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Prey is a title that’s taken the usual 3D Realms
approach to videogame design: announce it as soon as possible, and
keep them waiting. Although we didn’t see the game in the form we
now recognise  until early 2005, the rumours and brief hints have
been floating around for nigh-on eleven years. Patents of the new Gravitational
Engine and development ideas have been in the sight of industry
insiders alongside tech-demos of what could be possible. And
now, in 2006, we have the machine to do justice to the possibilities
of this innovative new game engine, the Xbox360.
Prey is a heavily story-driven First-Person Shooter
that aims to push the boundaries of the genre’s conventions.
Through the use of an in-game narrative comparable to the likes of Half-Life
2, Prey distances itself from the traditional
run-of-the-mill produce and draws the player closer to the action.
Recently, a major topic of discussion in the industry has been that
of the emotive; can videogames offer a response close to movie
production? Can a player relate to a character in a videogame in the
same way they do in films? Although it’s going to be quite some
time till both industries are held hand-in-hand, anyone questioning
the basis of videogame production as a progressive invitational gaze
into the ideology of its developers had better play Prey –
from start to finish – with  open eyes.
The story takes form on its own and the action is built
around this. The Level design ranges from clean-cut to grid-like
mazes and flows through each with ease. Failing to confound the
player with its irrational changes between areas, the game instead
causes occasional headaches through the use of its much-touted Gravitational
Engine. The Engine relies on the player wishing to be
disorientated. There is no up, nor down, no pre-determined floor or
ceiling and no distinct address as to which is essential. The player
decides how to progress and, whilst many areas later in the game
involve gravitational changes to solve puzzle elements, the tactical
possibilities far out-weigh the linear, pre-constructed aspects of
the Unique-Selling-Point of the title. It’s within this aspect
that Prey excels as a true Next-Generation release far ahead
of its contemporary peers. The specifically built engine is more
than robust enough to handle even the most frantic of
gravity-changes mid-play with an astonishing amount of enemies
on-screen following-suit, or not, depending on-their orientation.
As well as having enforced changes within the gravitational
state, there are many occasions in which the player must recalibrate
the origin of the gravity in order to progress. These areas are just
as compelling and involving as those in which it’s simply fun to
be thrown around against your will, however, a couple of corridors
mid-way through  the title raise questions which need never have been
aired. One section in particular involves a series of three
corridors at right-angles with each other, creating a u-bend of
sorts. Each corridor has a Panel allowing for a change in gravity
when shot. This area is its self simply destroys the painstakingly
constructed barrier for the suspension of disbelief – when in one
corridor, changing the gravity with another Panel whilst jumping;
sniping, crouching or any other activity other than standing-still
will confuse the engine somewhat; often resulting in the player
hovering in mid-air, unable to move until the gravity is changed
once again. While this demonstrates that the much-touted Gravitational
Engine may not be as robust as we’d all hoped, it does show
that videogame development has come to embrace the flaws of it’s
heritage and, should a little more time be given to play-testing,
issues like this can be eradicated altogether from videogaming; a
promise that I’m sure no-one will abhor.
The weaponry on offer is distinctive, yet discreditable to
beginners. Offering a total of six weapons throughout the game, most
casual First-Person Shooter players would begin their withdraw
simply because of the low numeral. However, these weapons offer the
standard variety you would expect in First-Person Shooters since the
aftermath of Perfect Dark on the Nintendo64 and Unreal
Tournament 2004 on the PC. Each has a Secondary Function –
although  a couple, even when playing through to completion, seem to
offer little more than a reflection of their Primary Function – on
the L Trigger with the Primary Function on the R Trigger, the
commonplace set-up for the Xbox360.
The Multi-Player aspect of the title, as a comparison to the
Single-Player, feels a little light-weight and quite dated.
Attempting to recreate the archaic action of the first online
First-Person Shooter Deathmatch experiences, much like Metroid
Prime: Hunters, Prey aligns itself alongside the likes of
DOOM and Quake in terms of play and play progression.
Little is required other than a steady aim and itchy trigger-finger.
At first, much like the response to the E3 2006 Multi-Player Demo,
the game feels unrewarding and a near-ignored sideline to the
Single-Player offering. However, with a bit of repeated play through
the several differing Arenas on offer, any player who chooses to
reminisce the days when a Deathmatch was purely a Deathmatch will
feel right at home. Extra depths to strategy can be drawn through
playing players akin to your own level of experience with Ranked
Matches, and finding the niche within the gravity changes and
pathways.
Prey is a package that not only needs to live-up to
its hype to create the buzz it needs to cover its own production
costs, but also needs to ensure the future of 3D Realms new engine
– an engine that has been rather costly to produce. Obviously, the
most tangible asset a developer has for public demonstration and to
raise interest is the  aesthetical nature of a title. Prey
succeeds here, more than any Xbox360 release before it. The height
of the Current Generation’s graphical prowess – Resident Evil
4 on the GameCube – is paralleled by Prey’s
continuous, basic Level design. Textures will leave even the most
hardened gamer clueless when magnified to incredible degrees and the
Real-Time Lighting is simply flawless. During the E3 2006
presentation, the title seemed disjointed in its aesthetics, but
time has done Prey justice, and the fears have been totally
eradicated. This is what the basic Xbox360 release will look like
come early 2007 and, given that Prey is a port of a title
built with priority for PC gamers, it’s an astounding achievement
for a system under-used by most developers, with only seven months
on the shelf.
The sound quality draws close to that of the graphical
accomplishments. With significantly placed sound-bites from Tommy
– the protagonist you play as – and in-game story-driving
Non-Player Characters offering comments, opinions and tall-tales to
endear you further to the human’s plight, the only  essence of a
break in the essential suspension-of-disbelief is the occasional
delay on a few snippets.
There isn’t too much that Prey could possibly do,
with current technology and development ideology, that would enhance
its relationship with the player further than what has been offered.
A few minor issues are easily overlooked, and the reality of a game
with such a high standard of production is in that it excels the
average, half-baked approach to titles that the mainstream will no
doubt determine a comparison – Project Snowblind, Area
51, Black – titles which simply aren’t in the same
league. The calibre of a title such as Prey is one that
cannot be overlooked, even if taken as purely a tech-demo for 3D
Realms Next-Generation approach; it’s a pristinely glossy,
complete and justified tech-demo that rivals the likes of Super
Mario64 DS as an example of how to pull the most from a new
piece of hardware. Technically astute, player aware, and creatively
genius: Prey should not be missed.
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