Prey

[geekinabox]

So ... Prey's out now. I played the demo and enjoyed the single player (though the gameplay and environments were/was rather too linear and guided) and the multiplayer was a bit too laggy.

I'm on the fence as whether to drop the $60 ... i want something with lasting replay value (a great multiplayer experience would be a key here).

Who's got it ? Any comments ? And Why the hell are you reading this post instead of playing it ?

[TRIGGER M4N]

This is like the 3rd thread about this now.

[Curry]

2nd, and the previous one was about the demo :+

I myself have preordered the game, but as usual us Europeans have to wait again: I'm expecting it here Friday. Wasn't interested until the demo, but it awakened my attention, so bring it on :)

[kidkit]

I don't like i enough to own but maybe i should split a copy with my brother... there's a good idea :)

[Daan]

I know I'm going to get this this fall, I'm saving up for some other things first.

[Curry]

I know I'm going to get this this fall, I'm saving up for some other things first.
I don't think I'll like Prey online much, so perhaps you can buy my copy after I'm done with SP :)

[VerbalKint27]

I really can't see this as online title, but I reckon single player will be excellent. Especially after that demo. Totally swung me cause I wasn't interested.

I'll buy it, play it, then trade it in later down the line...

[Daan]

@Curry: yeah, that'd work, but my parents are hestitant about those kind of arrangements ;)

[Curry]

@Curry: yeah, that'd work, but my parents are hestitant about those kind of arrangements ;)I'm not a random stranger alright :P

[Zerodisorder]

I hear its pretty short tho, I watched the review on gamespot and they said it was the basic 8 to 12 hours, but to me thats not basic...for 60 dollars..i want a little more than basic 8 to 12 hours....

[Curry]

I did Tomb Raider in about 8 as well... and that doesn't have a multiplayer to save it. *shrug* :)

[Nino]

A 6 hour long Doom 3 mod is not worth my money, sorry.

[VerbalKint27]

Its hardly a doom Mod...

[Shiverzz]

Well, just finished the PC version yesterday (looks a hell of a lot better than the 360 version imho :X ). It had me occupied for about 7 hours, and I didn't even rush it...just stood there occasionally, lookin' at the scenery B) and enjoying the overall level design. This game may be short, but it's obvious 3D Realms have put a lot of thought in this game.

All in all I have to say that, for me personally, the poor amount of gameplay doesn't justify the €55,- you have to drop for the 360 version of this game.

[VerbalKint27]

Wasn't expecting it to be a long experience, will tide me over for a week or so, then will going back as a trade in once some new games are out...

[Nino]

Its hardly a doom Mod...

Maybe I'm overreacting but every Doom III engine game so far comes off as a Doom III mod, they all have the same grey and red atmosphere in tight spaces with massive ammounts of normal/bump-maps. The Unreal 3 engine doesn't seem to have this problem, look at Gears of War and then at Dead Rising, those two don't look alike at all but they do share the same engine...

[Studley]

This game has "rental title" written all over it. Interesting enough in a gimmicky way, you can get most of the achievements by playing through the single-player mode, but I doubt I'd want to play through it twice (I rarely do with FPS's, unless they're on the "epic" scale like Half-Life). There's no way I want to spend £50 on it.

I didn't try multiplayer on the demo, what's it like? With the gravity changing and stuff, does that mean you've got opponents running around on the walls/ceiling? That sounds cool

[VerbalKint27]

Maybe I'm overreacting but every Doom III engine game so far comes off as a Doom III mod, they all have the same grey and red atmosphere in tight spaces with massive ammounts of normal/bump-maps. The Unreal 3 engine doesn't seem to have this problem, look at Gears of War and then at Dead Rising, those two don't look alike at all but they do share the same engine...

To be fair, its a dark game set in space, its going to look a little like Doom... In fact I'd be a little miffed if they'd done it with bright colours etc because then the story just doesn't work...

[Shiverzz]

I didn't try multiplayer on the demo, what's it like? With the gravity changing and stuff, does that mean you've got opponents running around on the walls/ceiling? That sounds cool
That’s basically it really. Typical run and gun action combined with the gravity gimmick. Don’t expect the MP replay value of GRAW though. It’s just a nice little extra to a fun but waaaay too short SP experience.

