Board 8 > You should play Prey if you like Deus Ex, Dishonored, System Shock, or vents.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Prey is a very, very good game of its type. It does that immersive sim thing where you can bypass several steps in a questline if you know how to manipulate the world in just the right way (my favourite from my time with it, building a bridge from a GOO gun you're given, breaking open a window with a wrench, and shooting a door release lock with a foam dart gun, all while a half dozen enemies were distracted by a lure). it has dense levels that seem impossibly large and hostile at first, but decay in the shadow of your knowledge the further you get. it teases SHODAN without beating you over the head with it. it does the Dishonored thing where it gives you seemingly supernatural powers you can use in any way you want, or you can totally ignore those powers and just become a shotgun-wielding, vending machine-lifting, sprinting menace. it lets you go out on spacewalks, allowing you to travel outside from airlock to airlock in any way you see fit, and objects outside the space station are actually in orbit and you may or may not have quests asking you to intercept their orbit. it plays on fear of enclosed spaces and the unknowable darkness, so if you like being paranoid and wandering around "in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger," (this is an apt description taken from Alien: Isolation, but also works well for Prey) you're set.

the aesthetic is incredible. I mean, I know, it's Arkane, of course it is, but it's got this great look that blends art deco, an obsession with corporate efficiency, and IDM that works beautifully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TRdx2tbUFI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-V09T0LOPw

I cannot say enough good things about this game. I know I'm predisposed to like vent crawlers, but wow, this one is great.
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okay I know how it looks based on the screenshots BUT I SWEAR there's more weapons than a wrench

but this wrench... it's a good wrench
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I spent the first 40 minutes of the game throwing stuff around my apartment, before making a pile of furniture on a woman in the corridor and jumping into a helicopter's spinning blades.

GOTY.
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JackMan posted...

I spent the first 40 minutes of the game throwing stuff around my apartment, before making a pile of furniture on a woman in the corridor and jumping into a helicopter's spinning blades.

Ha! Yes.



Environmental storytelling.

I spent a good 5 minutes throwing stuff at her, waiting for her reaction.
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I like vents, but it doesn't look like I can rambo in this game.

(PC vs Console edition?)
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Dread is a pretty huge negative. That creepy eye shot they use for the game is terrible.
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voltch posted...

I like vents, but it doesn't look like I can rambo in this game.

(PC vs Console edition?)

PC. I read some rough performance reports from the PS4 demo. Maybe they worked that out for the retail version, but I only have experience with it on PC.
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This looks pretty great actually. I thought from the E3 trailer last year that this was passable, but I'm glad someone on the board pointed this out again. I definitely need to get this.
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Look, see, it has guns!
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I played it on PS4, PC is the way to go. Performance and control issues have been patched since day 1, but the loading screens put vanilla Bloodborne to shame. We're talking actually go make a PB&J sandwhich between every loading screen here. Also the game crashed a few times. One very, very important sidequest at the very end did bug out and I lost twenty minuted loading up a save, but nothing else major.

It was a great game, even if I wish there was a bit more on-screen story for the main plot. The random side stories were best in class, though. Puts Bioshock to shame in that aspect, and is a new standard for environmental storytelling.

I go into slightly more detail here, but it's post-credits hardcore spoilers, so don't click if you haven't beaten it.
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Oh, and Alex Yu is one of the most beleivable antagonists in years. What a breath of fresh air.

iiicon posted...

Look, see, it has guns!

This thing was so shit at first, but fully upgraded it was a fucking monster. Just stand there and shoot a Nightmare until it dies, don't even get hit, zero effort

Probably the worst part of the game is the Military Operator bots swarming in the last act. This just felt like bullshit. I already had the game on easy and it was still a huge problem.
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Oh damn, I didn't even see your topic. Sorry!

Did you have level 4 hacking by the end? That + the disruptor made things much easier.
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I only got level 4 at the very end. I didn't go for leverage at all since I just destroyed obstacles left and right with the recycle grenades. As for hacking...probably should have, but since I was going for 0% alien mods I prioritized survivability and weapons.
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LapisLazuli posted...

I didn't go for leverage at all since I just destroyed obstacles left and right with the recycle grenades.

oh wow, I didn't think of this. My priorities were hacking, then repair, then leverage, because I want to be able to see everything in these games.

I had this installed on my SSD as well so I can't say I ran into any of the problems you did. We're really paying the price for underpowered consoles, damn.
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Yeah as soon as I realized it blew everything up I lost any drive to level up buffness, lol.
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I liked having them in my pocket just in case I needed to get out of a fight quick. They came in handy the first time I fought a Nightmare (the only time I took one down legitimately).
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I ran away like a bitch in the main story required fight, and then realized he couldn't jump and just popped him with the pistol from two stories up until he died.

The benefit of leveling that thing's range first!
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Two stories up? Where did you fight him?
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I'm here for the vents.
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The reactor core fight that's the first required Nightmare encounter.
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I fought a Nightmare before that! I think in the Arboretum?

Also if you get into the reactor controls and start the reboot sequence, you won't have to fight it because it'll disintegrate while the station reboots.
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Sorry, I meant Power Plant.

I saw the one in the Arboretum first but didn't agro him.

The Power Plant is the only time it's not a random encounter. Seeing one show up in the shuttle bay and get killed by 8 milatary operators was fun.
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Oh wait, did I mean Power Plant? We're talking about the same room.
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It's the reactor core in the Power Plant, yeah.

There's a hatch on the roof of the control room.
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i know digi and ganon bought it. tony was interested too

where my wrench boys at
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That wrench makes me think Bioshock

is it at all like Bioshock
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Kind of off topic by a lot, but this topic reminded me O wanted to watch the original Alien again before the new one. I hadn't seen in in like 10 or 15 years. Holy shit is it good. Contrasting it with the CGI stuff in Guardians I saw the week before practical effects and meticulously constructed sets are fucking incredible.
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Johnbobb posted...

That wrench makes me think Bioshock

is it at all like Bioshock

so you know how after people played bioshock they said, "hey this is like system shock!" well it wasn't and they were wrong, prey is like system shock.

OliviaTremor posted...

Kind of off topic by a lot, but this topic reminded me O wanted to watch the original Alien again before the new one. I hadn't seen in in like 10 or 15 years. Holy shit is it good. Contrasting it with the CGI stuff in Guardians I saw the week before practical effects and meticulously constructed sets are fucking incredible.

The first two Alien movies are among my very favourites. If you've never played Alien: Isolation, you should give that a look as well. It's a very faithful story told in universe, and it's incredible that a major company like Sega gave one of their devs like $40M to make a bigger Amnesia game.
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Prey I've been hesitant on overall

+Gameplay looks fun
+Comparing to Dishonored and Deux Ex is a big bonus
-Not super into space-setting games
-Not super into the vague black energy blur enemies
-Looks more like a horror than something like Deus Ex or Dishonored, and not super into horror games (except Bioshock)
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You were a big fan of The Swapper, right? Prey touches on similar themes of consciousness that you might find interesting. Since you're on the fence, I'd suggest giving the demo a go, then wait for a sale. If the demo ends where I think it does, you'll get the first big twist in the game and might be hooked.
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what if I liked Prey (2006)
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well I guess you're SOL
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VintageGin posted...

what if I liked Prey (2006)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/405820/Turok/
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I've heard great things about Alien Isolation. I'll check it out eventually. Right now I doubt I can run it.
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You'd be surprised. It ran okay on my Surface Pro 3
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oh it's on sale on PSN right now too
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