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preview :: prey
Prey
Reviewed on: PCAvailable on: PC, Xbox 360
Prey definitely has some new and interesting features that I've not seen in an FPS before which makes me want to play more of it.
Well isn?t this one a surprise. In case you weren?t aware, Prey has had a similar development schedule to the much lamented Duke Nukem Forever (both developed by the same company too), and if I remember correctly was announced at around about the same time. To be completely honest, I had no idea what the game was about back then, and it didn?t really seem all that interesting anyway, so the fact that it pretty much dropped off the radar didn?t bother me all that much.
So what has changed to make this game interest me now you may ask? Well, apart from the fact that it?s a completely different game from what it once was, it employs some new and interesting features that I?ve not seen in an FPS before which makes me want to play more of it.
You play the main character of Tommy, a Cherokee stuck on a reservation and going nowhere. The game starts off in a seedy bar and introduces Tommy?s wise (and alcoholic) grandfather, and his girlfriend who he wants to come with him, away from the reserve. The level is a neat little setup, and the fact that it?s the doom 3 engine is apparent from the seamless integration with the TV, jukebox and arcade machines scattered around the bar.
Of course like every good interactive intro level (see half life, doom 3, or any FPS these days it seems), it all goes pear shaped when green lights start appearing from the sky, throwing cars around, dissolving the bar roof and sucking you up into it. It was here that the game managed to really get me interested, the way it was handled was great, with the whole bar shaking and just some unexpected graphical touches. It was the music that hooked me though, while this whole alien abduction was taking place, people screaming and everything going nuts, the jukebox started playing ?Don?t Fear the Reaper? by the Blue Oyster Cult. God knows it must have cost a small fortune for the licensed song, but whether it be because I love that particular song or because it just fit the mood just right, the game managed to ?get me? at that point.
The rest of the levels are played out in the alien spacecraft, as you try to save your girlfriend from being seemingly ?processed? along with the rest of the abducted humans.
Is it just me, or do all the games that use the Doom 3 engine kinda look the same? Doom 3, Quake 4, Prey ? they all have these sci-fi levels with organic elements built into them. Of course, they look fantastic, everything shiny in the right places and a healthy does of shadows and effects. Everything you expect from the Doom 3 engine pretty much.
So after the clever intro sequence, what makes this game different from any other pretty looking sci-fi FPS? Three big things actually.
First of all, the portals. Often you will come across either a floating hole that you can walk through that takes you to a completely different section. It?s handled really well too, you can walk behind the floating portal and not see it, its completely flat, yet when you walk through it, you appear in a completely new section. More importantly is how the developer seems to have used this feature for some unique situations. One part has you walking into a room to see a rock featured in a glass case in the middle of the room. There?s nothing else you can do with it, and after looking around you find a portal in one of the boxes, and walk through it to find yourself ON that very same rock inside the box. An enemy comes walking into the room and looks at you through the glass just as you had done previously, and of course he is HUGE!
Secondly, gravity. There are special parts of the floor on some levels where you can walk along them and your character sticks to it, allowing you to walk up walls and along the roof. It certainly showcases some impressive level design, as you?ll find yourself backtracking through a room you were previously in, however you?re now walking along the roof.
There are also other parts later on in the demo I played where you are able to hit switches that change the direction of gravity, leading to some pretty interesting puzzles that you have to complete.
Thirdly, the spirit walk. This is where the whole Cherokee aspect of the game comes into play, as you are eventually able to learn a skill where you can walk outside of your body as a spirit, essentially creating another 2nd character for you to play. As a spirit, you are still susceptible to enemy fire, but you are also walk through walls and reach other places where you might not be able to get to in a physical form.
The demo that I played kept things extremely fresh and exciting, introducing constant new skills and puzzles that I really enjoyed. Although the setting seems a little too familiar, and the enemies seem a little uninspired, I?m really looking forward to playing through the full version of the game when it comes out.
So what has changed to make this game interest me now you may ask? Well, apart from the fact that it?s a completely different game from what it once was, it employs some new and interesting features that I?ve not seen in an FPS before which makes me want to play more of it.
You play the main character of Tommy, a Cherokee stuck on a reservation and going nowhere. The game starts off in a seedy bar and introduces Tommy?s wise (and alcoholic) grandfather, and his girlfriend who he wants to come with him, away from the reserve. The level is a neat little setup, and the fact that it?s the doom 3 engine is apparent from the seamless integration with the TV, jukebox and arcade machines scattered around the bar.
Of course like every good interactive intro level (see half life, doom 3, or any FPS these days it seems), it all goes pear shaped when green lights start appearing from the sky, throwing cars around, dissolving the bar roof and sucking you up into it. It was here that the game managed to really get me interested, the way it was handled was great, with the whole bar shaking and just some unexpected graphical touches. It was the music that hooked me though, while this whole alien abduction was taking place, people screaming and everything going nuts, the jukebox started playing ?Don?t Fear the Reaper? by the Blue Oyster Cult. God knows it must have cost a small fortune for the licensed song, but whether it be because I love that particular song or because it just fit the mood just right, the game managed to ?get me? at that point.
The rest of the levels are played out in the alien spacecraft, as you try to save your girlfriend from being seemingly ?processed? along with the rest of the abducted humans.
Is it just me, or do all the games that use the Doom 3 engine kinda look the same? Doom 3, Quake 4, Prey ? they all have these sci-fi levels with organic elements built into them. Of course, they look fantastic, everything shiny in the right places and a healthy does of shadows and effects. Everything you expect from the Doom 3 engine pretty much.
So after the clever intro sequence, what makes this game different from any other pretty looking sci-fi FPS? Three big things actually.
First of all, the portals. Often you will come across either a floating hole that you can walk through that takes you to a completely different section. It?s handled really well too, you can walk behind the floating portal and not see it, its completely flat, yet when you walk through it, you appear in a completely new section. More importantly is how the developer seems to have used this feature for some unique situations. One part has you walking into a room to see a rock featured in a glass case in the middle of the room. There?s nothing else you can do with it, and after looking around you find a portal in one of the boxes, and walk through it to find yourself ON that very same rock inside the box. An enemy comes walking into the room and looks at you through the glass just as you had done previously, and of course he is HUGE!
Secondly, gravity. There are special parts of the floor on some levels where you can walk along them and your character sticks to it, allowing you to walk up walls and along the roof. It certainly showcases some impressive level design, as you?ll find yourself backtracking through a room you were previously in, however you?re now walking along the roof.
There are also other parts later on in the demo I played where you are able to hit switches that change the direction of gravity, leading to some pretty interesting puzzles that you have to complete.
Thirdly, the spirit walk. This is where the whole Cherokee aspect of the game comes into play, as you are eventually able to learn a skill where you can walk outside of your body as a spirit, essentially creating another 2nd character for you to play. As a spirit, you are still susceptible to enemy fire, but you are also walk through walls and reach other places where you might not be able to get to in a physical form.
The demo that I played kept things extremely fresh and exciting, introducing constant new skills and puzzles that I really enjoyed. Although the setting seems a little too familiar, and the enemies seem a little uninspired, I?m really looking forward to playing through the full version of the game when it comes out.