SAN FRANCISCO -- After working on The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction for Sierra Games, Vancouver, British Columbia-based developer Radical Games embarked on a project that was more multi-dimensional. They set about creating Prototype, the first open world action game that plays out like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, according to Tim Bennison, executive producer of the project.

Bennison and lead designer Eric Holmes were on hand at GDC to talk about their new game and show some exclusive new levels behind closed doors at the St. Regis Hotel.

In Prototype, players assume the role of Alex Mercer, a shapeshifter in present-day New York City. The city's under siege by a mysterious outbreak that's spreading throughout Manhattan, creating a scenario for a three-way war among Alex, the Army and the infected monsters that come in 40 different shapes and sizes.

While Manhattan is known to harbor various types of people, Alex may be its first shapeshifter.

"We've built this game around the guilty pleasures of playing an open world game," said Bennison. "There's no moral code to follow. The goal of the game is to discover your past, as you awaken with only the knowledge of your name. But how you do that, and what measures you take to discover your history, is left unchecked."

Spread throughout the city at any time are at least 25 bases, which are protected by either the Army or overrun by the Infected, so there's always a challenge awaiting Alex... actually, many challenges. Within the Army bases are lucrative upgrades, including chopper pilots, that will allow Alex to gain additional powers.

The game employs a robust upgrade system that has an RPG-like element that doesn't detract from the action. Players can upgrade offensive and defensive capabilities and then mix and match them, as well as combine them, to take out everything on screen. These powers are then mapped to the D-pad for swift deployment in the heat of battle.

Prototype offers varying environments from an ordinary Times Square to Army-controlled bases to completely infected areas of the city. These areas, which were shown for the first time at GDC, also unveiled hives that spawn monsters.

"These areas of the city will play out like Dead Rising in Manhattan," said Holmes, who explained that an occasional car will speed through the streets filled with terrified citizens. "We're dressing up these neighborhoods with infected art, buildings and characters. They will also be darker and gloomier and at night you won't be able to see some creatures."

While it's possible to evade soldiers by consuming a civilian or soldier body and blending in, the infected can always see Alex, which adds a different gameplay element to these areas. Adding to the challenges are water towers -- the main source of how the infection is spread. When Alex jumps up to the rooftops and gets close to a water tower, a vicious type of hunter breaks out and tracks him down relentlessly.

Radical is also working hard on the game's audio in conjunction with THX. Prototype is the first game to support the new Neural-THX Surround. As such, Bennison said the team is aiming to capture the distinct soundscape of New York City. Since Alex can smash cars and trucks as he leaps through city streets and break pavement with his high jumps from building tops, this dynamic sound will play a key role in delivering a unique experience.