[Chris]

Well, just finished the PC version yesterday (looks a hell of a lot better than the 360 version imho :X .

What displays have you seen the pc version/360 version on?

[Zerodisorder]

I played the pc demo and the 360 demo, and I thought they were closer in apperance than any other games that have been on both systems... but for the money you'd have to pay to let your pc run it, id rather just play on the 360.

[Freakizoid]

I have to agree with the doom 3 mod comment. The overall darkness is a put off simply because they dont use it. In doom 3 stuff constantly jumped out of the dark at you, utilizing the enviornment. In prey, every enemy is announced by a rift or portal screaming HEY LOOK AT ME.

[Curry]

My copy shipped today, will be in tomorrow :)

[PRIVATE VALSAM]

I have to agree with the doom 3 mod comment. The overall darkness is a put off simply because they dont use it. In doom 3 stuff constantly jumped out of the dark at you, utilizing the enviornment. In prey, every enemy is announced by a rift or portal screaming HEY LOOK AT ME.

Yes but they say exactly the same line other enemies hanging down from ceilings like bats as well :-) When you look at them its already late.

Anyway the ceiling walking thing is absolutely brilliant new addition to the
FPS genre and its super extra fun in multiplayer modes.

I'll have to agree that the story line is very short though.
If you can rent the game, do just that. If you cant and still like space action
sci-fi thiller games , go ahead and buy it ! You wont regret the purchase.

I am waiting for my pre-ordered piece to arrive any day now.

[kidkit]

I got a copy on my shelf at home, today seems like a good day to play some games.

[Curry]

I got a copy on my shelf at home, today seems like a good day to play some games.Not in your recent games yet? ;)

[kidkit]

Stuck at work still.. it will be there soon... Unless a certain miss calls ;)

[Nino]

To be fair, its a dark game set in space, its going to look a little like Doom... In fact I'd be a little miffed if they'd done it with bright colours etc because then the story just doesn't work...

I agree with the setting bit but that should be the exact reason they should'nt use the Doom 3 engine for those types of games. Same engine + same setting = same graphics, something I find rather boring. Look at Halo or Unreal Tournament for instance, both are shooters that the place in space but they don't look-a-like as much as Doom 3, Quake for and Prey do.

[Shiverzz]

What displays have you seen the pc version/360 version on?
Same display, similar settings. I just noticed that the graphical difference between the two versions was a lot bigger than for instance with the 360/PC version of GRAW.

[VerbalKint27]

I agree with the setting bit but that should be the exact reason they should'nt use the Doom 3 engine for those types of games. Same engine + same setting = same graphics, something I find rather boring. Look at Halo or Unreal Tournament for instance, both are shooters that the place in space but they don't look-a-like as much as Doom 3, Quake for and Prey do.

Ahh but, if i may play devils advocate...

Halo is meant to be a colourful game, lush outdoor levels, the aliens are designed to be colourful and as such the same goes for their architecture. The story and setting is somewhat 'lighter' and all action based as opposed to Prey/Doom.

In non ling-winded explaination. Halo isn' meant to be a 'dark' game, Prey is. Both have totally set out to achieve different things.

The reason for this will be down to the way its percieved. In Halo isn't a scary game, its not really meant to be, its a time of war, in Prey its meant to be taken as everything is 'unknown' you don't know what to expect, thus that dark look suits it...

[Chris]

Same display, similar settings. I just noticed that the graphical difference between the two versions was a lot bigger than for instance with the 360/PC version of GRAW.

So you own the same game on two different platforms?

If yes: WHY!

[Shiverzz]

No, I should have mentioned I compared the 360’s demo to the PC’s full game.

[Curry]

Full game is fun :)

[TRIGGER M4N]

Full game is fun :)

On a scale of 1 to 10? I need a review, because if this is no good, I'm going to buy a pre-owned copy of Half-life 2 for Xbox till Dead Rising arrives on my door step.

[Curry]

I haven't gotten much farther than what the demo provided so far. All in all, it's intense though. For single player so far I'd be fair with an 8.

I've completed chapter 5 of 22 in about 1.5 hours though. I'd done the first 5 chapters of the demo first though so I knew what to expect.

