E3 2011 Eyes-On: Prey 2 - Preview

2006's surprise hit Prey took us away with it's premise of alien abduction and spiritual discovery, well now Prey 2 is on its way to introduce a whole new side of the Prey universe and it looks good. Prey 2 places you in the boots of US Marshall Killian Samuels whose plane crashes into the sphere (an event depicted in the first game). Shortly after crashing you are captured by aliens only to awaken on a strange alien world known as Exodus. Your memories erased you become a bounty hunter and decide to take on jobs for the highest bidder. That's the central theme of the gameplay but the game also thros in some heavy Mirror's Edge influence, with a lot of first person parkour that (gasp) actually worksbut the game is so much more than that.

Prey 2 takes place in an open world setting, allowing you to play the game in a very non-linear way. You can choose to help civilians being mugged or help the muggers  out and earn a cut for yourself, also you can take on non-storyline bounties and try to boost your cash flow that way. Another new element to the series is the use of gadgets, these gadgets are used to both expand your arsenal and gameplay via innovative ways to play. Climbed a bit too high? Well use your rocket boots to glide down, want to see who's freindly to you and who should probably be avoided? Simply turn on a scanner and watch the enemies light up in color coded threat indicators. It's a neat system that definetly seems to had a level of depth to the gameplay.

On the visual front, Prey 2 is pretty stunning. Sure the graphics are top notch with the sheen and gloss you would expect from a major release these days but its the art direction that won me over. Set in a tidally locked world (one half always faces the sun) the game has been described as 'alien noir' and is the only game that I can think of which uses this setting. The open world also seems very alive, with AI characters going about their business, getting in fights, etc.

All in all Prey 2 has me positively excited. The game seems to have so much going for it and looks to offer a fresh take on the sci-fi first person shooter that has become rather stale in recent years. Look for Prey 2 sometime in 2012.

Stay tuned to gamrReview for all the latest hands-on and eyes-on previews of the biggest game from E3 2011.