Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Prey, or Birds On Boxes Don't Sell Games
Tom asked me the other day if Prey is worth $20. A bit arbitrary a cost to assign it, I thought, but realized it was probably a more fair question than "is it worth $60?" Because, no, it's definitely not worth sixty - as much as I'd rather play a great short game than a mediocre long one, nothing that you're going to glean under ten hours of entertainment out of is ultimately worth $60 of one's gaming budget.
So is it worth $20? Most definitely. It's a fun game; nothing close to mind-expanding like the advertisements or packaging would have you believe, but I would wholeheartedly recommend it to any 360 owner looking for a casual, linear shooter that doesn't overwhelm you or hold your hand too much. It doesn't really present a challenge of any degree outside of a few gravitational brain-teasers since you're more or less immortal, but I was fine with that. It's nice to be able to just play the game at a natural pace and not have to worry about ammo or health conservation. There's also minimal backtracking, so while the game might not be particularly lengthy the pacing is excellent and it never bogs down to artificially kill time (the last hour is especially excellent).
As I mentioned in my impressions of the demo, it's a shame that the very capable Doom 3 engine has been used exclusively for narrow, depressing space stations. The scattered organic bits (mostly consisting of gooey-looking intestine-like tubes and walls) break up the aesthetic a bit, but the art direction never really goes anywhere. Disappointing, considering you're working with alien worlds and technology where you can basically create anything you want and it won't feel out of place.
That same logic can be extended to the enemies - why do they have to be so humanoid, and speak in English no less? Let's see...there's Alien Soldier Type 1, slightly more powerful Alien Soldier Type 2, Small Shiny/Slimy Bloated Chicken Beast, Larger Dog Beast, Guy Who Has No Legs and Flies Around Shooting Missiles, Rocket Minotaur, Centaur Who Lives in Alien Vaginas, and a robot or three. That many enemies would be fine if they each represented a significantly different gameplay dynamic (Halo, Half-Life), but all of Prey's baddies can be dispatched in more or less the same manner: snipe from afar, wrench up close, rockets if they're fast. It's nice that the weapon selection doesn't make itself obsolete as you upgrade, but that's more or less irrelevant when almost any gun can kill any creature.
The multiplayer is certainly interesting, if not also the most glaring example of wasted potential. It's exciting to have to be aware of potential attackers coming from any surface or direction, but why only deathmatch and why not give the players more controls over the the levels' interactive elements? Imagine running towards an unguarded flag in a CTF game, only to have the flag's gravity change just before you reach it as it pops onto the ceiling where your gravity boot-wearing opponent can easily swipe it. THAT is the kind of gameplay I would come back to; as it is, the multiplayer is more of an afterthought.
I don't mean to get down on the game too much - it is fun, and as a whole it is well-constructed, it's just a bit disheartening to see such grand ideas flounder a bit. Even playing as a Native American was a nice change of pace, but within the context of the story could be pretty easily replaced. It's a must-rent for shooter fans (i.e. 360 owners), but I would wait for the hopefully evolved sequel (well, the game tells you there's one coming) to fully get behind the ideas presented.
So is it worth $20? Most definitely. It's a fun game; nothing close to mind-expanding like the advertisements or packaging would have you believe, but I would wholeheartedly recommend it to any 360 owner looking for a casual, linear shooter that doesn't overwhelm you or hold your hand too much. It doesn't really present a challenge of any degree outside of a few gravitational brain-teasers since you're more or less immortal, but I was fine with that. It's nice to be able to just play the game at a natural pace and not have to worry about ammo or health conservation. There's also minimal backtracking, so while the game might not be particularly lengthy the pacing is excellent and it never bogs down to artificially kill time (the last hour is especially excellent).
As I mentioned in my impressions of the demo, it's a shame that the very capable Doom 3 engine has been used exclusively for narrow, depressing space stations. The scattered organic bits (mostly consisting of gooey-looking intestine-like tubes and walls) break up the aesthetic a bit, but the art direction never really goes anywhere. Disappointing, considering you're working with alien worlds and technology where you can basically create anything you want and it won't feel out of place.
That same logic can be extended to the enemies - why do they have to be so humanoid, and speak in English no less? Let's see...there's Alien Soldier Type 1, slightly more powerful Alien Soldier Type 2, Small Shiny/Slimy Bloated Chicken Beast, Larger Dog Beast, Guy Who Has No Legs and Flies Around Shooting Missiles, Rocket Minotaur, Centaur Who Lives in Alien Vaginas, and a robot or three. That many enemies would be fine if they each represented a significantly different gameplay dynamic (Halo, Half-Life), but all of Prey's baddies can be dispatched in more or less the same manner: snipe from afar, wrench up close, rockets if they're fast. It's nice that the weapon selection doesn't make itself obsolete as you upgrade, but that's more or less irrelevant when almost any gun can kill any creature.
The multiplayer is certainly interesting, if not also the most glaring example of wasted potential. It's exciting to have to be aware of potential attackers coming from any surface or direction, but why only deathmatch and why not give the players more controls over the the levels' interactive elements? Imagine running towards an unguarded flag in a CTF game, only to have the flag's gravity change just before you reach it as it pops onto the ceiling where your gravity boot-wearing opponent can easily swipe it. THAT is the kind of gameplay I would come back to; as it is, the multiplayer is more of an afterthought.
I don't mean to get down on the game too much - it is fun, and as a whole it is well-constructed, it's just a bit disheartening to see such grand ideas flounder a bit. Even playing as a Native American was a nice change of pace, but within the context of the story could be pretty easily replaced. It's a must-rent for shooter fans (i.e. 360 owners), but I would wait for the hopefully evolved sequel (well, the game tells you there's one coming) to fully get behind the ideas presented.
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