Early Friday morning (late Thursday night for most), a devastating fire feasted on a historical building in Madison, Wisconsin. Local news coverage identified the multi-use building as home to Human Head Studios, developer of last year's long-incubated shooter Prey. Thankfully, the level designers had been released from their shackles for the night. No one was harmed in the fire.

But what of the precious MEE data? Had Marc Ecko's rags-to-renders dream gone up in ... smoke? According to today's update from Human Head, no. "[Though] we suffered some equipment and furniture loss due to smoke and water, we suffered no significant data loss," reports the studio. A temporary relocation plan seems to indicate that Human Head is eager to get back to work on the Ecko-endorsed project, shedding any stigma earned from Prey's 5-year development cycle.

The division of MEE has disclosed a partnership with Human Head Studios to develop an original IP for consoles. While both parties share a recent history of novelty acts (see: Ecko's Getting Up; and Human Head's Prey), neither has succeeded in producing a truly exceptional title. So then, perhaps it's a bit early to trumpet the forthcoming project as a game that will "push the boundaries of entertainment," no? But, as Ecko claims, he's now got "Michael Jordan" on his team. So does that make him Pippen -- or Kwame Brown?

Last month, former Human Head CEO Timothy Gerritsen revealed that he had left (in November) because he did not agree with the direction the studio was headed. According to MEE president Mike Lynch, that direction is to "change perceptions of what a game can be." Yackety-yack...

FiringSquad reports that Human Head CEO Timothy Gerritsen has left the studio; in fact, he did so shortly before Thanksgiving last year. When questioned, Gerritsen said he departed on friendly terms, but was driven to leave because of creative differences. Gerritsen did not like the direction the other owners were steering Human Head in.

Gerritsen confirmed that he would remain in game development, though he declined to give specifics. Human Head co-founder and president Paul MacArthur has been acting as interim CEO.

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."

Major Nelson kindly informed us that the Xbox Live servers are hosting a brand new chunk of code. At last, Xbox 360 owners get the opportunity to explore Human Head's topsy-turvy alien abductee sim, Prey. Contained within the 1.17GB demo (well over the 449MB PC version), you'll find a first-person shooter tinged with insanity and laced with opportunities to shoot yourself in the back. It's not often we get to play a corridor-crawler where the walls vomit body parts, your grenades attempt to bite you and the gravity behaves like it's trapped within some sort of interstellar tumble dryer. It's also not often that we get a Live demo on a Friday -- must be more alien meddling.

Grab the demo and be sure to let us know what you think. Please note that the demo is not available in the regions of Germany or Japan, so folks living there won't get to prey it right away (sorry).

We're only a few weeks away from the release of Prey, and 3D Realms is whetting the appetite of collectors with the announcement of the game's limited edition packaging. For an extra $10, you'll get the DVD edition of the game in a shiny metal box that includes a book of artwork and two pewter figurines (three, if you pre-order now). Come on, you know you want that Mutate figurine!

See also: Prey PC demo available, Xbox 360 demo WRU?

[via TeamXbox]

The demo for both the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Human Head's long-time-comin' FPS, Prey, were supposed to drop today. It's today and one's here, the other ain't. Just so we weren't left hanging, checking the Xbox Live Marketplace ad nauseum, 3D Realms' George Broussard donned an all too familiar cap to let everyone know the demo isn't coming ... at least not today:

"We do not want 360 people waiting up for the demo or having false expectations. The 360 demo will not appear on Marketplace tonight.

"I'm still waiting for specifcs, but I'm being told that it's still in testing at Microsoft. From what I understand this isn't Microsoft's fault, and is more likely just an issue of timing.

"I'm hesitant to give any estimates for a release, but I've been told it should be reasonably soon after the PC release, but could be as long as a few days.

"We will post an update as soon as we have more solid information."

Since we all know Microsoft isn't to keen on releasing demos on Fridays, we're looking at an early next week release. If you're rocking a PC capable of running the demo, you could always go that route also.

[Via 360-Hq.com]

[Update 1: TV Guide's Joe Hutsko got word from 2K Games' Jay Boor who said ... wait for it ... "Should be up soon - hopefully today." Alright hopefuls, you can officially start bugging the hell out of the XBL servers! Thanks, Joe!]

2K Games and 3D Realms have re-launched the web site for Prey, their new sci-fi shooter powered by the Doom 3 engine. In addition to updated screens and wallpaper, you'll find some gameplay vids that demonstrate main character Tommy's wall walking, death walking, and spirit mode abilities. Prey ships on July 10 for the PC and Xbox 360.

See also: Xbox 360 Prey now in the hands of 2K's Venom Games