Prey

[cavalcade]

Is it fair to post a First Play thread based on a demo? I'd say it is, the Prey demo for PC is sizable and gives a very detailed impression of the final game. Anyhoo, I ran this on a Rock gaming laptop - 1680 by 1050 (amend the config file, not able to set this via the UI), Nvidia 7800GTX, 2Gb RAM.

Good:
Plot, while a touch hackneyed in places, is generally strong. Reminded me of Stephen Baxter's Mars crossed with a Arthur C Clarke novel, crossed with the worst nightmare you've ever had.
A total mindf*ck in bits. Read nothing about it - or it'll be spoiled for you. I'll not elaborate, but just say that it has a fair few moments of jaw to the floor mind manglingness.
Excellent first 20 minutes, one of the best starts to a game I can remember for a long time. Totally rollercoaster.
Best rendered slime in game eva. In fact generally the engine does a lot of stuff very well indeed - sort of Doom 3ish in look and feel, but with more grandeur. Moves at a fair old clip too. I've got everything maxxed out and it's running at over 60fps. Ultimately though a majority of the art style is fairly bog standard for a PC shooter (metallic doors and corridors) sadly. With flashes of brilliance - normally based around more organic elements of the environment.

Bad:
Voice acting awful in bits. Especially your own character, who comes across as a total twat.
Combat (uninvolving/clumsy)
Still adheres to a huge number of FPS conceits - brave in some areas, terribly conformist in others. I wish the sheer explosion of potential of the first 20 minutes could've been extended further. I wish it had been braver.
Graphically character models are poor, and lip syncing is dreadful in places (the actual lip syncing engine is bizarre in action, almost half some people's faces move...)

Overall:
A game that has suprised and frustrated me in equal measure. I don't think Prey will be remembered in history as brilliant, but I think right here, right now, it's in the top percentile for FPS'es, and should be a very strong addition to the 360 library. On PC, I think there may be something of a "meh" factor, but the flashes of brilliance should see it through.

If this helps I've encapsulated my first 20 minutes with the game in a sentence...

Meh. Meh. Meh. Hmm. SHUT UUUP! Meh. Meh. Woah. Cool. F*ck! Wow! F*ck! Urgh. F*ck! Wow!!! Wow!!!!! Meh.

The remaining 40 minutes or so were about 30% woah. 10% wow. 60% meh.

[xXIShadowIXx]

I thought the Demo of Prey was excellent! Very surprised that they gave us 2 multiprey maps too, which I think is a lot of fun by the way. It is great game with a lot of potential, but as you say, the characters are not all that convincing and the lip syncing is somewhat poo. Like the first part where you have just been abducted and you can see your reflection, if you move your head round there is, for some reason, a massive delay!
Still, I have pre-ordered this game and look forwars to playing it!
w00t

[Tig]

Meh. Meh. Meh. Hmm. SHUT UUUP! Meh. Meh. Woah. Cool. F*ck! Wow! F*ck! Urgh. F*ck! Wow!!! Wow!!!!! Meh.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up

This game is all over the place - a mixture of generic FPS nonsense, some jaw-droppingly cool stuff, and some frankly barmy things involving native american folklore which I don't know what to make of.
It's definately more imaginative than Doom 3!

The main character is only slightly more convincing as a real person than the marine from the orignal Doom. Him and his entire hometown are unexpectedly beamed aboard an alien ship, and he's like: "Hmm... well this kinda sucks..."

It doesn't matter though, because the 'portal' stuff is all so impressive. It's a real head**** to look through a doorway, and see yourself standing upside-down on the ceiling of the next room.
I managed to headshot myself from behind, which I don't remember doing in any other FPS.

There's also a few truly jaw-dropping set-pieces in this demo... one of which (imo) makes it worth the download alone:

->Open Spoiler<-

if ****ing with space and gravity doesn't make your head spin, wait until the game starts ****ing with scale!

You'll know it when you see it. I nearly crapped myself

[TheForce]

hmmm. reading all this doesn't make me happy at all... it was about the only game I was looking forward to playing this summer....
now let's see when the demo will finally be released on the marketplace...

[eastyy]

In my mind the most important thing in a FPS is the reaction of the enemies has to feel right when you shoot them (like the bullet/projectile is making contact)

For me it did not feel right in doom 3 does it in prey?

[TheForce]

In my mind the most important thing in a FPS is the reaction of the enemies has to feel right when you shoot them (like the bullet/projectile is making contact)

For me it did not feel right in doom 3 does it in prey?

good point there m8, I had the exact same thing with Doom3.
I didn't have the feeling I was blasting them away, I felt I was shooting with an kids air gun....

[Silvergun X]

Xbox Live demo is up on the marketplace.

First thing that got my attention, the main menu is a lot, *LOT* better than the PC one in my opinion!

Seems to use the same game lobby system as most xbox live titles, and not the PC server-searching stuff

Actual content is the same.

I've only played one online match so far, and it's been pretty laggy unfortunately.

Also tried to join two other matches and got connection errors.

Framerate seems more stable than Quake 4, but still seems to stutter.

[ezee ryder]

Just started playing the 360 demo and well so far I have only done the opening scene, but WOW, what an opening. Hope its keeps its up as I go along

[Silvergun X]

Just played an absolutely stonking match online and the host quit the game!!

[Spatial]

For those that have played both, how does the 360 one shaped up graphically next to the PC version?

[Silvergun X]

It's definately not as smooth, resolution a bit lower (obviously), but as far as detail's concerned, it's definately up there.

On a side note, I absolutely LOVE the wrench. Just won a deathmatch using it alone.

[Matt]

Only played one online game, was very ropey but the host was in New York so not the best way to try it. Couldn't join Silvergun X's session for some reason. In fact, Quick Match didn't work at all. The game itself could be brilliant with a decent connection, the gravity stuff works great and you get used to it immediately, which was surprising. Shooting people on the walls is brilliant

Graphics are great. Really, the quality is stunning as is the lighting. Frame rate can drop noticeably in single player, but to think it's all realtime - definitely better use of shaders than Doom 3 and Q4

And in even better news, the download, at over a gig, was really quick. Has MS finally fixed the **** marketplace download speeds?

[angelx]

No anti aliasing? why??? but WOW!! thats the best intro to a game in so long!!!

[chopemon]

i remembering the prototype for this last year

it was called quake 4

its basically the same gameplay with anti grav and portals

the portals are very impressive but its just the same old fps gameplay

i quit the demo before finishing it

[y-izzit]

i liked it alot, a must buy for me, dont care what others say.