First time I want to write a review, and the game doesn’t have the store page. Oh well, I’ll just post it here.
The world is full of stories, and from time to time they permit themselves to be told.
Just finished the game. Oh boy, it’s one of my favorites now. Who’d knew that the portal-shooter-puzzle mix would make such an enjoyable gameplay? I loved every bit of it. Get immersed with some puzzle so that when someone rudely interrupts your thought process by shooting at you it comes as a surprise. Look around for an impertinent ruffian to find him on the ceiling, jump to the side to avoid fire forgetting that you were on the artificial gravity track and fall back to what moments ago was a wall. Your ruffian gets reinforcement, so you run into the portal nearby, emerge on the platform above them, turn into your astral form and quickly get rid of the whole bunch before they’ve figured out what’s what. Now, where was I? What was I doing on that wall and how did I get there in the first place? Oh yes, turn into the astral form, jump through portal, activate the thingy, back into the body, run to the elevator. Now what?
Now the visuals. Screenshots don’t do this game justice. They show a slightly dated game with 2006 graphics. But its beauty lies in the aesthetic, in the feeling of the cold faraway space, of alien world and culture. I mean, I love Mass Effect dearly, but come on! Most of the aliens look and behave like humans in weird costumes or evolved animals. Yes, they have different morals and consciousness, but we sometimes have bigger distinctions between our cultures. Architecture, technology and weaponry are simply futuristic, but not extraterrestrial. And that’s the problem with many games and movies. Which doesn’t prevent them from being great, but it's that much nicer to meet something truly distinguishing. Ambience, interior and technology won’t let you forget that this is alien world. Especially weapons. I’m not a hardcore gamer, but still I’ve shot a lot of things and from a lot of things. That was the first time my gun was wiggling its tentacles. Or grew a scope-tentacle for my convenience. Every weapon looked distinctive, badass and alien. Nice additions were small random animations, such as Tommy checking what kind of goo is leaking from the gun and shrugging it off. Or gun angrily screeching and jerking its legs because of overheating. This is without doubt most memorable and my favorite weaponry.
The story. Okay, the main plot is overly simplistic – the dude goes to rescue his damsel in distress, the dude kills everybody. But everything else that’s going on is quite interesting, with a couple of twists and moments to think about.
A couple more interesting features. Upon death you transfer to the spiritual world, where for a few seconds you play shooting mini-game that determines what amount of health and local equivalent of mana you’ll get upon resurrection. It’s simple and short enough to not get annoyed, yet makes you more careful than simple no-penalty respawn. And certainly better than permadeath or spawning at the beginning of the level. Another thing is adaptive difficulty system. The game itself has no difficulty setting (except the hardcore mode you unlock upon completion), but it adapts as you go, affecting things from enemy behavior to amount of health and ammo you find. I don’t know how exactly it works, but it did a great job for me. I didn’t actually knew about it until half through the game, and I felt like badass, emerging from tough but enjoyable encounters. And now I’ll never know if the system were dumbing down for me or I was that cool.
Oh, yeah, you also have a spirit hawk companion. What else could you possible want from a game?
Now I want a sequel to that exact game even more than that awesome bounty-hunting unrealized version.
I could keep praising it, but I think that’s already too wordy. So here ends my love song for this amazing game. Now I shall spread it furthermore, thank you for reading.
Also, I haven’t wrote that many in English in quite some time, so you welcome to correct/criticize.
