Do you remember the days when the original Prey was somehow managing to meld the worlds of Native American mythos and abduction fiction into a seamless world of insanity? How about the amazing portal transportation technology that boggled the mind beyond all description? Well if you have no idea what I am talking about, consider yourself lucky, because none of it matters anymore. That’s right folks, the rich back story that was carefully sculpted in the title’s initial outing has been thrown aside, in favor of something more “modern.” While this may be saddening for people such as myself who actually enjoyed the first title, others may see it as a blessing. No matter your stance, this decision will definitely allow the creative minds behind Prey 2 far more leeway when crafting their new universe.
Prey 2 marks a reintroduction of the franchise that is just that: a whole new universe. Gone are the days of Tommy exploring the horrors of alien technology, replaced by a US Marshal turned interstellar bounty hunter named Killian Samuels. After being caught in the same rampage of abductions that snared the original title’s protagonist, Killian fought back against the alien forces, only to be knocked unconscious.
Fast forward several years and Killian comes to, with no recollection of what has occurred over the vast expanses of his memory blackout. All that he knows for sure is that he is no longer under alien control and that he is a bounty hunter of some sort. Setting off to gain some answers about the massive void in his memory, he looks to take on missions and contracts that will help him gain some insight as to what events have transpired to get him where he is now.
Cueing in on a Bladerunner style science fiction vibe, the game picks up right in the heat of the action, while Killian is in the middle of an important contract. The game is hoping to move beyond the linear corridor shooting of the franchise’s prior entry and emphasizes a more vertical form of navigation that would be familiar to those that enjoyed titles like Mirror’s Edge. In another effort to distance themselves from a concretely designed single player campaign, the game now features an open world mission design, where you go to a hub world to receive contracts that will then take you to different locations around the world.
Once the action hits fever pitch it will be hard to once again avoid the comparisons to titles that have a very kinetic combat system, like Mirror’s Edge. Honestly, it was hard to avoid thinking about the similarities at almost every juncture in the demonstration. Though you have the obvious distinction of carrying a firearm at your side, the jumping from platform to platform, climbing up walls, even sliding behind cover felt like you were in the same experience, only in a much darker and grittier environment.
As Killian chased a proposed bounty across the city, there were many different obstacles that could cross your path, including the obvious presence of other armed sentient life forms. This is really the only point that felt even remotely like the original Prey. All of the elements in your arsenal were heavy duty weaponry that could blow a hole in enemies large enough to drive a space freighter through. Plus, there will undoubtedly be plenty of alien weaponry that will be at your disposal once more of the quest lines open up.
What stood out most to me visually was how much the game reeked of Doom 3 in a visual sense. All of the environments shown were very dark, with lights scattered throughout to establish some kind of a spaceport-like ambiance. Probably what made this Doom-esque vibe stand out even more so was the greasy sheen that adorned the skin and of every creature you come in contact with. It is almost as if space has turned all living beings into manikins while you were unconscious. This will hopefully change over the next year or so, as more time can be dedicated to polishing the title’s art assets.
If there were one thing that was being very much emphasized throughout the demo, it was how important a role that choice will play into Prey 2. You will get to choose what missions you want to take, how you approach each bounty, and even whether you chose to take the subject in dead or alive. It remains to be seen if this will have any over-arching influences over how the plot of the game plays out, but we can look forward to learning more about this as the game eases towards release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in 2012.
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