So I played the demo when it came out and even though I really liked it, internet comments that the game's length being around 5 hours made me back down from purchasing it. I'm always disappointed when games take 10 hours or less (for a 50 euros/dollars title) so there was no way I'd get one that only lasts 5, even if you give the proper internet comment discount.

But still, I had liked the demo so a couple of days ago when I saw the game for 20 euros I picked it up. First the bad news, yes the game is awfully short. When I reached the end the game's saves clocked it a hair above the 6 hour mark which jives with my own external counter (6 and a half). I finished the game in two sittings, in the hard difficulty setting, looking at every niche, listening to every radio broadcast, playing with all the arcade machines and even wasting time admiring the level design - and I admired at lot.

Even at hard difficulty, the game is very easy because the developers thought the whole "fight the spirits" mini-game was a good alternative to dying. Not only does it rob the whole fear of death thing, it also becomes quite annoying in the second half of the game. Something that didn't become apparent when I played the demo last year.

On the positive side, I really enjoyed the fire-fights especially when they were combined with the gravity/portal puzzles with very good use of the 3rd dimension which was surprising since the game also shipped for the xbox 360. The spirit powers were refreshing though they do start to repeat a bit in the last few levels. Even the story was interesting. The radio show and all the small bits of Earth that you encounter really ground you (ha!) into the fantasy of being on an alien ship. It was also downright creepy at times, with the part with the school bus freaking me out a bit.

The art design was masterful. I saw comments that the levels get repetitive with all the game metal textures everywhere but this isn't true in the slightest. The organic sets, the moving machinery, the open areas really do provide variety (as an aside I don't know why more people don't complain that 90% of FarCry is spent in the same god damned jungle). The level design is, the best I've seen on DOOM 3 engine (or similar) technology. The use of lights, curves, particle effects is brilliant. Audio design is top notch too and bonus points for the use of recognizable sound tracks.

There aren't too many different alien races, but those that exist have enough variety to keep things interesting and the A.I. is reasonable. The weapons are satisfying and the player physics are solid (based on an id Software engine, these are not surprising). The puzzles are interesting but I wanted more, especially physics ones.

The multiplayer was an afterthough, wait... it looks like an afterthought but it's even worse. I had played it with the demo last year and I still liked it but it was clear it wasn't going anywhere.

All in all, it's a great game and it's a really good FPS but on hindsight I'm very happy with my decision to wait until I could get it for what I did. For me, it's definitely NOT worth 30 euros, let alone 50. So if anyone out there also passed on the game the first time around and can find it for a similar price I recommend it.

I bought the tin box for $20 a while back (right next to it was the non-tin for $50! Go figure!). I loved it. I wouldn't of wanted to pay $50 for it but how many games today you pay $50 for & they make the game longer by making things repeat a lot or you "defend" an area until "help" arrives (always at a pre-determined 5/6 minutes or X baddies killed)?

I found prey didn't let up for the most part. Very original levels, mostly because like in a Zelda or Metroid game, the puzzles were part of the levels. I'd say it's more of an adventure/exploration game then a straight shooter.

I don't think prey get's enough credit, It's brought quite a few new and cool innovations to FPS gaming. It's fun, has an interesting story, beautiful design, my only complaint would be that it was too short. Even with it being short, it's forgivible on account of the content, when I got it I just could'nt put it down for a good month I replayed it four times. I recently got a new video card and I can play it on high quality now, and honestly I have'nt seen a better looking game yet.

One thing that makes me sad is the lack of an MP community. I played Prey deathmatch religiously until for some reason or another people just stopped playing. The multiplayer really breathed new life into a tired old Deathmatch model with the spirit walking, and wall walking, you really had to be on your toes your enemy could be anywhere, on the ceiling, the walls. One dissapointment for me was that you could'nt rocket jump and you when you were wall walking it would'nt allow to jump from wall to wall, that would have been an awesome inclusion. There's virtually nobody playing Prey online anymore, but if you want to try it out you can PM me and we could have a 1 on 1.

I have been wanting to play it online again for quite a while.

One other thing, you should really try this map you won't regret it:

Lost City by BJA

nice review.

i'm gald i'm not the only one that thinks the doom3 engine is still cabale of looking better than what's coming out today.

For me it felt like a high quality Quake 4 mod which is high quality Doom 3 mod, nothing more.

name me one game that isn't a "high quality mod" of something else.

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

Hostyle wrote:

For me it felt like a high quality Quake 4 mod which is high quality Doom 3 mod, nothing more.

