/ 27 July 2006

Prey and the kitchen sink

This first-person shoot-’em-up suffered from one of the most protracted development periods in videogame history, but was keenly anticipated. Sadly, although Prey stands out from the first-person shooter crowd, it fails to satisfy. It contains interesting ideas — a native American sub-plot that sees you shooting wraiths with arrows when you die and turning into a ghost to solve puzzles; artificial gravity walkways that let you stroll up walls and along ceilings; gravity buttons that turn walls and ceilings into floors; and much more.

But its kitchen-sink approach lacks coherence and often breeds confusion. Even the art direction is patchy — the parts of the spaceship that resemble a giant intestine are thrillingly squelchy, but there are too many dark, shiny metallic areas.

And the shooting, despite decent weaponry, borders on the tedious thanks to useless AI. – Guardian