The 4th July 2012 issue of Thirteen1 includes:

TERA – Huge Update Income
-The Graphically Insane MMO is About to Get Even Better

Forza Motorsport 4 July Pack DLC
-Pretty Pictures of Cars to Get Your Engines Revving!

Countdown: Gaming’s Most Disappointing Sequels
-The Most Disappointing Follow-Ups to Our Favourite Games. Ever.

Opinion: Did Radical Close Because inFamous was Better than Prototype
-Evidence Suggests Maybe!

Read Today’s Issue of T1 Daily

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Significantly reducing the staff of the Vancouver based studio to that of a skeleton crew, Activision said: “Some employees will remain working for Radical Entertainment supporting other existing Activision Publishing projects, but the studio will cease development of its own games going forward.”

The dominant publisher, with a controversial history of making “significant reductions to staff” at many popular game studios it has acquired, cited Prototype 2’s poor sales as the final nail in the coffin, claiming that the IP “did not find a broad commercial audience.” Is this down to poor marketing on Activision’s end, or could it be that another superhero from the world of video games already has the market sewn up? With a metacritic rating of 74, compared to inFamous 2’s 83, the reading may suggest that this is the case.

The two games are strikingly similar, the premise of each game being the most obvious resemblance; an original ‘superhero’ in a sandbox city. As a sequel, Prototype 2 is what you can expect from a game franchise these days; criticisms from the first game have been addressed, and the more exciting gameplay mechanics have been built on and expanded. However, that just wasn’t enough to push more than 390,000 units out the door, which is pitiful compared to the 1,200,000 copies inFamous 2 sold.

Read More in T1 Daily

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Just when you thought Prototype 2 had enough gruesome, shape-shifting tools to get the job done, Radical Entertainment gives fans even more over-the-top viral powers.

Activision have today unleashed Prototype 2’s second DLC pack, Excessive Force – giving fans key add-ons to their arsenal of destruction, as well as all-new custom skins allowing players to parkour their way across NYZ in style.

The full contents of Prototype 2′s Excessive Force DLC packs includes:

- Viral Infector Grenade Launcher
- Force Multiplier Powers:
- Shockwave
- Chaos Creator Mode
- Medusa’s Wrath
- Custom Skins:
- Armoured Heller
- Agile Armour Alex Mercer
- Zombie Mercer

The PROTOTYPE 2 DLC pack is available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360 for 400 Microsoft Points, and on the PlayStation Store for system for £3.99.

The post Prototype 2 Breaks out of NYZ into DLC appeared first on Thirteen1: Free Video Games Magazine.

Did you follow the hype and build up prior to Prototype 2′s release? If you did, then like me you’re probably expecting a more personal, fleshed out tale than that of Alex Mercer’s violent rampage in the original Prototype. But much like an Alzheimers suffering pizza boy, it fails to deliver on what was promised.

New protagonist James Heller is a man with a vendetta, obsessed with a personal suicide mission to kill the ridiculously powerful Alex Mercer, who he believes murdered his family. During an early confrontation, Mercer mysteriously decides to imbue Heller with the virus powers instead of stomping his skull into the pavement – thus setting up the games promotional tagline, “Murder your maker”.

The story actually makes a strong start, and it doesn’t take itself lightly either. A new, much more serious outbreak of the ‘Mercer Virus’ has once again placed Manhattan under military quarantine, and it quickly becomes evident that the Blackwatch military are actually using the poor citizens as cattle to test new biological weapons. Understandably pissed off with this discovery, Heller makes it his personal goal to shut Blackwatch down using any means necessary.

With these two motives propping up the extremely enjoyable gameplay, Prototype 2 could have easily become ‘the’ definitive open-world action game for all others to follow. Yet confusingly, it’s the insanely fun bits wedged between the well presented black and white cut-scenes that ultimately let the game down.

Click Here to Read the Full Review in May’s Thirteen1

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Just when you thought PROTOTYPE 2 had enough gruesome, shape-shifting tools to get the job done, Radical Entertainment gives fans even more over-the-top viral powers with two great downloadable content (DLC) drops. From Activision Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard,(Nasdaq: ATVI), PROTOTYPE 2’s first DLC pack, Colossal Mayhem, is available today, while the second DLC pack, Excessive Force, drops on 29th May, 2012 – each giving fans key add-ons to their arsenal of destruction as well as three all-new custom skins allowing players to parkour their way across NYZ in style. The full contents of PROTOTYPE 2’s Colossal Mayhem and Excessive Force DLC packs includes:

Colossal Mayhem Pack
· Thermobaric Boom-Stick
· Force Multiplier Powers:
o Warp Vortex
o Anti Gravity Field
o Air Time
· Custom Skins:
o Heller Test Subject
o Infected Heller
o Infantry Heller

Excessive Force Pack
· Viral Infector Grenade Launcher
· Force Multiplier Powers:
o Shockwave
o Chaos Creator Mode
o Medusa’s Wrath
· Custom Skins:
o Armoured Heller
o Agile Armour Alex Mercer
o Zombie Mercer

Both PROTOTYPE 2 DLC packs will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 400 Microsoft Points, and on the PlayStationStore for PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system for £3.99. Fans that purchased the PROTOTYPE 2 Blackwatch Collector’s Edition will be able to redeem their one-time use code to download the Colossal Mayhem Pack for free beginning today.

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The post 11 Reasons You NEED Prototype 2 appeared first on Thirteen1: Free Video Games Magazine.

The publisher has taken a different approach to the traditional Online Pass method by only offering free codes in a limited number of copies.

It all takes the guise of Radnet – a content portal that gives fans 55 free pieces of additional content spread across the seven weeks following the game’s release in April.

Content will include events, challenges, avatar items, themes, videos and extra campaign abilities.

But once the Radnet Edition supplies run out, even those who buy a brand new copy will face an additional outlay to access the same content.

“Radical Entertainment has always focused on bringing long lasting fun to its fans, and Prototype 2′s Radnet content is our way of rewarding the game’s most loyal supporters — the early adopters, the one’s who will replay it over and over again,” Radical Entertainment studio head Ken Rosman stated.

“We think this is great because we’re giving our fans hours of additional gameplay outside Prototype 2′s main narrative, and cool rewards — all delivered weekly following the game’s launch.”

[Source:MCV]

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