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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Staying Alive, 8 Dec 2006
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
I'm not usually a fan of first person shooters, mainly because I find them too hard and don't like having to keep saving and loading to progress 30 feet. It's the whole issue of dying that exhausts my precious patience. 'Prey' has done something about this and created a first person shooter for people who aren't very good at first person shooters.
The story isn't overly original. Aliens invade Earth and beam up humans, then commit unspeakable acts upon them and there is only one man who can do anything about it... You.
You play Tommy, a Cherokee who is desperate to escape the trapping of the reservation, but his girlfriend, Jen, is desperate to stay. When the aliens abduct the both of you the race is on to save both Jen and yourself and get yourself back to Earth.
The game plays out like most other FPS games in the way that you have to run around shooting enemies and solving the odd puzzle. There are three ways to do this; in the Physical World, the Spirit World and the Death World.
The Physical World is exactly as it sounds, the physical, albeit alien, reality that surrounds Tommy. This is the world you will spend most time in and is where the various gravity effects come into play. In this game there are certain points where you can walk up the walls and on the ceilings, other points where you will need to completely flip the gravitational pull of the environment. At times this can become a little disorienting but that is all part of the fun. You need to use these gravity effects to progress, so they are not just a gimmick added on, but an essential part of the game.
As Tommy is Cherokee he can allow his Spirit to leave his body. This is the Spirit World. When you press the Y button the screen will take on a light blue hue and your spirit will have the ability to access areas that Tommy's physical body cannot. Enemies can't see Tommy's spirit unless you attacks them so it is very good for stealthily working out where you need to get to next. The spirit body can also activate switches, lowering force fields that are otherwise blocking Tommy's progress through the physical world. To me this is the best part of the game. I like the puzzle solving elements of any game, and although the puzzles in 'Prey' aren't particularly perplexing they add a little more enjoyment for me.
The most controversial element of the game seems to be the Death World. This is only encountered when Tommy looses all of his health. You then enter Death Walk and try to shoot Wraiths to gain back as much health as possible before being thrown back into the action where you fell. Essentially you cannot die. This element is why it is a FPS for people who are not very good at first person shooters. You can 'die' as many times as you need and will always be able to get straight back into the action, without using quick saves. While other people have slated the whole game for this one part, I would say that it has kept the game alive for me. If it wasn't for the idea that I could not 'die' I would have probably given up on the game a lot earlier, as it was I completed it in a couple of weeks.
It is not a huge game but more than adequate for the like of me, for whom games are meant to be fun.
You get the usual mix of weapons and enemies. The guns are all easy to use and the enemies are varied. Boss battles could have been a little bit harder though.
The online element to 'Prey' consists of either Deathmatch or Team Deathmatch. If you've played any sort of multiplayer FPS before you will know what to expect. The gravity effects come into play in a big way in multiplayer as not only do you have to keep an eye on what is giong on behind you, but also above you and below. There may not be all that many people playing 'Prey' online due to games like 'Gears Of War' now being on the market, but you should still be able to get a decent game now and then. It's got a bit of lag if you are playing with more than three other people which can be annoying.
Achievements are half story based and half multiplayer based, with three Secret Achievements. This gives it the balance that is so often absent when it comes to Achievements.
Once you have finished this game you will feel more prepared to take on more conventional FPS games. I enjoyed 'Prey' and will probably spend a good few weeks trying to get all the multiplayer Achievements. I wouldn't say it is worth £49.99 but if you can get it for under 30 notes you'll have a good little game on your hands.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
prey the new king of fps, 1 Jul 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
this game breathes new life into the fps genre, the only fps to purchase before this game was halo 2(this is not a knock at halo, just a knock at all the other fps that didnt try anything new, halo2 is still 1 of my top games of alltime.) however i downloaded the prey 4 level long demo late friday night and all i can say is it has to be played to be believed u can really tell where 3d realms(the creator of duke nukem) has lent there touches to the game. Absolute masterpiece.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
NOT for the faint-hearted, weak-stomached, or easily confused..., 20 Jan 2007
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
Prey is perhaps one of the most innovative games I have ever had the pleasure of playing. The spirit-walk aspect brings a slightly greater degree of problem-solving to the game, but above all the wall/ceiling-walk (oh yes... it IS good!) and portal features are what make this game stand out from others in the often same-old-same-old FPS genre. If you're the sort of person who has trouble finding their way to the shops, then approach Prey with caution... without giving too much away, the designers must have shut themselves in a darkened room with a pencil, ruler, piece of paper and licked toads when they came up with the different levels... I actually had to stop playing once in a while to soothe my brain after upside-down fire fights, or after seeing myself walk around a corner in front of me... trust me, it happens.
The guns are novel adaptations of the typical weapons found in FPS games: the acid-spray shotgun is a personal fave, while grotesque alien versions of the sniper-rifle, assault rifle and rocket launcher glisten and quiver, often appear much too alive for comfort. The grossometer frequently goes all the way up to 11, not only due to blood (although there is sometimes a LOT), but also the alien environment seems to have, shall we say, OTHER organic parts...
Tommy, the main character, is a right old laugh. He's not the most convincing hero (in fact half the time when he's shouting at alien foes he sounds absolutely petrified!), but this just made the game all the more playable... You feel that you're better than your own character... and you can have a jolly good chuckle at him throughout the game...
If you're still not convinced how good this game is, then please, PLEASE rent it, if only for the abduction sequence when you first start... the choice of song is tremendous, making it one of the best scenes in gaming history...
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Suitable for 18 years and over. Not for sale to persons under age 18. By placing an order for this product, you declare that you are 18 years of age or over.
