As my primary unit “red-ringed” last night, I was irritated, but not overly so, as this past year, we picked up a second Xbox console for our upstairs, allowing me to, albeit adding some new connections to my TV schema, connect the original launch console refurb in place of my Falcon unit.  This is the third time I’ve sent a console in for repair since first purchasing a 360 in July of 2006; twice for the Red Ring of Death (RROD), and once for a disc drive that kept sticking.  As before, I placed my call to 1-800-4MY-XBOX, and talked to a foreign call center worker.  He processed my repair efficiently, and stated that if I logged on to Xbox.com/repair, I would be able to print out my UPS label for shipment to the repair facility.  I grilled him as to why they no longer send out pre-paid labels with boxes, but he had no answer for me, other than “It’s no longer policy.”  After reflecting upon this, I was able to ship my unit off for repair the next day, as opposed to waiting for the box to come in the mail, so I suppose there is an upside to the new policy.  I was pleased to find out that I could’ve done all this myself through the automated system at Xbox.com without going through the hassle of calling the support center, simply by registering my console on the site, and hitting the submit repair button.

After getting my repair submitted, and my label printed out, I headed to the local UPS Store to have my unit packed and sent off.  The clerk was very friendly, and once he saw what was in my hand, he knew what to do without me even having to explain.  He pulled out a quick reference scan chart for the register, scanned it, and stated that they process so many Xbox repair orders, that they stock the specific box and packing that Microsoft uses to ship your unit back to you when it’s repaired.  Curious, I asked him how many repairs he ships out; he stated five or six…per day!  I couldn’t believe it, I thought this issue was under control!  No wonder we now have to pay for our own packing materials ($11.50 plus tax to be exact).  Today is October 3rd, let’s see if the slated two to three week repair period rings true.  It used to take up to four weeks, so at least they’re getting more efficient.

I’ll update as I watch the repair process on Xbox.com (also a new feature).

UPDATE:  Post repair thoughts

Apologies for neglecting to give an update as soon as the repair process was complete; I honestly expected my console to be out of service a lot longer, thus having time to blog about it being gone.  The online repair area at Xbox.com is very slick, and allows you to avoid those irritaing calls to foreign customer service representatives.  I was also pleasantly surprised to see my total down time come out to be about only two weeks (13 days actually):  one week shipping time, a weekend of repair time, and about 4 days to get back to me.  I still was given a one month Xbox Live card to compensate for my repair time, so that is one nice feature that Microsoft has had for a while now that helps to soothe the irritation of the whole ordeal.  In summary, it sucks to have a console go down on you, but the repair process has improved ten fold since the last time I had to get involed with it.

Like many other sandbox games, Prototype gives you options to choose from. You can progress through a fairly linear story mode and bypass the associated challenges, or you can grind your way through these challenges to earn extra Evolution Points to upgrade your abilities and skills. I say “grinding” but truly, it doesn’t feel like it. Moving from challenge to challenge is fun and fluid. Retrying is not frustrating, and you feel a suitable sense of accomplishment when you finally get that Gold or Platinum award.

You start the game with the ability to run up walls and leap great distances. You can also pick up and throw vehicles. Right out of the gate, you are taking on squads of troops and pitching vehicles and air conditioners at helicopters giving you a sense of immediacy and reward. Leveling up feels natural, and at no point did I feel like I was grinding or putting a lot of effort into attaining all upgrades. Moving from objective to objective is punctuated with side-quests to pick up “Web of Intrigue” targets: those with knowledge of the Outbreak, the conspiracy surrounding it, and clues to your past. This adds a degree of excitement to completing certain tasks when suddenly a WOI target pops up on your radar for you to consume.

The story for Prototype is deep, engaging, and well done. Voice acting is also high-caliber. Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan, Seven Pounds, The Green Mile) voices Alex, and does so very well. I found myself progressing through the story to find out what is going on, and finding Web of Intrigue targets to flesh out that story. Like most good stories, it’s immersive. It draws you in and encourages you to find out more. The mark of a well-produced game.

The gameplay is challenging and rewards caution and hit-and-run style gameplay. You are a walking superweapon, and you should have foes that cause you to think twice. This game has that in spades. From facing off a pack of hunters, a squadron of Gunships, or a fleet of tanks, you have fierce opposition at several points throughout the game. Boss battles are challenging, but not frustrating. I faced one of the more challenging boss fights in recent memory near the end of the game and felt a good sense of accomplishment after pounding that boss into the ground and consuming it.

All in all, I give this game a four star ranking. It has a solid story, solid and challenging gameplay, is extremely enjoyable and has a high degree of replay value. Anything that can pull me away from Halo 3 for as long as Prototype has has to be worth sharing with others. Hope you enjoy!