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Prey is touted as having an adaptive difficulty system -- the better you are, the better it gets -- and it really did seem to get harder as the game went on. As a result, there are just two difficulty settings, Normal and Cherokee, and I'd advise that even vets might want to give Normal a try on the first run out, letting the game's artificial intelligence pick up the pace to a comfortable level.
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Prey is a masterpiece that simply should not be missed. [Aug 2006, p.80]
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95Prey is an old school shooter with better standards than the shooters we've seen lately. It has its flaws, but they're overshadowed by its quality and innovation.
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95The game that "Doom 3" and "Quake 4" wished they could be. It's ruthlessly violent and action-packed, yet consistently subversive and innovative -- not unlike "Duke Nukem 3D," another 3D Realms-produced game. It's also one of the least frustrating games we've ever played.
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Prey has the tired old first-person shooter rulebook in a spin. Captivating stuff. [Sept 2006, p.62]
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90With some truly imaginative level design, a compelling story with dramatic highlights, good voice acting and dialog, and more interesting weapons, Prey earns a spot on this shooter fan's hard drive.
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90While not exactly as breathtaking as "Half-Life 2," Prey can rightfully be called one of the best, if not *the* best FPS game of the year so far.
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A fresh and exciting step forward in a market that always threatens to be staid and blinkered, and I hope future games will steal (not borrow) its innovation, its excitement and style.
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While Prey brings a lot of innovation and fun with it, it's not quite the system-shattering killer app that a decade of delay should promise. It is, however, a solid FPS with many never before seen features and an interesting and original storyline.
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90It manages to do the expected FPS stuff well while adding some new mechanics that spice things up. Good use of the Doom 3 engine makes the presentation superb, as well.
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It's exactly like one of those big-budget Hollywood summer blockbusters: You wish it gave your brain as much of a work-out as your finger, but there's no question that its superb action, terrific pacing, and actual puzzles combine to make Prey the best single-player first-person shooter since "HalfLife 2." [Sept. 2006, p.73]
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90Plot holes aside, the gameplay in Prey is nothing short of amazing. Whether you're wandering up walls, shifting gravity, shrunk down to the size of a mouse, going into spirit form, fighting in the afterlife, or floating around in a service vehicle... Prey has got everything anyone could want from a sci-fi shooter and more.
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And even though the single-player is extremely linear and might be a bit short for certain tastes – you can complete it in less than 6 hours – Prey manages to avoid being a game released just for financial reasons. And considering its finale – the one after the Credits mind you – I sincerely hope that Human Head will continue the series with even more wackier ideas.
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88The graphics are top notch as well, very clean and distinct. Items are easily recognizable and the line of sight is strong.
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Ten years of waiting has paid off: Prey is a fine shooter with good playability and graphics. It doesn't bring anything truly innovative to the genre, but what it does, it does pretty well, and stuff like portals and gravity tricks make preying a lot of fun. [Aug 2006, p.40]
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87I was able to breeze through Prey in around nine hours--probably because of how easy it is to resurrect yourself after death--making it a short but very sweet game. And definitely worth the wait. [Sep 2006, p.43]
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What starts out as just another "corridor FPS", turned into a game that grows as you play, and sucks you in.
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It's a wonderful single-player game, full of fascinating Cherokee flavor, well-made sci-fi trimmings and a suitably cheesy plot.
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86It's so pregnant with ideas and beautiful movements that you'd be a sad fool to to deprive yourself of the experience. If the sequel is longer, a bit more difficult, and plays slightly more intelligently, then I can't imagine it being anything other than a Classic. [Aug 2006, p.58]
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It has a solid story, incredible visuals, and a new approach to an age-old formula. [Sept 2006, p.57]
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85Prey offers impressive visuals, a decent story, and high-octane action to bring players the equivalent of an outstanding summer action flick.
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85While the game features some new innovation that we’ll be seeing in upcoming games you do have to wonder about the value the game brings as the single player side of the game is a bit on the short side and the multiplayer is a bit on the generic side.
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85It features fantastic level design that make a fresh change from the usual FPS fodder. Coupled with a captivating and well told storyline, Prey comes together to be the game of choice if you are looking for an FPS that, if not perfect, actually does something new for the genre.
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84It will scare you silly and make you dizzy and when you finish the game you will likely not forget some of the things you encountered for some time. Again, we wish it was a longer experience and we feel not enough was done with multiplayer but on the whole it’s definitely worth picking up.
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84Flawed but undoubtedly fun. An endearing spectacular shooter. [Sept 2006, p.92]
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84Prey brings some unique storytelling and great, interesting features, but it just lacks the polish required to make this game a top-quality shooter.
