Prey (2006)

Prey is a 2006 science fiction first-person shooter game developed by Human Head Studios and published by 2K Games. The game was released in North America and Europe for Windows and later ported to the Xbox 360 by Venom Games. Prey was also ported to Mac OS X in 2007 and to Linux in 2008. Mobile versions were also released for Windows mobile and Symbian platforms.

The sequel Prey 2 was announced after the original game was released. However, the sequel was cancelled because the rights to the Prey were transferred on to Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Media. Instead of a sequel, a reboot with no direct connection to the first game was released in 2017 by Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Studios.

Plot and location

The game is based on the Native American mythology and takes place in a gigantic alien spaceship called The Sphere, where the Cherokee mechanic and former soldier Domasi "Tommy" Tawodi, with his girlfriend Jen, and his grandfather Enisi, are captured by the aliens.
Tommy must then find his way out of capture and defeat the aliens. As part of his Cherokee heritage, Tommy must learn to draw from spiritual powers to save Jen and Enisi and destroy The Sphere in order to save the planet.

Gameplay

The player controls the protagonist Tommy to explore aboard the gigantic alien spaceship of The Sphere, fight enemy aliens, and solve puzzles. Prey consists of 22 levels to progress. To accomplish this, the game employs id Tech 4 to expand the exploration by creating portals and variable gravity.

Portals allow the player to travel between different key locations and can be traversed from one area to another. Gravity allows the player to walk on walls and ceilings. Meanwhile, Tommy's spirit hawk companion Talon can guide him through levels and has the ability to attack nearby enemies, although it cannot be directly controlled by the player.

The player can separate Tommy's spirit from his body, which is called the Spirit Walk. This special ability allows him to find secret paths and weapons, pass through obstacles, and solve puzzles. However, the player's physical body is vulnerable to attack when the Spirit Walk mode is activated. During combat, Tommy can only equip the Spirit Bow while Spirit Walking to attack certain enemies, mostly Wraiths. Aside from combat, the Spirit Bow is also used to open doors and panels, and can be reloaded with Tommy's Spirit Energy as ammunition. When Tommy's dies, the player can use his another special ability called the Death Walk, to revive and recover his health.

There is also a wide range of handheld weapons for Tommy to collect which have both primary and secondary fire functions such as a wrench, a rifle, a crawler, an acid sprayer, auto cannon, a leech gun with four ammo types, and a rocket launcher.

Visuals and other features

Prey features a number of minigames allowing the player to play several game machines such as the Rune Man, a game that is similar to the popular maze game Pac-Man; casino game machines including a blackjack, a poker, and a slot machine; and a jukebox machine, which the player can select a library of songs to play, similar to the radio in the GTA series of games.

2006's Prey includes multiplayer modes that support up to eight players in two game modes: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. There are difficulty game modes such as the Normal mode and the Cherokee mode which can be unlocked by beating the normal mode. For the Xbox 360 version, a concept art gallery can be unlocked by completing both Normal and the Cherokee mode, while the dashboard background can be unlocked by completing the story mode.

Prey (2006) features voice actors with genuine Native American heritage, including Michael Greyeyes as Tommy and Crystle Lightning as Jen. The soundtrack of the game is composed by Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind) and his brother Julian, and is divided into two discs.

Prey released the Limited Collector's Edition for PC and Xbox 360 versions. This edition includes a limited edition embossed tin, a free DVD-ROM, two pewter figurines of Hunter and Tommy, a free downloadable Prey soundtrack, and The Art of Prey book. The third pewter figurine, Mutate, was purchased separately.