Yes, it was amazing game :3 I loved it a lot and even got dizzy once when played too much in a row back in the day :D First portals-implementation (even though static), gravity tricks, non-conventional yet simple plot, astral mechanics, the looks of weapon and design in overall and probably many other less noticeable gameplay features... :3
I was very hyped about its sequel, then it got changed to bounty-hunter story which felt a bit wrong, but still could be a continuation of the game story kinda... Then everything got declined and finally the new Prey, as we know it, came out. It is another awesome game, maybe masterpiece from what I saw and read, but sadly a completely different story which could (and maybe should) have been named differently. I wish we could see more of the story of original Prey with more adventures of Indian main hero... :)
Yeah, some fast-paced gravity switching/portal jumping/falling off gravity tracks caused dimensional confusion, a bit of dizziness and a lot of fun ^_^
Well, I saw that bounty hunter trailer before I played or even new this game, so I was excited about it, especially after watching gameplay. So I really wanted that game to come out, but now I would much rather this one had a proper sequel. Actually I'd rather have all three of them - not planned portal-jumping/gravity-switching sequel, not released bounty hunting and the actual new one. Is that too much too ask? :)
I never knew of the mechanics you detail, such as a mix of puzzles with shooting baddies and specially the "resurrection mini game". Seems to be quite the gem this one, thanks a lot for the chance :D
I feel krogans get little to no love, and everybody seems to prefer Tali, Garrus or even Liara as companion merchandise... too little love for good old Wrex the badass :]
Well, 60 FPS gameplay is "good enough" if you haven't tried something faster. I have a 144Hz monitor and got used to play 100 FPS or more. When you're used to it and go back to 60 FPS's something seems broken and the gameplay seems laggy and stuttery. It's about perception. The game is actually playable and works as it should but my tolerance to 60 FPS's is non existent and I perceive it as broken.
On the other side, some people can't even discern the difference so it is different for every person.
Wow! I knew that it had long development process, didn't knew it was that long! Well, I can wait for a couple decades for a game that great. And thank you, that was very interesting to watch!
Oh god that's a real treat for someone like me who wants to collect the best of the best games on steam especially those that are removed. Praise you, Lifedreamer.
Sweeeeeet! Thank you for the review; now it's even more interesting! BTW, that gun sounds like the Hivehand from the original Half-Life. Tentacles, wiggled around when out of ammo.
As for not being able to post reviews, maybe try going here, which is not the same Prey page as this one, search through the discussions for people who own this version of Prey, search through their games list on their Profile page, then click on Review. You used to be able to review games not in your Library by doing this, but they locked it down at some point recently.
Nice review, Lifedreamer! I've heard a lot of praise for this game, and your opinion completely confirms that. Also, I'm giving you bonus points for using the word "ruffian", and no, the game wasn't dumbing things down for you... you really were that cool! ^_^
Thank you, Kap ^_^ That's what learning English by books rather than internet does to me :)
I knew it! Anyone could jump in upside down gravity field and fall off five times in a row! My admirable spirit hawk and my kind cat said I'm cool, so it has to be so! Sorry, no art today, I'm too sleepy at the moment. I'll add something tomorrow
Learning English from books teaches you words like "ruffian", which makes you sound smart and sophisticated. :)
Learning English from the internet teaches you words like, "rofl". :P
Seriously though, your English is excellent and the few mistakes here and there are hardly worth pointing out. It sounds like you were possibly self-taught, which makes it even more impressive. Yeah, I guess you really are that cool. :D No worries about the art, but I do like your whimsical, imaginative taste. I'm still using this one as my desktop wallpaper. ^_^
It saddens me that they axed the plans for Prey 2, that seemed like a fun Open World sci-fi game, or at least Mass Effect-like! You have a "singularity grenade" and the monster at the end reminds me of Doom 2016 reveal :]
BUT I dont understand, why you put here in steam gifts this GA ? you cant take it throught steam isnt a key...
do you send a fisical copy with the CD to a winner? lol
i keep wondering, if this isnt a steam key and the game isnt in steam store, what we give? a GOG copy? no sense man... is like you downloading a pirate copy...
no sense...
Who said this isn't a Steam key? The game use to be on Steam, if any key resellers (or hoarders) still have unused keys, you can activate them on Steam. The developer already got paid for the key sale, the key just didn't get activated and used yet.
Also, I believe if you have a physical copy you can use the CD key for the game to get it on Steam.
Sorry for long time without a reply. That's working keys, they can still be obtained through traders or physical copies, as AllTracTurbo said. But since that's a limited stock that will run out eventually I'd rather that only people who want to play the game would enter - that's why I mentioned game being disabled.
