Prey is a highly innovative FPS -- an important attribute to have in a genre marred by boring conventions and repetitive themes.
Prey's story is about a Native American man named Tommy who has no respect for his Cherokee heritage and would like nothing better than to leave the reservation. Tommy gets his wish when aliens kidnap him, his grandfather, and his girlfriend and begin to harvest humanity for their protein. Not your typical FPS premise, but one that works pretty well by the end.
While the basic gameplay is typical FPS fare -- shoot all the alien bad guys while hopping and strafing around their attacks -- Prey is the first game to offer things we’ve all thought about, but never seen done in real time in a game before (at least not to this extent).
Of course, I have to start off with the portals. Prey is the first 3D game to feature so many real-time portals that play such a prominent role in gameplay. These aren’t just places where new levels are loaded. These aren’t pictures made to look like other places. When you look through these portals, you’re seeing that part of the stage and whatever is happening in it at that moment. Some of the trippiest moments of the game involve seeing yourself through portals that take you to locations nearby. You can even shoot yourself through these portals if they are positioned correctly.
Gravity is the other element that makes for some truly unique level design. In addition to magnetic walkways that will have you walking on the walls and ceilings, an entire level’s gravity can be changed, creating some interesting 3D puzzles.
If portals and gravity don't make things complex enough for you, there’s also spirit walking. Early in the game you will gain the ability to leave your body and walk around as your spirit. This is useful both for hunting alien monsters, as well as solving puzzles that require you to be in two places at once.
With all of these odd tools, it would be possible to create some truly mind-bending puzzles. For good or ill, however, the game never gets too complicated with them. Personally, I think the game could stand to be a little harder in this regard.
Sadly, with all these fancy new ideas, the main aspect of any shooter is, ultimately, the shooting. There’s just something that doesn’t feel right in Prey. While the alien guns, and the ways in which you acquire them, are really cool, the visceral feeling of plugging enemy aliens with firepower doesn’t feel as good here as it did in games like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2. Additionally, early on in the game, the simple objects in the environments, like small rails, often obstruct your shooting far more than they should, making the early going unnecessarily frustrating.
