Prey - Xbox One Gaming Review
Posted on: 2017-06-05
Our rating:
At E3 2016 Bethesda did something that we were not expecting by announcing a reboot of the series simply titled Prey and everyone was excited, now it’s finally out is it a worthy successor to the original? Yes.
The original Prey came out on the PC and Xbox 360 all the way back in 2005 and was an interesting first person shooter published by 3D Realms which was stuck in development hell. The game had unique gameplay with portals and gravity defying physics which made for some interesting puzzles and combat scenarios. Prey 2 was announced back in 2009 and Bethesda picked up the rights and teased us with gameplay in 2011, however, due to conflicts between the developer and the publisher the game was swiftly cancelled and nothing was heard for another 5 years.
You play as Morgan Yu a man or woman depending which gender you choose at the start who is a scientist who wakes up and goes to work on a normal work day. It’s not a long before everything goes wrong and your workplace is attacked by aliens called the Typhon which kill everyone. You pass out and realise that you’re not on Earth but on a space station and everything was an illusion. You have been living a false life where the space station you’re on has created scenarios to simulate being on Earth. The premise of the game is interesting as it has a Truman Show vibe because you’re living in a fake world without you knowing about it where you then break out of the bubble and face the truth.
The game is not tied to one genre with different aspects from first person shooters, role playing games like Bioshock and elements of survival horror like Resident Evil where you have few resources and you have to manage your inventory. The game really emphasises caution because if you try to play it like a traditional shooter it will punish you because you’ll run out of ammunition quickly and die. You’ll traverse the space station searching for resources which you can then put into a machine called the recycler, which you can then use the recycled materials in the fabricator which can craft new weapons and ammo. The game encourages you to pick up everything that isn’t nailed to the floor because it may look like junk but it is more than likely to be useful later down the line.
There are a wide variety of weapons to play around with such as the unremarkable but useful wrench which is good for dispatching Mimics to the more creative glue gun. The glue gun can freeze enemies which you can then proceed to smash them to bits, but it can be used in non-offensive situations such as plugging up leaking gas pipes to creating platforms to get to precarious places.
You can upgrade Morgan via Neuro mods which are devices that you stick in your eye which then transfer new skills to the character and these can range from being able to lift heavier objects or hacking high-level security. They are scattered in hidden places throughout the game and are good for making certain situations less of a burden.
The Typhon enemies generally take two forms you have humanoid like enemies and the Mimics which take on a crab-like form. The Mimics can take the form of any object from coffee cups, ammo you pick up and even weapons you find scattered around the place, this is great because it keeps you on your toes and encourages you to be cautious rather than running around like a fool.
The art design is good this game is made by the same development studio that made Dishonoured so the game doesn’t shoot for a realistic look as it goes for a more exaggerated style with the character models. The space station looks fantastic with dark corridors with flashing warning lights, with warm glows of fire this is a place that has truly gone to hell and they nail that aspect with the presentation. The atmosphere is tense and creepy coupled with the eerie soundtrack composed by Mick Gordon who also did the fantastic Doom soundtrack with subtle synth musical cues when enemies are near.
The only problems I have with this game is that it has a bad habit of killing you out of nowhere with random junction boxes that shoot lightning taking half of your health bar away which can catch you off guard when you’re low on health. Another issue is the Mimic enemies, they can attack you off-screen and it turns into a situation where you’re randomly swinging your wrench and running low on stamina.
Prey is a different interpretation of the original 2005 title it mixes genres from Resident Evil and Bioshock and balances them perfectly to create a tense and engaging experience. Was it worth the 12 year wait for a sequel? Absolutely!
4/5
Article by:
Sam has lived in Bristol all his life. A keen cyclist he speeds around the city but video games are his bread and butter. Whether the old Nes and Snes games or the XBox One and Playstation releases he loves them all. Sam runs his own gaming blog called Bristolian Gamer where he had been reviewing indie games, doing retro reviews and venting his anger at the industry when it does wrong since 2010. Sam joined the 365Bristol team in December 2014.
