There’s a real gem available on Steam right now, though it might come with a bit of a catch. One of the most intense and gritty games released by a AAA studio is going for a bargain, but you’ll need to brace yourself for some potentially game-ruining bugs hidden within.
Back in 2012, Activision dropped Prototype 2 into a landscape where the industry seemed stuck on repeat. The market was flooded with games featuring bald protagonists thirsting for violence. Think of game titles like Hitman, Spec Ops, and Max Payne. Even the artwork for Call of Duty showcased the signature silhouette of a bald figure clutching a gun. And while it remains a classic, even Mass Effect 2 couldn’t fully escape this trend.
Prototype 2 stands out because it’s hard to tell if it was pushing this pattern to its limits or smartly poking fun at it. My take? It does a bit of both.
You jump into the shoes of James Heller, a former U.S. Marine Sergeant, with your main mission being to take down the original Prototype’s protagonist. Thanks to some nifty mutant abilities, you can sprint up towering buildings, leap across city blocks, and glide through the streets like a slippery, superpowered Spider-Man.
However, unlike Spidey, Heller comes equipped with some notably villainous skills. He can devour people whole and then morph into their likeness. His forearms transform into vicious claws that would make Wolverine take note. And, believe me, his punches are nothing to scoff at—they pack a force that can turn any foe into a bloody spectacle.
Sadly, Prototype 2 is very much a product of its era, especially on PC. The port, released just a few months after the console version, was infamous for its issues. Why didn’t reviewers point this out back then? Well, just getting a console game to run on a PC was seen as a blessing, considering publishers were wary of piracy and didn’t often support the platform. Fast forward to today, and PCs are becoming more significant in the gaming market, with major names like Square Enix realigning their focus to include them.
This situation from 2012 pairs up with a modern problem we face in 2025—the gaming industry’s passive or sometimes blatant neglect of preserving its back catalog, especially for series that aren’t cash cows anymore. That leads us to Prototype 2’s current status on Steam—a game unjustly let down twice by the industry, still on sale even though many struggle to get it running without scouring YouTube or old forums for help.
So, should you play Prototype 2? Absolutely! But maybe consider dusting off that old Xbox 360 and find yourself a disc. Remember those days? They sure were something.
