مدیر فروشگاهOn May 5, 2017, the expected long-term construction of Prey is about to be released. In 2006, a game with the same name was released, which was also problematic, so everyone was waiting for a sequel, but it didn’t work out, a long languor in production hell changed everything. On this occasion, I decided to remember what happened in the original and what difficulties he had to go through before his cherished birth.
There are a great many long-term construction games. There are projects that turned out to be worthy of anticipation, for example, Half-life 2, and the new one can be called Doom. But hopes are not always justified. Over such a long period of time, the project’s concept and developers have changed several times. Such failures include the universally criticized Duke Nukem Forever. Nuclear Count was in production hell for a very long time and over such a long period of time, priorities in the FPS genre have changed. And there are projects that don’t come out at all, even though everyone is waiting for them. Among those who like to chop from the shoulder, we can highlight Blizzard.
Prey was announced back in 1995. Tom Hall and John Romero, the people who ate the dog in the development of first-person shooters, took part in the development. From the very beginning of the work there were good ideas: the use of portals, a living ship and abducting people from the earth. The main character was supposed to be a Cherokee Indian, Talon.
The game was shown at E3 in 1997 and 1998. The product was well received, but the project stalled due to major technical problems. Later, the game’s chief engineer, William Scarborough, commented on this incident: “the portal tricks should be used as tricks, and not as the basis of the engine.”
So the wait lasted until 2005. This year, rumors of the project’s resurrection were confirmed by an article by Chris Morris on the Internet that Prey was not only in development, but would also be shown at E3 in a gameplay video. The new version was made on an improved engine, from doom 3. And in 2006 the game was finally released. The developers left all the initial ideas, only changed the hero’s name to Tommy.
It all starts at https://bingolinercasino.co.uk/withdrawal/ the bar. Our hero is trying to persuade his girlfriend, who works as a bartender, to leave the reservation, but she claims “that this is our home.”. In the same bar is the protagonist’s grandfather, who talks about some kind of imminent invasion. And in a moment supernatural things begin to happen. A green beam of light removes the roof from a building and lifts people in a bar into orbit. So Tommy, Jenn and Enisi get on board a spaceship, the name is later revealed, “Sphere”.
In the first minutes of the game we see the terrible murder of Enisi in some kind of mechanism. After his death, the grandfather goes to the lands of his ancestors and how Obi-Wann Kennobi begins to mentor Tommy, explaining what potential his grandson has. Using his abilities and brute strength, our protagonist tries to save his beloved. At first glance it seems that the plot is banal, but over time some twists appear. Thus, the story cannot be called boring.
We will fight our way through the hordes of aliens using various weapons. What I like about space-themed shooters is that the weapons are specific. There are no hackneyed AK-47s or M-16 rifles here. Instead they let us shoot with live weapons. It moves and makes strange sounds. And grenades are generally presented in the form of bugs, which you first need to catch, and they are activated by tearing off the limbs.
All weapons have an alternative firing mode. The starting machine gun is also a sniper rifle. Ammunition in sniper mode is wasted in greater quantities.
What I like about old shooter games is the ability to carry all the weapons with you. This forgotten game solution is back, at least there are attempts, in the same doom you always have all the ammunition with you.
During the first hours on the ship we are shown everything that the game is capable of. What are portals, running along gravity paths, shooting enemies upside down and the ability to change gravity in the entire room. Towards the end, all such moments begin to get boring, and the portals are perceived as ordinary doors to the next corridor.
There are also puzzles related to Tommy’s ability to move in spirit. In this form, he can pass through the protective field and disable it. Or cross the gap and activate something to move.
The game also has spacious compartments of the ship where you can fly freely on a unique vehicle that resembles a ball. These will not be carefree flights, but intense action with shootouts and puzzles.
Horror elements appear at some points. Demonic children, or rather their spirits, are quite scary. But there are only two similar moments, for me it’s a good idea, but why couldn’t it be developed.
Because of his connection with his ancestors, our hero can be said to be immortal. After any death, we find ourselves in a transitional world where we have to shoot wild ghosts. With this opportunity, you can die in the same place as many times as you like. Effective, but the tedious shooting of blue and red souls is tiring. The developers probably wanted to make a “challenge” with spirits, maybe it’s available on a higher difficulty.
The soundtrack is good. At the very beginning, in the bar, there is a music machine on which you can choose one of several compositions. And the radio conversations are hilarious. The presenter announces an incomprehensible phenomenon in the sky and makes fun of the callers, considering them crazy.
Lately, everyone has been forgetting about “shooting games” in space. Most of the developers make games in the present or near future with shooting terrorists, all this is probably a call of duty trend. Carrying a lot of “barrels” has also been removed, this point is related to halo and console control, where it is easier to switch between a pistol and a machine gun.
I already miss meat shooters, where you carry a lot of weapons with you, a lot of blood and dismemberment. Lives do not recover themselves and there is no auto aiming. I hope Pandora’s box opened by last year’s doom will bring back games like this.
Our guest from the past, who even today looks great, graphically and gameplay-wise, will captivate you for a couple of evenings; after all, space-themed shooters haven’t been released for a long time.