I haven't even think about consoles. Do you know if it's can be bought there, or they also "run out of keys"?
Anyway, good luck and have a nice day! ^_^
You pretty much said it yourself - traders, resellers, physical disks. Sites like g2a and kinguin have them quite cheap, just be careful with those.
And have a good luck here ^_^
They can still be found through traders, resellers or physical disks. Sites like g2a and kinguin have them quite cheap, just be careful with those. Good luck, mighty dragon! :)
First time I want to write a review, and the game doesn’t have the store page. Oh well, I’ll just post it here.
The world is full of stories, and from time to time they permit themselves to be told.
Just finished the game. Oh boy, it’s one of my favorites now. Who’d knew that the portal-shooter-puzzle mix would make such an enjoyable gameplay? I loved every bit of it. Get immersed with some puzzle so that when someone rudely interrupts your thought process by shooting at you it comes as a surprise. Look around for an impertinent ruffian to find him on the ceiling, jump to the side to avoid fire forgetting that you were on the artificial gravity track and fall back to what moments ago was a wall. Your ruffian gets reinforcement, so you run into the portal nearby, emerge on the platform above them, turn into your astral form and quickly get rid of the whole bunch before they’ve figured out what’s what. Now, where was I? What was I doing on that wall and how did I get there in the first place? Oh yes, turn into the astral form, jump through portal, activate the thingy, back into the body, run to the elevator. Now what?
Now the visuals. Screenshots don’t do this game justice. They show a slightly dated game with 2006 graphics. But its beauty lies in the aesthetic, in the feeling of the cold faraway space, of alien world and culture. I mean, I love Mass Effect dearly, but come on! Most of the aliens look and behave like humans in weird costumes or evolved animals. Yes, they have different morals and consciousness, but we sometimes have bigger distinctions between our cultures. Architecture, technology and weaponry are simply futuristic, but not extraterrestrial. And that’s the problem with many games and movies. Which doesn’t prevent them from being great, but it's that much nicer to meet something truly distinguishing. Ambience, interior and technology won’t let you forget that this is alien world. Especially weapons. I’m not a hardcore gamer, but still I’ve shot a lot of things and from a lot of things. That was the first time my gun was wiggling its tentacles. Or grew a scope-tentacle for my convenience. Every weapon looked distinctive, badass and alien. Nice additions were small random animations, such as Tommy checking what kind of goo is leaking from the gun and shrugging it off. Or gun angrily screeching and jerking its legs because of overheating. This is without doubt most memorable and my favorite weaponry.
The story. Okay, the main plot is overly simplistic – the dude goes to rescue his damsel in distress, the dude kills everybody. But everything else that’s going on is quite interesting, with a couple of twists and moments to think about.
A couple more interesting features. Upon death you transfer to the spiritual world, where for a few seconds you play shooting mini-game that determines what amount of health and local equivalent of mana you’ll get upon resurrection. It’s simple and short enough to not get annoyed, yet makes you more careful than simple no-penalty respawn. And certainly better than permadeath or spawning at the beginning of the level. Another thing is adaptive difficulty system. The game itself has no difficulty setting (except the hardcore mode you unlock upon completion), but it adapts as you go, affecting things from enemy behavior to amount of health and ammo you find. I don’t know how exactly it works, but it did a great job for me. I didn’t actually knew about it until half through the game, and I felt like badass, emerging from tough but enjoyable encounters. And now I’ll never know if the system were dumbing down for me or I was that cool.
Oh, yeah, you also have a spirit hawk companion. What else could you possible want from a game?
Now I want a sequel to that exact game even more than that awesome bounty-hunting unrealized version.
I could keep praising it, but I think that’s already too wordy. So here ends my love song for this amazing game. Now I shall spread it furthermore, thank you for reading.
Also, I haven’t wrote that many in English in quite some time, so you welcome to correct/criticize.