It's got completely different story and gameplay, you just looked at the "martian base" atmosphere and wrote it off as aclone without giving it a chance.

Unreal and splinter cell are totally differenet games, ones supposed to be on Earth and realistic, and Unreal is in "Unreal world" or whatever place that is, of course they are going to look different. Doom³ and Prey are both "space" games and are meant to have a dark scary atmosphere, of course they are going to look similar. Quake Wars is the Doom³ engine, does that look just like Doom³?

Hostyle wrote:

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

Unreal 2 felt like a Halo mod. Splinter Cell can unfairly be described as a Hitman: Codename 47 mod. And they weren't even based on the same engines! Isn't trolling fun?

Hostyle wrote:

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

If they're built off the same engine that means they're a mod. According to your definition (elite force played different then Q3A but was build off the same engine & could of been a mod, for example).

The Happy Friar wrote:

Hostyle wrote:

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

If they're built off the same engine that means they're a mod. According to your definition (elite force played different then Q3A but was build off the same engine & could of been a mod, for example).

Dunno, but the feel of Prey and Quake 4 was incredibly simmilar to me which is bad for a game. It felt like Prey is Quake 4 that had new maps and some gravity scipts.

Hostyle wrote:

The Happy Friar wrote:

Hostyle wrote:

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

If they're built off the same engine that means they're a mod. According to your definition (elite force played different then Q3A but was build off the same engine & could of been a mod, for example).

Dunno, but the feel of Prey and Quake 4 was incredibly simmilar to me which is bad for a game. It felt like Prey is Quake 4 that had new maps and some gravity scipts.

You do just mean the single-player right?

Hostyle wrote:

Dunno, but the feel of Prey and Quake 4 was incredibly simmilar to me which is bad for a game. It felt like Prey is Quake 4 that had new maps and some gravity scipts.

I thought Prey was to Quake 4 as Quake Wars was to ET. Better on so many levels it's crazy. I thought Q4 was nowhere near as good (fun & design wise) as Prey.

But to each their own.

The Happy Friar wrote:

name me one game that isn't a "high quality mod" of something else.

Here we go :mrgreen:

sebultura wrote:

Here we go :mrgreen:

you have the guts to even post something like that... :wink:

So I played the demo when it came out and even though I really liked it, internet comments that the game's length being around 5 hours made me back down from purchasing it. I'm always disappointed when games take 10 hours or less (for a 50 euros/dollars title) so there was no way I'd get one that only lasts 5, even if you give the proper internet comment discount.

But still, I had liked the demo so a couple of days ago when I saw the game for 20 euros I picked it up. First the bad news, yes the game is awfully short. When I reached the end the game's saves clocked it a hair above the 6 hour mark which jives with my own external counter (6 and a half). I finished the game in two sittings, in the hard difficulty setting, looking at every niche, listening to every radio broadcast, playing with all the arcade machines and even wasting time admiring the level design - and I admired at lot.

Even at hard difficulty, the game is very easy because the developers thought the whole "fight the spirits" mini-game was a good alternative to dying. Not only does it rob the whole fear of death thing, it also becomes quite annoying in the second half of the game. Something that didn't become apparent when I played the demo last year.

On the positive side, I really enjoyed the fire-fights especially when they were combined with the gravity/portal puzzles with very good use of the 3rd dimension which was surprising since the game also shipped for the xbox 360. The spirit powers were refreshing though they do start to repeat a bit in the last few levels. Even the story was interesting. The radio show and all the small bits of Earth that you encounter really ground you (ha!) into the fantasy of being on an alien ship. It was also downright creepy at times, with the part with the school bus freaking me out a bit.

The art design was masterful. I saw comments that the levels get repetitive with all the game metal textures everywhere but this isn't true in the slightest. The organic sets, the moving machinery, the open areas really do provide variety (as an aside I don't know why more people don't complain that 90% of FarCry is spent in the same god damned jungle). The level design is, the best I've seen on DOOM 3 engine (or similar) technology. The use of lights, curves, particle effects is brilliant. Audio design is top notch too and bonus points for the use of recognizable sound tracks.

There aren't too many different alien races, but those that exist have enough variety to keep things interesting and the A.I. is reasonable. The weapons are satisfying and the player physics are solid (based on an id Software engine, these are not surprising). The puzzles are interesting but I wanted more, especially physics ones.

The multiplayer was an afterthough, wait... it looks like an afterthought but it's even worse. I had played it with the demo last year and I still liked it but it was clear it wasn't going anywhere.

