July 21, 2006 - A few years ago, I practically camped out at a book store in order to get the new Thomas Harris novel; Hannibal. I'd waited 10 years to find out what further exploits Clarice and Lecter would have and I had never been disappointed by a Thomas Harris novel yet. I picked up the book and read it in one sitting. At first I thought it was just me and that it would pick up and get better. I plodded along with doubt and worry. Then I started to feel bored, then resentful, then angry; very, very angry. I felt like I had wasted 10 years of my life waiting for something that turned out to be pure, unadulterated garbage. The movie and its story, thankfully, were saved by David Mamet, but the bitterness of the whole affair still irks me to this day. That, my friends, was quantity (in this case: one crappy, sellout of a book) over quality (or any semblance thereof).

Well, if we believe everything we read, we’ve also all been waiting 10 year with baited breath for 3D Realms, 2K Games and Human Head Studios to finally release Prey. In truth however, the 360 titles are so sparse and far and few between that any game being released (expect for Dynasty Warriors 5 of course) will be met with high anticipation. To make sure we know though that Prey is in a class of its own, a Collector’s Edition or Limited Edition is drummed up to ensure people take note of the landmark title soon to be bestowed upon us. In the end, Prey is a quality First Person Shooter with solid gameplay, a robust engine behind it, a great score and a premise that could have been great. But Prey goes for the opposite of that famed Harris novel and gives us quality over quantity. And while many a gamer will argue that this could never be a bad thing, Prey is really not enough of a game to ever recommend beyond a rental. Perhaps the greatest rental of all times, but simply not worth the full price being asked.

Prey tells the story of Tommy, a Cherokee Indian, who wants to turn his back on his heritage (yet he still dresses the part - I would've changed my clothes to make a point) and leave the reservation. Trouble is, his girlfriend Jen still lives there and its obvious Tommy and Jen have severe communication issues. He's never told her that he loves and she's never admitted to being a stand-in for early Nelly Furtado videos. There's also an ominous speaking grandfather sprouting dribble in there too, but none of this really matters because before long, the gang has been sucked up into an alien spacecraft, grandpa bites the big one, Jen gets captured (and oddly enough - not killed) and Tommy must trudge through the entire ship looking for Jen and a way off. And if you're truly expecting anything else from the story, you'll wait a long time. Besides the initial set-up in the bar (which is overly long but possibly the best level in the game anyway) and a few people you meet half-way through, the story is non-existent and boring. Yes, there's a build up near the end for the sake of closure (which is satisfying) but it's truly too little too late by this time.

What will keep you playing is really the resolve to see if the game ever evolves into something other than a standard corridor trek aboard an alien spaceship (which it doesn't) or if it's really as short as everyone claims it is (which it is). A few puzzles entertain along the way, but they feel so out of place and forced that many will just get annoyed by them. My advice to you; when you get really stuck, your best bets are always to either look up or use the Spirit Walk ability.

Prey is, for all intent and purpose, a standard, run-of-the-mill, by-the-numbers FPS all wrapped up in some much touted gameplay innovations. Truth be told, while there are a few neat additions here to the genre, they are never used as well as they could be and before long they start to feel like gimmicks instead of the natural trappings of the gameplay itself.

The most talked about innovation is the ability to defy gravity and wall walk. Yes, it’s nice the first time it happens (you literally walk up a wall using a special ramp and before long you’re inverted) and yes, you start to wonder how physics are being handled (if I shoot an enemy, will his body fall up or down?) but this ability is not inherent to Tommy and it must be activated in very, very specific instances; wherever the game forces you to use them. Yes, it’s trippy and cool, but it gets old very quickly when it becomes obvious that it serves no purpose other then to look trippy. Since each level is strictly a point A to point B linear venture, there’s never the opportunity to use the walls of ceilings to sneak up on enemies (something which can be done in multiplayer games thankfully). And make no mistake about it, Prey is on rails; when you see a wall ramp, you’ll need to use it, when you see a vehicle spawn point, you’ll need it. This would perhaps be fine if every level didn’t look like the last one, didn’t play like the last one and wasn’t as boring as the last one. You spend the entire game (except for the first level) on-board a spherical ship where the same textures are reused over and over, the same enemies jump out of nowhere like clockwork and the dark, brooding atmosphere serves no purpose whatsoever because light is never a factor and dying is never possibility.