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Yes, it was amazing game :3 I loved it a lot and even got dizzy once when played too much in a row back in the day :D First portals-implementation (even though static), gravity tricks, non-conventional yet simple plot, astral mechanics, the looks of weapon and design in overall and probably many other less noticeable gameplay features... :3
I was very hyped about its sequel, then it got changed to bounty-hunter story which felt a bit wrong, but still could be a continuation of the game story kinda... Then everything got declined and finally the new Prey, as we know it, came out. It is another awesome game, maybe masterpiece from what I saw and read, but sadly a completely different story which could (and maybe should) have been named differently. I wish we could see more of the story of original Prey with more adventures of Indian main hero... :)
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Yeah, some fast-paced gravity switching/portal jumping/falling off gravity tracks caused dimensional confusion, a bit of dizziness and a lot of fun ^_^
Well, I saw that bounty hunter trailer before I played or even new this game, so I was excited about it, especially after watching gameplay. So I really wanted that game to come out, but now I would much rather this one had a proper sequel. Actually I'd rather have all three of them - not planned portal-jumping/gravity-switching sequel, not released bounty hunting and the actual new one. Is that too much too ask? :)
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I never knew of the mechanics you detail, such as a mix of puzzles with shooting baddies and specially the "resurrection mini game". Seems to be quite the gem this one, thanks a lot for the chance :D
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I'm glad you do now ^_^
By the way, sorry about that comparison, I didn't mean it about krogans, they awesome ♥
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I feel krogans get little to no love, and everybody seems to prefer Tali, Garrus or even Liara as companion merchandise... too little love for good old Wrex the badass :]
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This game is fantastic and I wanted to replay it on steam. Sadly it doesn't support more then 60FPS which unfortunately kills it for me.
For the ones that do tolerate 60 FPS gameplay go for it, it's a real good gem.
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Wait, I thought 60 FPS is normal and max cap for most games. What is your FPS option? Is there that much of a difference?
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Well, 60 FPS gameplay is "good enough" if you haven't tried something faster. I have a 144Hz monitor and got used to play 100 FPS or more. When you're used to it and go back to 60 FPS's something seems broken and the gameplay seems laggy and stuttery. It's about perception. The game is actually playable and works as it should but my tolerance to 60 FPS's is non existent and I perceive it as broken.
On the other side, some people can't even discern the difference so it is different for every person.
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please note, ANYONE can join this, even those, like myself, who already have the game.
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I know, thank you for the warning! ^_^
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Thank you!!! :)
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Did you know that it was originally developed in the mid-90s? And it had portal technology way back then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WtDdQqF1cU
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Interesting video, thanks a lot for sharing!
P.S. Though this one seems to be a bit better version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiC-3y8RTwM
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Wow! I knew that it had long development process, didn't knew it was that long! Well, I can wait for a couple decades for a game that great. And thank you, that was very interesting to watch!
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Wow!!! Thanks for doing this giveaway!!! I've always wanted to play the original :)
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Oh god that's a real treat for someone like me who wants to collect the best of the best games on steam especially those that are removed. Praise you, Lifedreamer.
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Wow!!! Oh god ! Thanks!
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Sweeeeeet! Thank you for the review; now it's even more interesting! BTW, that gun sounds like the Hivehand from the original Half-Life. Tentacles, wiggled around when out of ammo.
As for not being able to post reviews, maybe try going here, which is not the same Prey page as this one, search through the discussions for people who own this version of Prey, search through their games list on their Profile page, then click on Review. You used to be able to review games not in your Library by doing this, but they locked it down at some point recently.
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Thank you for reading it ^_^
As you can see I'm a little bit late on playing great games, so one day I'll get to Half-Life too :)
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I'm seeing some good ones in your Steam backlog. ;)
The Half-Life series is good. The ten-year-old cliffhanger isn't too fun though. grumble
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This comment was deleted 3 years ago.
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Thanks, I'd sure give it a try!
