Articles
By Diresim
Published: Mar. 4, 2007 10:12 PM
If there’s one thing Xbox 360 gamers want these days it’s ‘new’ experiences; ‘next gen’ gameplay. Venom Games and Human Head Studio’s joint FPS effort, Prey, is a great example of how developers are trying to hit a new benchmark. It looks fantastic, feels solid, and has plenty of atmosphere. What's more, it's filled with unique and interesting features, but unfortunately a number of glaring issues hold it back. The end result is that the overall package is less than the sum of its parts.
The main character, Tommy, begins the game as a bit of a spoilt brat. He's a bit gung-ho, a bit of a smart arse, and generally is only concerned with his own dreams and ambitions. As the game begins, he's trying to convince his girlfriend, Jennifer, to to run away with him, far from both the reservation where they live and the Cherokee heritage he so despises. She baulks at the idea, as she's happy where she is, despite her love for Tommy.
All of a sudden, things shake, lights descend, alien figures emerge, and next thing you know you've got a bird's eye view of Earth, a captive on an alien space ship. Freed by a fellow prisoner, you set out to save Jennifer before she is turned into Cherokee ragout. Thus begins twenty-two levels of ass kicking, tough talking, whole-hearted alien killing. And whilst such an introduction sets the stage well for a blindingly exiting venture into the unknown, the story itself doesn't quite live up to its premise.
The game is for the most part a satisfying, if unspectacular, romp, and follows your typical, save girlfriend, save world, formula. Building on this formula though, are a number of original features worthy of note. Firstly, portals are scattered throughout the adventure, functioning as a way to get from A to B, and are a nice addition. Visually, they look great, as you can see and even shoot through them (perfect for getting the jump on any enemies in the next area), but they can also be disorientating, and in a way necessitate a certain linearity. There are no two ways through Prey, no branching paths, and hence replayability suffers somewhat.
Enemies also use portals, which can scare the crap out of you if a big ass ugly alien appears out of nowhere behind you. It's just a shame that this is the only trick the bad guys seem to have in their bag. Their not smart, they don't work together, and they seem to rely on only a few AI routines, but hey, at least they look cool.
Gravity is also used to great effect throughout your adventure. Not only will you encounter zero gravity areas, but there are instances where you can switch gravity, allowing you to access previously unreachable areas, and whilst this often forces your stomach to churn somewhat, walking upside down on a roof sniping enemies far below is a pretty enjoyable experience.
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