One feature that keeps the game moving and eliminates replaying levels over and over after dying is the Death Walk Feature. When Tommy's health is reduced to zero he is drawn into the Death World where he can fight for his survival. The Death Walk is actually a mini game that gives you the option to return to the game without having to quick save/load. In this mini game you are surrounded by death wraiths, shooting them will add life force to Tommy, shooting enough will eventually return you to the living world where you can continue playing.
Graphics, Performance, & Multiplayer
From the opening scene to the final level the graphics in Prey are top notch and look fantastic. Built using the Doom 3 game engine, character modeling and animation excellent and similar to Doom 3 and Quake 4, if not better. These games are currently the only other games that have been released using this engine. The artwork, detail and design of the environments in Prey is another aspect that allows it to step out from the shadows of these games and set it apart.
Reviewed on an AMD Athlon 3500 with 1GB of RAM and a 256MB 6600 Nvidia graphics card, Prey ran flawlessly at the recommended graphics setting. Performance will most likely vary greatly depending on the system you are running but the recommended specs call for 1GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon X800 series or better graphics card. Prey is available for both he PC and Xbox 360.
Prey does include a multiplayer game mode which is also very similar to that Doom 3 and Quake 4 and is not one of the game's selling points. There are two multiplayer game modes Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch that only allow for games of up to eight players.
Bottom Line
Overall, the strong points in Prey outweigh it's drawbacks. The linear game path, unchallenging AI, and weak storyline hold Prey back from being a great game, but the loads of new and exciting features more than make up this. These new features are sure to make their way into other games and along with the excellent graphics make Prey well worth it for any FPS fan.