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Nice review, Lifedreamer! I've heard a lot of praise for this game, and your opinion completely confirms that. Also, I'm giving you bonus points for using the word "ruffian", and no, the game wasn't dumbing things down for you... you really were that cool! ^_^
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Thank you, Kap ^_^ That's what learning English by books rather than internet does to me :)
I knew it! Anyone could jump in upside down gravity field and fall off five times in a row! My admirable spirit hawk and my kind cat said I'm cool, so it has to be so!
Sorry, no art today, I'm too sleepy at the moment. I'll add something tomorrow
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Learning English from books teaches you words like "ruffian", which makes you sound smart and sophisticated. :)
Learning English from the internet teaches you words like, "rofl". :P
Seriously though, your English is excellent and the few mistakes here and there are hardly worth pointing out. It sounds like you were possibly self-taught, which makes it even more impressive. Yeah, I guess you really are that cool. :D
No worries about the art, but I do like your whimsical, imaginative taste. I'm still using this one as my desktop wallpaper. ^_^
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It saddens me that they axed the plans for Prey 2, that seemed like a fun Open World sci-fi game, or at least Mass Effect-like! You have a "singularity grenade" and the monster at the end reminds me of Doom 2016 reveal :]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a78kzAffb4
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Yes! That was such a great concept, and it was almost finished! I would love to play that game
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Thanks :)
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Oh, hell yeah!
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BUT I dont understand, why you put here in steam gifts this GA ? you cant take it throught steam isnt a key...
do you send a fisical copy with the CD to a winner? lol
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You can no longer buy the game through Steam, but if you have a key, you can still activate it and download the game from Steam.
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i keep wondering, if this isnt a steam key and the game isnt in steam store, what we give? a GOG copy? no sense man... is like you downloading a pirate copy...
no sense...
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Who said this isn't a Steam key? The game use to be on Steam, if any key resellers (or hoarders) still have unused keys, you can activate them on Steam. The developer already got paid for the key sale, the key just didn't get activated and used yet.
Also, I believe if you have a physical copy you can use the CD key for the game to get it on Steam.
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Keys of physical copys definitely work, I just tried my 10 year old key and steam accepted it.
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Sorry for long time without a reply. That's working keys, they can still be obtained through traders or physical copies, as AllTracTurbo said. But since that's a limited stock that will run out eventually I'd rather that only people who want to play the game would enter - that's why I mentioned game being disabled.
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I already own original Prey, but it's nice to see someone giving that old game a little attention! Thanks for the GA anyway!
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And thank you for stopping by! ^_^
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Wow, thanks for this! I rented and played through it a little bit on the 360 (back when I played on consoles) and always wanted to get back to it.
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I haven't even think about consoles. Do you know if it's can be bought there, or they also "run out of keys"?
Anyway, good luck and have a nice day! ^_^
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I could be mistaken but I think this was before the era of all games being available digitally. It's probably disc or nothin'.
That being said, I imagine it'd be cheap enough to find used :)
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Is there somewhere that we can still buy a key for this game? I would buy a copy if I can find it for $5.
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You pretty much said it yourself - traders, resellers, physical disks. Sites like g2a and kinguin have them quite cheap, just be careful with those.
And have a good luck here ^_^
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i'm glad it's not the 2017 game. cuz that is not prey at all. thanks for this
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How'd you get your hands on keys for this? I'd love to get them myself...
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They can still be found through traders, resellers or physical disks. Sites like g2a and kinguin have them quite cheap, just be careful with those. Good luck, mighty dragon! :)
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thanks :)
I'll take a look - and if the don't have them, I'll burn them with my fire :)
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That's an unique oportunity. 3 copies of this amazing game that can't be purchased anymore.
Thanks a LOT for the chance!
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You welcome and good luck! :)
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thanks
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Thank you!
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Ho man I hope I win a copy of this one as I really want to play this one
Thanks Lifedreamer
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You welcome and good luck! ^_^
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I'm actually more interested in the old game than the new one anyway. Thanks!
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That's the right attitude! Good luck :)
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