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82For all its singleplayer niggles of slightly gutless, meagre gunplay, the astonishing-looking Prey is often great fun, occasionally very creepy and frequently highly impressive. Just don't go taking it seriously. [Aug 2006, p.74]
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81From a perspective outside the nitpicking, it's a really fun game; it's scary, fast, brutal, and very well executed. Despite its shortcomings, it's still definitely worth playing. It's not perfect, but it's damn close at times.
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While most shooters handle the genre's design tradition like fragile cargo, careful to ensure that its arrangement of pieces doesn't fall into disarray, Prey cranks it like a Rubik's cube, cocking its world delightfully askew. [Sept 2006, p.76]
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80Prey is a masterpiece of design, but there are a few niggles that slightly mar the overall experience rather than the immediate game. It’s likely that you won’t even notice them until you’ve finished playing and are debating its merits with friends. [Aug 2006, p.106]
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80While the combat mechanics of the underlying Doom 3 engine are not up to the level of "SiN Episodes Emergence" or "Half-Life 2: Episode One," this is a solid shooter that adult fans of the genre should definitely check out.
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80It could have been much better if only there were more than two modes (deathmatch and team deathmatch) and a couple of maps small enough to play with less than five players, but Prey is still a major blast for shooter fans with strong stomachs.
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While good science fiction creates coherent, convincing futuristic technology and explores its ramifications, Prey is simply built around a bunch of neat ideas like wall walking and invisibility. This makes Prey very bad science fiction, but the game works wonderfully as a surreal nightmare.
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80If only the Native American mysticism had figured in more. If only the spirit "death walk" had developed into something more than a shooting gallery. If only the voice acting and storytelling were a little better. If only there were more than just deathmatch to the multiplayer. All those half steps...but even combined, they don't amount to a stride backward.
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It may not have the richest or most original shooter experience, but it does give plenty of fast-paced FPS action to keep your adrenaline pumping.
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80Prey is worth playing for its striking technology and story, and what they bring to the gameplay. It’s too bad that the impressive moments had to be separated by monotony, but that doesn’t make them any less extraordinary when they happen.
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80A polished and exciting ride, carefully calculated for 80 percent thrills and 20 percent brain teasers.
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80As a first-person shooter, Prey makes up in design for what it lacks in depth. The game moves along swiftly, balancing a strong narrative with solid puzzle-solving and some very tasty eye candy.
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Despite a flimsy storyline that's riddled with cavernous gaps in logic, Prey's rollercoaster ride of gun-toting action delivers the punch of a blockbuster movie.
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Even though Prey is far too short, devoid of any challenge and guaranteed to leave you disappointed, it still manages to be one of the finest old school first person shooters out there.
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76Prey is a good game, but I think it will underwhelm people’s expectations because those expectations were astronomically high.
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75Prey's campaign won't take too long, and it's rarely difficult, which makes it a solid choice if you're looking for an easy weekend romp. But much of the game's potential for unique thrills feels wasted by its straightforward level design, and the multiplayer doesn't add much to the package.
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Sadly, the teleportation and wall-walking feel like incidental obstacles: The path through the game is so linear that you never really explore the new experiences, such as staring at the back of your own head through a portal, or stalking up a giant wall while aliens shoot at you from the ceiling.
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Despite all of the new graphical features, Prey innovates little and borrows heavily from tried and true predecessors.
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A co-op mode would have been wonderful, a more fleshed out story-line, additional levels that didn’t take place in dark corridors that herded you from A to B without fail, more multiplayer options; these are all things that should be expected of games being released on next-generation consoles.
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70A game high on fun, packed with action, but not without a number of infuriating problems.
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70I can sum this up with one tired phrase. Been there, done that. There’s a little bit here that’s new, and the game looks great (and just like "Doom 3"), but this is really just covering the same old ground.
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70The story isn't much to speak of, and the combat feels somewhat dated, but the gravity tricks and spirit abilities provide plenty of memorable moments, and the addition of the Death Walk keeps the game from succumbing to the frustrations that so many other shooters fall, well, prey to.
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67The main elements that work against it are the length, the somewhat generic and stale pacing towards the middle-point of the campaign, and the fact that the portal system really wasn’t pushed as far as possible.
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60Monotonous it can be, but it’s rarely frustrating or difficult to play. That said, if it was released in 1998 it could have been genre-defining, in 2006 it is merely genre-filling.
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It presently seems content merely treading ground already covered in "Half-Life 2," "Doom 3" and "Quake 4." Despite its lofty intentions, this brave’s promise of innovation is as empty as the tears of a fake Indian chief.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 66 out of 87
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Mixed: 7 out of 87
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Negative: 14 out of 87
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TedD10
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SoulPaladin4