VerbalKint will be doing our Xboxic review, I think he also got it today.

[Nino]

No, I should have mentioned I compared the 360’s demo to the PC’s full game.

I'm going to play the devil's advocate as well : the textures in the Prey X360 demo are of a lower res than those in the full game to keep the filesize lower.

@Verbalkint: yeah true, Halo is a lighter game but I still don't see why every Doom III engine game has to look alike...

[VerbalKint27]

I'm going to play the devil's advocate as well : the textures in the Prey X360 demo are of a lower res than those in the full game to keep the filesize lower.

@Verbalkint: yeah true, Halo is a lighter game but I still don't see why every Doom III engine game has to look alike...

Would depend on the outlook of the game.

If the story was more lighthearted, it probably would look different.

[VerbalKint27]

Had chance to put a good hour into this game tonite (finally!), and its great.

If you are playing this, make sure you have a good play with the brightness/gamma, the the higher the gamma, the smoother the edges seem.

Tho from what I gather this is just a standard TV issue.

[Curry]

It is an issue with the Doom 3 engine though that somehow there is always that global "sauce" that makes it so easily identifiable as the D3 engine, and I'm not a big fan of that. Doesn't bother too much with Prey though as it uses the engine in a lot of new and creative ways as well.

[Ponder416]

A few friends say it really cool, so im renting it for some gp

[Curry]

Def worth it imho :)

and nice new gamertag 8)7

[VerbalKint27]

Finished it today, played it most of the day.

Great game overall, a little short, but I've no problems with short games if they entertain, and this entertained. The story is esquisite. More on that soon, in my upcoming review.

[kidkit]

If a game is too long it won't hold my attention unless it's phenominal... I have A.D.D. or something, that's why I like twitchy multiplayer games so much. =]

[jayc]

Good to read all the positive comments about this game. Just picked it up today to check out for myself.

[xYouGot0wnedx]

I have this game,and I like the Single Player and Multiplayer.The single player has easy achievements,and a very good story.The multiplayer,is fun,because it's something different,because it's fast paced.I know other games have done it fast paced,but this is pretty fun either way.

[Zerodisorder]

I enjoyed the single player quite a bit even thought it was short, and the multiplayer isnt bad, but I wish there was more variety in the multiplayer game types...i mean jsut deathmatch and team deathmatch...maybe they'll have a download for more content like capture the flag or other game modes... oh and hey owned..i didn't even notice it was you who wrote the message lol..guess ya like the site :P

[xYouGot0wnedx]

I enjoyed the single player quite a bit even thought it was short, and the multiplayer isnt bad, but I wish there was more variety in the multiplayer game types...i mean jsut deathmatch and team deathmatch...maybe they'll have a download for more content like capture the flag or other game modes... oh and hey owned..i didn't even notice it was you who wrote the message lol..guess ya like the site :P
Loving the site actually.

[Zerodisorder]

lol good to hear that man.

[Nekro Neko]

I played the demo and quite enjoyed it for what it showed me. But I wont pay for it at £40+. In fact, I wont pay more than £25 for it. Tomb Raider Legends will have to come down to £15-£20 before I will be tempted to get that. Prey seems like a more unique FPS than most though.

Don't ask why I comented on TRL, I couldn't tell ya.

[Curry]

I'm really liking Prey despite that I haven't had a chance to actually complete it yet ;) I'll go try that again now :P

The Blackjack achievement is nigh on impossible btw on an SDTV, I can barely see the numbers on the card no matter where I stand :X

[Zerodisorder]

yea i agree with you, hard to read what the cards are so ya kinda jsut hit buttons and when you have people watching ya play you pretend liek the games cheating or something lol..i got very lucky in getting the achievement..but its cause i kept my cool 8) ... :P

[Curry]

*megakick*

I'm stuck in Chapter 11, and I suspect it's a game glitch. I dropped out of an air duct onto a small platform outside, where I got attacked by a bunch of flying robots. Having shot them all, I can't return into the duct (too high), I can't drop off the platform (will die, even as spirit form), and there's nowhere else to go to. All that is there are 3 boxes on the platform itself, and that's it. I'm rather at a loss where to go now.... anyone?