All in all, it's a great game and it's a really good FPS but on hindsight I'm very happy with my decision to wait until I could get it for what I did. For me, it's definitely NOT worth 30 euros, let alone 50. So if anyone out there also passed on the game the first time around and can find it for a similar price I recommend it.

I bought the tin box for $20 a while back (right next to it was the non-tin for $50! Go figure!). I loved it. I wouldn't of wanted to pay $50 for it but how many games today you pay $50 for & they make the game longer by making things repeat a lot or you "defend" an area until "help" arrives (always at a pre-determined 5/6 minutes or X baddies killed)?

I found prey didn't let up for the most part. Very original levels, mostly because like in a Zelda or Metroid game, the puzzles were part of the levels. I'd say it's more of an adventure/exploration game then a straight shooter.

I don't think prey get's enough credit, It's brought quite a few new and cool innovations to FPS gaming. It's fun, has an interesting story, beautiful design, my only complaint would be that it was too short. Even with it being short, it's forgivible on account of the content, when I got it I just could'nt put it down for a good month I replayed it four times. I recently got a new video card and I can play it on high quality now, and honestly I have'nt seen a better looking game yet.

One thing that makes me sad is the lack of an MP community. I played Prey deathmatch religiously until for some reason or another people just stopped playing. The multiplayer really breathed new life into a tired old Deathmatch model with the spirit walking, and wall walking, you really had to be on your toes your enemy could be anywhere, on the ceiling, the walls. One dissapointment for me was that you could'nt rocket jump and you when you were wall walking it would'nt allow to jump from wall to wall, that would have been an awesome inclusion. There's virtually nobody playing Prey online anymore, but if you want to try it out you can PM me and we could have a 1 on 1.

I have been wanting to play it online again for quite a while.

One other thing, you should really try this map you won't regret it:

Lost City by BJA

nice review.

i'm gald i'm not the only one that thinks the doom3 engine is still cabale of looking better than what's coming out today.

For me it felt like a high quality Quake 4 mod which is high quality Doom 3 mod, nothing more.

name me one game that isn't a "high quality mod" of something else.

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

Hostyle wrote:

For me it felt like a high quality Quake 4 mod which is high quality Doom 3 mod, nothing more.

It's got completely different story and gameplay, you just looked at the "martian base" atmosphere and wrote it off as aclone without giving it a chance.

Unreal and splinter cell are totally differenet games, ones supposed to be on Earth and realistic, and Unreal is in "Unreal world" or whatever place that is, of course they are going to look different. Doom³ and Prey are both "space" games and are meant to have a dark scary atmosphere, of course they are going to look similar. Quake Wars is the Doom³ engine, does that look just like Doom³?

Hostyle wrote:

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

Unreal 2 felt like a Halo mod. Splinter Cell can unfairly be described as a Hitman: Codename 47 mod. And they weren't even based on the same engines! Isn't trolling fun?

Hostyle wrote:

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

If they're built off the same engine that means they're a mod. According to your definition (elite force played different then Q3A but was build off the same engine & could of been a mod, for example).

The Happy Friar wrote:

Hostyle wrote:

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

If they're built off the same engine that means they're a mod. According to your definition (elite force played different then Q3A but was build off the same engine & could of been a mod, for example).

Dunno, but the feel of Prey and Quake 4 was incredibly simmilar to me which is bad for a game. It felt like Prey is Quake 4 that had new maps and some gravity scipts.

Hostyle wrote:

The Happy Friar wrote:

Hostyle wrote:

Unreal 2 the Awakening and Splinter Cell. Both were built on the same engine, but look/feel different.

If they're built off the same engine that means they're a mod. According to your definition (elite force played different then Q3A but was build off the same engine & could of been a mod, for example).

Dunno, but the feel of Prey and Quake 4 was incredibly simmilar to me which is bad for a game. It felt like Prey is Quake 4 that had new maps and some gravity scipts.

You do just mean the single-player right?

Hostyle wrote:

Dunno, but the feel of Prey and Quake 4 was incredibly simmilar to me which is bad for a game. It felt like Prey is Quake 4 that had new maps and some gravity scipts.

I thought Prey was to Quake 4 as Quake Wars was to ET. Better on so many levels it's crazy. I thought Q4 was nowhere near as good (fun & design wise) as Prey.

But to each their own.

The Happy Friar wrote:

name me one game that isn't a "high quality mod" of something else.

Here we go :mrgreen:

sebultura wrote:

Here we go :mrgreen:

you have the guts to even post something like that... :wink: