http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_4070612

Article Launched: 7/19/2006 01:21 PM

'Prey' showers gamers with alien action

Redmond Carolipio, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

I'm not an expert on Cherokee lore, but I'll bet it doesn't include getting
puked on by an alien ship.

That's what happens in the world of "Prey," a stomach-churning,
disorienting and ultimately thrilling experience that matches the mythos of
ancient Indian legend against the twisted horrors of alien abduction.

You play Tommy, a Cherokee garage mechanic who isn't a fan of reservation
life, or being a Cherokee, for that matter. We meet him in a bar and
quickly learn his views clash with those of his girlfriend, Jen, and his
traditional grandfather, Enisi.

The bar scene helps the player get used to the first-person control scheme
in addition to offering a somewhat bleak (in Tommy's view) outlook of the
reservation.

With old rock music bouncing off the walls ("oooh, Barracuda") and the
bar's only two patrons trying to hit on Jen, we get a taste of Tommy's
somewhat spiteful personality. Upon seeing some of the bar's gambling
machines, Tommy utters, "worst Indian casino EVER."

You also get a taste of the game's melee combat, as Tommy has to use his
big mechanic's wrench to beat down the two patrons, who get a little
violent.

What follows is the actual abduction scene, where you hear emergency
broadcasting on the TV, see the lights black out and feel the bar start to
shake.

If you look out the window, you see a truck get sucked up by green light,
followed by the roof of the bar, your grandfather and girlfriend, and
eventually yourself.

The early sequences illustrate how the game's atmosphere walks the line
between wonder and terror.

For instance, you and your loved ones get carted around the alien ship by
an automated conveyor system for a few minutes. You see the Earth from
space, strange machines and creatures.

But during this tour, you also hear people screaming, even hysterically
praying out loud. The ship comes across as an unholy place, emphasized by
Tommy telling Jen to stop her own praying because "if there's a great
spirit, he's not here."

With the aid of an unknown stranger, Tommy is set free, leaving him to try
and track down Jen and his grandfather. Players assume control from here
and start to explore the ship.

Simply put, the alien craft is foul.

First, there are the sights, many of which deal with bad things happening
to other captured humans. There's a machine that involves retractable
spikes that sounds like a food processor. You also stumble across a school
that was beamed up, only to find that the students aren't quite dead.

The ship is also alive, so for every sliding metal door or moving platform
you find, you'll also encounter entryways that resemble bodily openings
(can't tell you which ones), along with churning organic tubes and
squirming "valves" that vomit chunky acidic waste.

Beyond the goo, the game also finds ways to warp both the player's
perspective and sense of reality.

You'll find various "portals" that lead to different areas scattered
throughout the ship. Many of them are in midair, but some can also be found
in random arches -- or even inside a box or two. Some are placed at strange
angles, and it's up to the player to figure out the best way to reach them.

The ship also features technology that allows the player to walk on walls
and ceilings, as well as alter gravity in certain areas. It's insanity for
the eyes at first, but it also brings a surreal quality to the gameplay.

You'll see enemies fall sideways, or even up, and some area puzzles require
deft understanding of gravity manipulation and physics -- one "box" puzzle
in the game is especially harrowing.

I found the visual confusion a refreshing departure from the predictable
past instances of "advanced alien tech" where someone seeing it for the
first time immediately figures it out. You're on an alien ship -- it's
supposed to be weird, isn't it?

However, it's not just Tommy and his wrench taking on the aliens. Players
have access to an arsenal of living weapons with varying capabilities.

Your first gun is a rifle, but eventually you get to use stuff like grenade
launchers or an automatic cannon -- which is actually a severed arm of an
alien beast.

But what truly separates Tommy from other angry gun-toters is a cadre of
abilities based around Indian legend.

"SpiritWalk" enables the player to leave their own body and travel around
in spirit form. With an ethereal bow and arrow as your weapon, you can
bypass force fields, see invisible paths and scout out danger.

Then there's "DeathWalk," which essentially means you can fight your way
back to life when you die.

It's a timed minigame, where players have to use the spirit bow and arrow
to shoot ghostly birds before your body descends into a dark hole in the
middle of a barren valley. The more birds you shoot, the more health you
have when you spring back to life right at the spot where you died.

Tying all of these elements together is the story, which is good enough for
me to not spoil it here. It runs the gamut of emotions, starting with fear,
tossing in some sacrifice, and ending with a swelling of native pride for
Tommy.

I thought this game was a little overhyped coming in, but its combination
of atmosphere and story won me over. And that's a pretty big feat,
considering I got sprayed with waste within the first hour.

- Redmond Carolipio can be reached at (909) 483-9328,
redmond.carolipio@... or at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin,
2041 E. Fourth St., Ontario CA 91764.

VIDEO GAME REVIEW: PREY
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Human Head Studios
Rated: M for Mature (it gets pretty gross)
Platform: Xbox 360, PC
Rating: 3-and-a-half out of 4

ONLINE EXTRA: Check out "The Start Button" games blog at
dailybulletin.com/thestartbutton, as well as Redmond's weekly contributions
on the "All Games Interactive" podcast at www.allgames.com.