It's rare to play a game
that fulfills the hopes I had for gaming years ago. By
2006 I would have expected the gaming industry to be
commonly churning out games with an evolved sense of
art, fun and story. I really enjoy seeing advanced graphics
and beautiful artwork combined with exciting gameplay
and an engaging tale, especially if the game doesn't
take itself too seriously and even has a sense of humor
at times. Prey has all of this, and is a game that pleasantly
surprised me again and again.
To be honest I hadn't intended
to do a Prey walkthrough, expecting this title to be
just a Doom 3 clone. (As much as I loved Doom 3, these
walkthroughs are very time consuming and I try to mix
things up.) Then, I played the demo and discovered how
wrong I was. The main character is not just another testosterone-laden
gunslinger. He's a Cherokee trying to convince his girlfriend
to leave the reservation and come with him to pursue
a better life. He's the classic rebel without a cause,
but with a Cherokee twist. And he's been abducted by
aliens.
Yes, Prey is a game with
a sense of humor. As someone who's first library book
was a history of UFOs, I really appreciated the Killers
From Space film clip and Art Bell radio snippets.
In fact, I often listen to Coast
to Coast AM while working on my walkthroughs, and
to have Art Bell in character in the game made
working on the Prey Walkthrough especially thrilling.
The most enjoyable science fiction, I find, folds technology,
fear, humor, and even kitsch into a semi-serious guessing
game of fun versus paranoia.
Whether it's the jukebox
breaking into Don't Fear the Reaper as an alien
spaceship rips off the bar's roof, or the Haunted-Mansion-style
ride into the mothership, there's always a sense while
playing Prey that there are puppet masters behind the
scenes having a great time controlling this thrill
ride
of a
game.
Innovation abounds in Prey.
In fact, one of the worst aspects of FPS gaming is addressed
head-on: quickload addiction. For the entire
history of first-person shooters, the gamer has had an
unsatisfying choice between replaying the level up to
the point of death or feeling guilty for quicksaving
along the way. Prey resolves this issue in a manner that
is fun and fits in with the story. Upon death, the player
is sent to a spirit-realm Duck Hunt dubbed "deathwalk" where
increased accuracy results in increased health. This
solution allows for seamless gameplay when death occurs.
There's no need to constantly quicksave or to un-immerse
yourself from the game with a quickload when you die.
I loved it. (Quicksaving/loading is still available,
and masochists are free to load from the level beginning,
as always.)
Another great innovation
is the use of dynamic gravity as a level design tool.
Since most of the game takes place on an orbiting spacecraft,
gravity is a malleable force creatively manipulated
to make floors out of walls, ceilings out
of floors,
and
completely
new
ways to traverse the tried-and-true corridors of FPS
past. This tactic becomes a force multiplier for content
density as the player travels through the same areas
multiple times with completely different pathing.
Vehicles are available
in a number of the game's later levels. Control is quick
to learn and wide-open environments are a welcome addition
to the already-thoughtful corridors. A tractor beam lets
you pick up your enemies, lift them high above, then
send them plunging to a satisfying demise. The weapons
in Prey are varied, including a shotgun-like Acid Gun,
a rifle (with sniper scope), grenades and corresponding
launchers, plus a Leech Gun with characteristics that
change as you visit different ammo stations. You'll have
to think about which weapon works best for which enemy
and environment if you want to avoid unnecessary trips
to the deathwalk. One minor touch that I really liked
was that your light isn't a flashlight, but a lighter
-- how cool is that?
By game's end, you'll have
experienced some intense shoot-em-ups, solved a number
of satisfying puzzles, and participated in an engaging
story. The element of fun is woven throughout all of
this, without any sense that filler levels were added
to extend the hours played. Prey is a tight game that
brings some fresh ideas to a classic style of gaming.
I enjoyed it tremendously. - Last Update
6/14/08
