Metareview - Prey (Xbox 360)

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jul 11th 2006 at 1:55PM }

Is this the answer to our summer woes? Well, let's put it this way: it's either Prey or Chromehounds -- if you're an Xbox 360 owner. We're goin' with the Cherokee alien abductee, even if Prey is a short-lived romp. This one's got 'summer blockbuster' written all over it...

Detroit Free Press (100/100) is not noted for its gaming insight, but chimes in with praise: "This is one game any Half-Life or Doom fan can buy without reservations."
1up (80/100) wants more of the gimmicks: "If only the Native American mysticism had figured in more. If only the spirit "death walk" had developed into something more than a shooting gallery. If only the voice acting and storytelling were a little better."
GameSpot (75/100) deals a low score -- by its standards -- summing it up: "[Much] of the game's potential for unique thrills feels wasted by its straightforward level design, and the multiplayer doesn't add much to the package."

Tags: 2K, 2K Games, 2kGames, 3D Realms, 3dRealms, Human Head, HumanHead, Prey

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Captain Obvious @ Jul 11th 2006 2:07PM

I thought a score of 7.5 at Gamespot was pretty good...it's nothing to write home about, but it will get the job done.

Evan @ Jul 11th 2006 2:10PM

Gamespot was pretty harsh with both PC and 360 versions of Prey giving them both 75/100.

Whats up with that?

X @ Jul 11th 2006 2:11PM

Multiplayer sucks!
Singleplayer has no depth!

Hold on this one...

Eric @ Jul 11th 2006 2:16PM

I really wasn't that impressed with the demo. It felt too much like Doom 3 to me, which I was extremely disappointed with.

Trogdor @ Jul 11th 2006 2:17PM

I look forward to this game. The multiplayer is fun but the lag is horrible. This would be a great LAN party game given it's hilarious use of gravity.

JimmyHACK @ Jul 11th 2006 2:19PM

its anotherdoom / quake - now given there isnt much to play this summer so at least rent it if you play shooters....

but lets not group it with half-life just cause it has puzzles..... half-life is far superior

still fun game, nice graphics, good framerate on 360... so worth trying out if your bored on only been playing COD2 since last november like me :)

Subnet6 @ Jul 11th 2006 2:28PM

I'll likely be picking it up on PC as it will look slightly better and cost $10 less. Plus I prefer KB/M for games like this. Also, I agree with a previous poster that comparing it to HL2 may be a bit premature. We will see.

devi8i @ Jul 11th 2006 2:29PM

Whenever games as such are released in July you can basicly expect them to be about as good as an action or scifi movie being released on Valentines day.

Shagi @ Jul 11th 2006 2:30PM

I playedf thrugh the demo for this 3 times, twice on the PC and once on the 360. WHen I first played this game I thought, 'Isn't this supposed to be the doom3 engine?' but it looked to good for me to believe it was...so I double checked and sure enough it is. It looks way better than doom or quake. Then I played the 360 version. The 360 version looks pretty bad compared to the PC version, lower quality textures, stuttering frame rate (occasionally), you may have gamma problems depending on your type of HDTV.

If your not hopelessly addicted to gamerpoints I suggest you buy the better and 10 dollar cheaper PC version. Oh and from the demo I'm convinced that this game is going to be a great experience.

Luke Newcombe @ Jul 11th 2006 2:33PM

I’d pick Prey anyday over the lacklustre Chromehounds!

Brock @ Jul 11th 2006 2:45PM

I played through the game i picked up today and the game gets ALOT better than the demo. You get "vehicles," more freaky stuff, and a couple HUGE environments as well as some really cool bosses. This is an above average game. Go pick it up. It'll be top to games this summer... i GARUNTEEE IT!

KilgoreTrout XL @ Jul 11th 2006 3:11PM

"Is this the answer to our summer woes? Well, let's put it this way: it's either Prey or Chromehounds -- if you're an Xbox 360 owner."

None of the above- the sleeper hit of the summer is already out: LoTR: Battle for Middle Earth II.

It's superb. Run, don't walk, etc...

Ian @ Jul 11th 2006 3:12PM

I can't believe Gamespot was so harsh, IGN gave it a 9/10.

X @ Jul 11th 2006 3:16PM

@ Brock

You own an Xbox 360??? Dude, I am shocked. I thought you were a $ony Fan Boy Through and through...

Well, I was right - You are a hypocrite! Also, you don't know games either... MONKEY!

glitched @ Jul 11th 2006 4:15PM

Theres kind of a soft spot in my heart for this game... Only because the makers of the game (human head studios) is in my the same MIDWEST town I live in... Thats right Madison WISCONSIN! (who knew mostly backwards Wisconsin had it in em?) and human heads was formed from a group who left the other Madison studio Raven software (whos building is a block away from where i live) Raven Software also took over production of id's Quake 4. Yay for Mad-town!

Mojo @ Jul 11th 2006 4:38PM

"This is one game any Half-Life or Doom fan can buy without reservations."

Get it??! Reservations!

sheesh

cogno @ Jul 11th 2006 5:15PM

We've been watching this grow and develop. On the advantages of buying it online it looks like subnet already figured it out http://cognitivelabs.com/prey.htm - there's even a fun memory test with the pix...

Dante @ Jul 11th 2006 5:28PM

@ X

You know X he never said which version he picked up and as you know there are 2 versions the PC one and the 360 one so judging by the fact that he hates microsoft I would have to say he picked up the PC version and the game really isn't that bad I loved the scene with the Blue Oyster Cult song Don't Fear The Reaper it was an amazing scene for me so anyways try to use common sense in figuring things out if the guy obviously hates microsoft and if obviously 2 versions are available he's gonna go pic up the non 360 version.

X @ Jul 11th 2006 6:57PM

@ Dante

Thanks for clarifying Brock's position... Are you going to wipe his ass too...

Brock can hold his own - right, Monkey?

AC-91 @ Jul 11th 2006 7:00PM

@ Dante

If he hates Microsoft then he would have a Mac instead of Windows right? Then he is screwed either way.

I want this game for the single player, but I heard it is short. The multiplayer would be nice, but are there any reports of lag issues in the retail version? The demo was horrible.

About it being as good as Half LIfe 2, it isn't that good, but since this has multiplayer and Half Life 2 kind of skipped out. CS and the Half Life Deathmatch added on later (PC only, Xbox owners have it bad) don't count. If you are a console gamer...I would pick this over the Xbox Half LIfe 2.