Prey

"After Being Cancelled, then Brought Back to Life, How Does Prey Fare?"

Prey has been in development since 1995, and been cancelled almost twice. But at E3, we all got a preview of the new Prey, and we loved it. But now that the game is finally out, how does it stack up to all of the hype?

Graphics - 8.5/10

The graphics in Prey are good, not great, but good. They are best presented on the alien spaceship, as it is more of an organic, industrialised setting. Using the Doom 3 engine, that's what it can do best. Starting off the game with one of the worst sink textures wasn't a good idea, but thankfully you are only on Earth for about 5 minutes.

The creatures, weapons, and environments are beautifully rendered and really make you feel like your on a living, breathing ship. Your living breathing weapons are no different, they all look great. One unfortunate thing is though, when looking at yourself in either a mirror or through a portal, the weapon look nothing like it does in first person, like it does in 3rd.

Another downfall is in some areas, walking up close to a wall will present a terrifying wall of pixels the size of golf balls.

All in all though, through the majority of the game, Prey's graphics are good.

Sound - 8.0/10

Prey sounds fine. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible. The voice acting is good for the humans, but the aliens sound funny speaking English (even though they really don't, Tommy is just able to hear them in English). The weapons sound are fine. The first rifle you get sound a bit weak to me. But the other weapons sound good.

The musical score however, is great. Composed by the man behind the Oblivion music, you know it's gunna be good.

Overall, nothing too special. An 8 outta 10.

Story - 9.5/10

After beating Prey fo the first time, all I could say was.......wow. This story has to be one of the most immersing, twisted, psychological, unique stories I've ever seen in ANY FPS. I daresay it is the best story in an FPS. I'm not going to reveal ANYTHING about the story, since this is a game you do not want to spoil. The ending is also very well done and will give you quite a surprise if you've gotten immersed into the story.

Gameplay - 9/10

Gameplay in Prey is linear. But is linear in a whole different way. Linear upside down, linear on the walls, linear in a space pod, linear as a spirit, linear as a mortal, linear on a small planet, linear as a dwarf. It is linear, but there are so many different styles and elements added in to it, that it is pue fun.

The best example of this is the gravity. There are certain points in the game (every level) where you can manipulate gravity. Either by walking along walls or ceilings, or by shooting buttons to change the direction of gravity. It's so realistic that you could actually get quite dizzy while doing it. And your character Tommy, doesn't have a steel stomach either. Flip upside down or side to side to much and Tommy with puke all over his beautiful leather jacket.

In Prey, you really feel like you're a real guy. Tommy acts and reacts like a real human being. He swears when scared or excited, screams, gets angry, and you can even sense when his adrenaline is running when he yells, "DIE DIE DIE!" after blowing a Hunter's head off.

There are no cut scenes or cinimatics in Prey, everything is done in real time, taking a page out of the Call of Duty book. These are also welcome.

the multiplayer in Prey is just pure fun. Reminiscent of the Quake series with fast paced matches. But add in gravity flipping and spirit walking, and you've got a winner.

There are some amazing moments in Prey that you will always remember. The gameplay is pure fun. A 9/10.

Replay Value - 7.5/10

After beating Prey on Normal difficulty, you can play it over again on Cherokee difficulty, but that's about it. The multiplayer is what keeps you coming back for more.

Overall - 9/10

Prey, after a long development process, and a near death experience, should be a welcome addition to and FPS fans, or Xbox 360/PC owner's library. With an amazing story, great visuals, innovative gameplay, and fun, fast paced multiplayer, Prey will definitely be one of the best FPS of 2006.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/06