The gaming industry, for better or worse, enjoys comparing themselves to the movie industry. Call it insecurity, call it a benchmark, but for years now we’ve heard talk of the need to make games more “cinematic”. From the old FMV games, to the deluge of cut-scenes, it can be argued that games have never quite achieved that goal of completely weaving quality gameplay with the cinematic feel of Hollywood movies.

In development for the better part of a decade, 3D Realms’ Prey, despite some significant flaws, is a definitely positive step in reaching that cinematic sweet spot. From the engrossing introduction and opening credits, to the suggestive epilogue, Prey does a great job of finally making the player feel as though he is playing through a Hollywood blockbuster. But as would be expected, it often does so at the expense of the game.

Yes, Prey is a short - and quite easy - FPS. The entire adventure will last you only six to seven hours, and there is no replay value to speak of. Furthermore, the path from beginning to end is incredibly linear, allowing for little improvisation or exploration. Despite this, it can be argued that the length of the game is necessarily short to keep the player focused on the story, and that would be an argument I could accept. From start to finish, I never lost sight of the goal: rescue Tommy’s girlfriend and get the hell out off that alien spacecraft and back to my home on the Cherokee reservation. I didn’t have to worry about countless subquests, complicated side plots, or the back-stories of a half dozen playable characters. I was Tommy, a disillusioned Native American who was minding my business at my girlfriend’s bar, when out of nowhere myself, along with my girlfriend, grandfather, and the entire bar were sucked up onto a spacecraft. And in case I forgot along the way, Tommy liked to talk to himself, reminding me of the task at hand. Furthermore, the alien’s radar equipment is conveniently tuned to Art Bell’s radio call-in show, keeping me apprised of the situation back on Earth.

While 3D Realms did a great job of keeping the story moving, there were a few glaring problems. First, Tommy is desperate to get off the reservation and forget his Indian heritage. He refers to the beliefs of his grandfather as “mystic bullshit”. Yet when he enters the spirit world and his grandfather tells him to exit his body, Tommy does so with ease and acts as though he’s been doing it his entire life. Why not put a more in-depth training mission in there in order to flesh out the story? Secondly, the story of “mother” and the reasons for her interest in Tommy and the spirit world are somewhat fuzzy, making the end battle a little anticlimactic. Despite Tommy’s inability to “die”, I still wasn’t convinced that he was so easily able to emerge victorious final confrontation after all the preceding exposition.

Which brings me to my next point: Tommy is unable to “die” in the traditional gaming sense, thus making Prey a cakewalk for even casual gamers. When Tommy runs out of health, he enters the spirit world, which is essentially a Stonehenge-like area. Flying around Tommy’s head are red birds and blue birds. By shooting the red birds, Tommy gains health, and by shooting the blue birds, Tommy gains spirit energy, which translates to ammunition for his spirit bow. This shooting gallery lasts for an average of fifteen seconds after which you’re transported to the exact place and situation you left. In other words, there is no penalty for running out of health. Simply wait for fifteen seconds, and even if you don’t shoot any red birds, you are still given half of your health meter.

Prey certainly has the big budget effects mastered. The level sets are enormous and mightily impressive. Floating on the outer realm of the space station is especially exciting, and the crazy gravity and perspective effects thrown at you definitely kick some ass…for a while. Players are required to solve a number of puzzles by manipulating gravity. For example, if you see a door up on the ceiling, chances are you’ll have to flip gravity around. Also, you’ll encounter quite a few portals within rooms that transport you to different areas. These are great effects, but after a while they simply become doors to new areas, thus lessening the “wow” factor. Nevertheless, the shifting gravity, and crazy perspectives are nice touches that set Prey apart and keep it from being a run-of-the-mill FPS.

These effects also come into play heavily in the multiplayer mode. There’s nothing quite like running around on the ceiling in order to get the drop on your opponent. Unfortunately, the variety of modes are extremely lacking, meaning Prey will likely be in your “finished” pile rather quickly.

It’s hard to completely fault Prey for its brevity as making it longer could certainly have jeopardized the effectiveness of its story. That being said, it’s clear that Prey doesn’t completely achieve the proper balance of game and story. Whether it’s the fact that Tommy cannot die, or the symbols placed on the floor to let players know when they need to enter the spirit world, Prey leads the player by the nose to the end and despite a decent finish, it certainly doesn’t provide much satisfaction. Therefore, for sixty bones, Prey is a game you definitely should play. But you’ll be better served giving it rental or waiting for a price drop.




Article By: John