Prey 2

[Slidell]

Last week, Bethesda released a CGI trailer for Prey 2 in advance of E3.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h2TkpFEsn8

 

 

Today, I got to see some of the in-game action that inspired the prerendered clip.

 

 

Basically, the demo was a truncated version of the action we outlined in an earlier preview from Bethesda's April press event. I wasn't at that event, however, so the demo was new to me. I won't summarize the entire presentation again, since Meagan did a great job with her preview, but I'll pass on a few of my impressions.

 

http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/screenshots/Prey2/MajarEt_alley.jpg

 

 

The shooting mechanics are more interesting than a standard FPS, with hero Killian Samuels able to do more than typical things such as take cover and sprint. He's an athletic dude, able to climb up the vertically oriented environments of the Bowery district we saw on planet Exodus. In addition to scrambling up surfaces, Samuels can hang from one hand while shooting at enemies. When they inevitably return fire, he can hang down using both arms, temporarily avoiding gunfire.

 

http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/screenshots/Prey2/Brute.jpg

 

 

 

 

The weapons seem nice and varied, including mundane pistols and blasters, and exotic tools such as electric bolos and grenades that create a field of weightlessness. The latter is particularly handy when trying to coax entrenched enemies from cover. One nicely tossed grenade, and they're floating helplessly in the air.

 

http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/screenshots/Prey2/Sphere_nosecone.jpg

 

 

Overall, it's a nice looking game. The city looks a lot like Blade Runner, and there seems to be plenty to do. Human Head realized that it's silly to have players wandering around heavily populated areas with your gun drawn, so pulling it out becomes a mechanic in and of itself. For instance, you can walk up to a beggar and change his entire demeanor by pushing your gun in his face. Or, more productively, you can wave your gun around and intimidate an information broker to negotiate a better deal. It's a little touch, but it shows that Prey 2 is branching out beyond its relatively bland roots.