with residents affected by the outbreak and Blackwatch operations. The map also marks mission objectives, collectibles and other points of interest, giving the city a structure for directed assignments and optional searches. Zone travel places those activities across a larger quarantined space, while the occupied streets, military installations and infected lairs provide different contexts for Heller’s pursuit.

Heller travels across the city by sprinting, jumping, climbing walls and gliding, with the minimap and objective marker helping him orient during fast movement. Hunting is a separate way to locate targets: it sends out a sonar-like pulse, and the returning ring centers on the target. Heller can follow that signal across blocks and rooftops before closing in, using a directional search alongside the mission marker. The same navigation interface tracks nearby enemies, whose indicators communicate whether they are unaware, suspicious or have identified Heller as a threat.

Consumption remains central, but it is attached to Heller’s own disguise and survival systems. Absorbing people and infected creatures restores health and mass; consuming a human also lets him assume a civilian or military form. A military identity can pass through restricted areas and use airbridges or Blacknet terminals, while the shapeshift display tracks how the military is reacting. Its shutter has closed, yellow and red states for unseen, watched and identified conditions. Performing superhuman actions while watched can expose Heller, so the player may approach under cover, change form or break line of sight before returning to the objective. The game also lets Heller pick up and set down a person, a small but useful option during missions where an enemy or civilian need not immediately be killed.

Combat combines Heller’s biological weapons with conventional firearms and hijacked military hardware. The Power Wheel assigns two powers for quick switching during a fight. Claws are effective against unarmoured people, while Hammerfists are better suited to tanks. Heller can carve up an infected monster, tear at a tank turret or leap onto a helicopter and hijack it. Enemies, vehicles and surrounding objects create different opportunities; the choice of equipped powers and whether to stay on foot or use machinery both affect how an encounter unfolds.

The story missions are joined by Blacknet operations. Heller can access Blackwatch’s encrypted network from a terminal while wearing a suitable Gentek or military disguise, then take on side missions that unlock upgrades. Those operations give the player additional objectives connected to the organisation controlling the zones, and the in-game menu records progress and rewards. On the map, mission-acquisition markers are distinct from active objective markers, so players can locate new assignments before starting them. The map also marks Field Ops involving Blackwatch troops and Gentek scientists, underground Infected Lairs, and BlackBoxes carried by Blackwatch personnel. Finding a BlackBox reveals an audio record and adds information about Blackwatch and Gentek, giving exploration a second path into the world’s conflict.

Character growth comes through several connected tracks rather than a single weapon tree. Completing missions and objectives advances Heller’s Evolution, with choices in Movement, Health, Regeneration, Shapeshifting, Mass and Finishers. Viral powers are unlocked and upgraded across New York Zero, while consuming marked targets grants skills that improve powers or add ways to use them. Mutations can be unlocked and applied in categories including Offensive, Defensive, Locomotion, Predator and Power Specialist. This allows the player to tune Heller toward mobility, durability or specific combat strengths as the campaign expands his available forms and abilities.

Completing the campaign unlocks New Game+, which lets Heller replay the entire game with powers and abilities acquired on the previous run. Retaining these tools changes the next pass through missions and zones: Heller can bring forward his developed movement, combat forms and other abilities instead of starting with the initial set. Mission acquisition, Blacknet operations and travel across New York Zero still provide their familiar structure, but the player approaches them with prior character progression in place. The mode gives completed campaign progress a clear replay route, carrying the set of acquired powers and abilities into another run that begins again at the opening.