Prey

"Prey has become the Predator."

Innovative games are a lot like pizza. Say you go out of town, and have to stay the night in a decent, but not extravagant hotel. You get hungry, so you order up some pizza from the local pizza shop, and it's unlike any other pizza you've ever had, so you go home and tell all your friends about this amazing pizza, they have to go get some, and soon everyone is trying to imitate this great local shop pizza.

Prey is the kind of innovative game, that makes the games around it seem like, Dominos, good, but not the best pizza you've ever had, or game you've ever played. Prey combines so many different kinds of elements, that it's unfair to call it just a shooter. It allows you to use many different kinds of ways to handle situations, so that you're not just some guy mowing through a horde of aliens.

You're Tommy, a Native American young man that is tired of his life on the reservation, and has dreams of leaving his grandfather and the boring life he lives, and wants to go seek a more dramatic and exciting life with his girlfriend, Jen. Well, his wish comes true in a way, when the reservation is visited by an alien ship. Taken hostage, along with his grandfather and Jen, Tommy escapes captivity, and fights to stay alive, and keep those close to him alive as well.

Only, freedom doesn't come as easy as Tommy wishes. Because in the Sphere, the alien ship that you are on, nothing is as it seems. Physics are a thing of the past. Portals open up all over the place, sending you to new locations throughout the ship; they also drop off enemy's, that aren't so happy that you're on their ship making a disturbance. Of course, ship isn't exactly how you would describe the Sphere, for it's a living thing on its own.

In order to survive the perils in front of you, you're going to need some help. Help that average weapons can't give you. This means you're going to have to awaken a new power, a power deep inside you that is tied deep into your heritage. This power is called Spirit Walk, which allows you to leave your body, and has you walk around on it's own, in order to open doors, kill off enemy's, or checking the road ahead. You also come equipped with Death Walk. Death Walk is where you go when you “die”. You never really die in Prey though, for because of Death Walk, you are sent to a spiritual world that allows you to shoot floating spirits, to regain life, which makes you get back into to fight.

But don't count on your powers, portals, and gravity shifts to help you all the time, Prey is still a shooter, and you will need to rely on your aim and quick trigger to get from point A to B. The weapons in Prey are something to be marveled as well. Every gun has a primary and secondary firing mode. In essence the guns remind me a lot of Quake 4. You start with, well a Wrench, which is what it sounds, a handy man tool. As you progress throughout the game you will become equipped with a rifle, walking grenades, a gun that shoots fire, lightening, sun, and ice, as well as other weapons. The main complaint I had throughout the game though was the scarcity of ammo. I often was in the middle of a fire fight, with no ammo in anything.

But I suppose there are worst games to be ammo-less in, because not every game is as pretty as Prey. The graphics in this game are phenomenal, Tommy reminded me of a younger Lou Diamond Phillips, not just by how much he resembled but also by his attitude. The Sphere alone is just beautiful. You'll forget how deadly it is every time you look around and notice that magnificent realism to it. Another fault though, frame rate can be horrible, and has hosted numerous complaints from players. I never experienced anything that bad, but it is noticeable.

If Prey is good for one thing though, it's good for reminding me how much I love the song, Barracuda. The soundtrack for Prey isn't just a bunch of original orchestra none sense, it is rock and metal. Every song fits the mood the game has placed. With random juke boxes placed around the ship as well, from invasions, you can sit and relax to some tunes if you want. The eerie noises and clanks of the Sphere add to the feeling of the game, and props to the great voice acting.

Prey also has Live multiplayer. The thought of having portal flying, gravity changing, fire fights is enough to get most gamers excited, unfortunately not a lot of people are on, and the lag for Prey is as unreal as the games law of physics.

Overall Prey has what it takes to be a landmark innovative game for the shooter genre; it just receives too much crap for no real reasons to be considered a top game. All in all, it's still one of the better shooters on the 360, and should be in everyone's collection, if they like shooters, and don't get motion sickness to easily. Stunningly realistic graphics, great voice acting, and an intriguing storyline, Prey will keep you mystified through and through, but once it's over, that's pretty much it, and not that much else left to do.

Pro's
+ Amazing gameplay, that never seems forced.
+ Great soundtrack.
+ Gripping and compelling storyline keeps you hooked throughout.
+ Spectacular graphics.

Con's
- Frame rate.
- Can't die, seems a little cheap.
- Laggy Live play.

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