PROTOTYPE 2 was just announced by Activision, who published this trailer containing the first gameplay footage. It looks like much more of the same, only bigger- but as it’s not hitting till 2012, the game is quite a while off.

The big news is that the hood-loving Alex Mercer is no longer the protagonist here. It seems the military has taken Sgt. James Heller, a man who lost everything in the events of the first game, and transformed him into the same beast that Mercer has become to take him down. The only way to fight a monster it to become a monster, after all. Check out the trailer below.

“When PROTOTYPE surpassed 2MM units we knew gamers would want a sequel to find out what happens next with Alex Mercer,” said Ken Rosman, Studio Head, Radical Entertainment, in a press release.  “The team here at Radical is sincerely grateful to the fans and we are laser focused on delivering an even bigger and better experience with PROTOTYPE 2!”

I really loved the first game but I’m a bit sad to see the sequel set back in NYC again… almost hoped for another city to destroy at this point. But Heller’s powers look even more ridiculous than Mercer’s, and we’ll see what other tricks Radical has up its sleeve in the (many) months to release.