all games are not created equal

At this point in time, I've played both of these games equal amounts.  That amount of time is a shade under an hour. 

They both take place in Manhattan.  True Crime is actually GPS accurate, so if you wanna drive from Columbus Circle down to the financial district, it's gonna take a little while.  Prototype is a scaled back version of Manhattan.  It does have a couple landmarks, but is missing a ton of streets.  I live in NYC, so I'm always a little picky about this kind of stuff.  But for an outsider, these games make the city look totally boring.  It just doesn't feel right in the game.  GTA4 does a pretty good job with the feel of NYC and these two games don't even come close.

Gameplay-wise, both games are average.  Prototype does edge out True Crime a little bit because the graphics and special effects make the game feel cooler.  They also have some more detail in the little things like construction awnings and people in Prototype.  I do wish that they learned more from mistakes in previous games like TC:NYC to make Prototype a better game, but oh well.

Both of these games feel like budget titles to me in there own way.  They get some stuff right, but then a lot of other stuff just doesn't feel like it has the same polish on it.

Wanted had cool moments with the shooting and the story part of it wasn't half bad.  It kinda did one thing kinda right, which is this whole cover and shooting thing.  Problem is, that's all the game was, for the around 4 hours it took to beat it.  Nothing more than taking cover and shooting the entire time.

Prototype is the same in its repetition.  You fly/run around, kill some stuff and just keep doing that.  It has a great system of all these little goals to accomplish which can keep you playing for a while if you're a 100% guy like I can be sometimes.  You can upgrade your moves, which is cool, but there are far too many separate moves and it's hard for me to actually use them all in battle.  I usually just use the same couple over and over until I make everything dead.

Story-wise, they are both interesting enough.  Wanted was a cool continuation of the movie.  Prototype goes with the Bourne Identity "who am i" kind of stuff the entire time and slowly shows you bits and pieces of your past as you play, which can be motivating enough to keep you playing to see what the deal is.

Prototype gives you more bang for your buck.  Wanted is a short game and there isn't much reason to 100% it, so you won't be playing it for long.  Protype isn't that bad of a game.  It's also not that great of a game, but it can still be enjoyable.

There are some things that I like more in Prototype than I do in GTA4, and vice-versa.  I like how I can quickly pick up Prototype and breeze through a couple missions quickly before I head out somewhere.  With GTA4, it can sometimes be a chore to complete the missions, especially if you have to drive really far, only to get gunned down once you get there.

Prototype actually has a great system for little goals, like "destroy this building" or what would be the equivalent of the rampages in the old GTAs.  These mini side missions can help you gain EPs (the games experience points system) for upgrades to your character.  GTA4 does have this same kind of thing, but it's more hidden away and not painted out for you on a map like Prototype.

Sure, Prototype does do a couple things right, but man, GTA4 is a ridiculously detailed game.  When you drive around the city, each neighboorhood feels different.  The trains come and go, the people walk around with their coffees, cars rearend cab drivers who randomly stop.  It's all there.  Prototype's Manhattan has absolutely no life to it.  Each block feels as dead as the last.  There is actually a block in GTA4 that is exactly the block I live on.  The style of houses, sidewalks and everything is exactly the same.  It's pretty awesome.

Given this, Prototype is a free-roam game I suppose, but there really is no reason to look around the city, unless you're moving to your next mission or side mission.  GTA4, you can wander around Times Square or go down to Radio City Music Hall and just check it out.  You can walk around stabbing people who are annoying.  You can throw a grenade into the Burger Shot.  You can punch people doing yoga in Central Park in the face.  It's up to you.  Prototype has nothing near this level of interaction.

GTA4 for the clear victory.  It has hours of gameplay beyond the end of the game.  It really is a living, breathing city in GTA4's 'Liberty City'.

Both games tended to slowly feed you pieces of the plot as you went along.  Overall, the plot of Dead Space was much more interesting than that of Prototype.  Both have a twist in the end of course, but Dead Space wins on that one too.

The slow spoon-feeding of the plot in Prototype really broke up the story way too much because of the way it was delivered.  They chose to use flashbacks to give you plot points, which take you out of the game entirely.  Dead Space gave you story through audio and text logs throughout the ship, as well as conversations with other characters, which helped blend the game and the story together better.

If I had to compare the stories of these games to movies, I would say Dead Space is like Event Horizon + Alien maybe?  Prototype is something along the lines of Outbreak + Bourne Identity.