[Curry]

Was a glitch yeah... took a savegame (last one I still had was more than a chapter ago...) and retraced my steps. In the same location I now did get the scripted event that opened a portal :(

[Zerodisorder]

Was a glitch yeah... took a savegame (last one I still had was more than a chapter ago...) and retraced my steps. In the same location I now did get the scripted event that opened a portal :(
I'm glad you found the problem of the glitch out, and hope your enjoying the game.

[Cage]

Was a glitch yeah... took a savegame (last one I still had was more than a chapter ago...) and retraced my steps. In the same location I now did get the scripted event that opened a portal :(
This story scares me.. I only use 1 savegame when I play a game. Guess I'll have to start saving more often with atleast 2 savegames in the future..;(

[Rival24]

This story scares me.. I only use 1 savegame when I play a game. Guess I'll have to start saving more often with atleast 2 savegames in the future..;(
That's generally a good idea for every game you play. I've recently posted my nightmare story about Red Faction somewhere on this forum :P

[Curry]

This story scares me.. I only use 1 savegame when I play a game. Guess I'll have to start saving more often with atleast 2 savegames in the future..;(
Every game has scripted events and is such open to problems like this. My guess is that one of the flying robots got stuck under the exact ledge I was standing on. But yeah, using 1 savegame can always give troubles such as the infamous saving 2 seconds before death etc.

Btw Prey patch is out that solves multiplayer lag and several bugs in the game.

[Zerodisorder]

Does it seem to fix it?

[Chris]

Watch out for saving problems in Dead Rising.

[Curry]

Does it seem to fix it?No idea I just played singleplayer after the patch arrived and was already beyond the buggy part :P

[Curry]

Completed the game and I must confess: I actually liked it ;) The farther you get into the game, the more impressive the story and setting get actually, and the boss fights were indeed "disturbing" :)

[Zerodisorder]

Yea I was very impressed by the single player even though it was short, congratulations on finishing the game.

[Scarbir]

I'm not really stuck, but I saved on a point that I don't really want to pick the game up. Spirits of two little kids playing tag with you and meanwhile try to kill you, who you can only beat as a spirit yourself - while the kids are attacking your body. Man, that freaks me out.

[Curry]

Don't attack the kids, find the half opened door in that room that allows you to escape into a small corridor.

[Nekro Neko]

I bought this game for £24, is it worth that? Waiting for it to arrive through the post now.

[Curry]

Definitely, single player is very enjoyable and I had fun with the MP too :)

[xboxguy]

That's generally a good idea for every game you play. I've recently posted my nightmare story about Red Faction somewhere on this forum :P

i use 5 game saves when playing RE4 on my cube.

the prey demo seemed a little too generic for me, maybe i'm just getting bored of video games....oh the horror...

[Scarbir]

Everyone has his dips trj156. I'll probably have my next when the new controls of the Wii don't seem to work as good as they should and the games for it don't support online gaming.

Oh and thanks Curry. I'll pick it up again after I finished Lego Star Wars II. Man, that game rocks!

[Bramble]

A 6 hour long Doom 3 mod is not worth my money, sorry.

I played Doom 3 and thought it was awful. Prey is brilliant fun, has a fun storyline and is far more playable and user friendly than doom ever was imho. Yes its a little short but it was well worth it - quality not quantity ;)

[Scarbir]

Can't agree with you on all points, but we share the hate-Doom-3-like-Prey, that is a given.

[Bramble]

Can't agree with you on all points, but we share the hate-Doom-3-like-Prey, that is a given.

Yup I hated Doom 3 with a passion, how could half life 2 get it so right while that was such tripe? The torch OR gun system mad me stunningly angry to the point that I gave up playing it.

Still atleast the film was good :drunk: NOT!

[Curry]

the prey demo seemed a little too generic for me, maybe i'm just getting bored of video games....oh the horror...
Story gets much better and involving as the game progresses :)

On Doom 3: yeah I made it to the part where the outbreak starts and then an hour through unlit rooms repeating the same torch -> find enemy -> gun him down procedure continuously all the time. I was so happy when Half-Life 2 turned out a zillion times better.

[Zerodisorder]

Half life 2 on the computer. It's so so on the xbox, hopefully when put on the 360 it'll play more like the pc version.