Prey 2 - PC

New Prey 2 Screens Surface At Gamescom

Matt Helgeson — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 01:50:54 GMT

Bethesda and Human Head are showing off the scarifying shooter Prey 2 at Gamescom and were nice enough to give us some new screens.

As you can see the game is looking quite nice. After you gaze at their glory, check out some of our previous coverage on Prey 2.

New Screens Are On The Prowl

Joe Juba — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 22:05:34 GMT

Prey 2 isn't the usual continuation of plot and mechanics we usually find in sequels, and you can see evidence in the latest batch of screens from developer Human Head.

Prey was the story of a Native American man finding his identity and saving his girlfriend from aliens. Prey 2, on the other hand, tells the tale of an amnesiac bounty hunter in space. Two different stories set in one crazy universe!

Check out the new screens below. You can also see a trailer for Prey 2 here, and read our impressions from E3 here.

Prey 2 E3 Shots Show Off Bounty Hunting And More

Jeff Cork — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:39:25 GMT

Last week, Bethesda released a CG trailer for Prey 2 in advance of E3. Today, I got to see some of the in-game action that inspired the prerendered clip.

Basically, the demo was a truncated version of the action we outlined in an earlier preview from Bethesda's April press event. I wasn't at that event, however, so the demo was new to me. I won't summarize the entire presentation again, since Meagan did a great job with her preview, but I'll pass on a few of my impressions.

The shooting mechanics are more interesting than a standard FPS, with hero Killian Samuels able to do more than typical things such as take cover and sprint. He's an athletic dude, able to climb up the vertically oriented environments of the Bowery district we saw on planet Exodus. In addition to scrambling up surfaces, Samuels can hang from one hand while shooting at enemies. When they inevitably return fire, he can hang down using both arms, temporarily avoiding gunfire.

The weapons seem nice and varied, including mundane pistols and blasters, and exotic tools such as electric bolos and grenades that create a field of weightlessness. The latter is particularly handy when trying to coax entrenched enemies from cover. One nicely tossed grenade, and they're floating helplessly in the air.

Overall, it's a nice looking game. The city looks a lot like Blade Runner, and there seems to be plenty to do. Human Head realized that it's silly to have players wandering around heavily populated areas with your gun drawn, so pulling it out becomes a mechanic in and of itself. For instance, you can walk up to a beggar and change his entire demeanor by pushing your gun in his face. Or, more productively, you can wave your gun around and intimidate an information broker to negotiate a better deal. It's a little touch, but it shows that Prey 2 is branching out beyond its relatively bland roots.

Look for the game for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in 2012. In the meantime, check out the new screens in the gallery below.

Prey 2 Sports A New Protagonist, A New Plight, And A New World

Meagan Marie — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:01:00 GMT

Prey 2 is an ambitious title, and the new direction may seem as alien to fans as Tommy’s apathetic capturers. Despite featuring a new protagonist, new gameplay mechanics, and an entirely new world, Human Head argues that it is still a Prey title at heart.

While spirit-walking, spheres, portals, and plays on gravity are gone, Prey 2 will continue to focus on self-discovery and challenge the player by introducing new FPS mechanics. The goal is also to address a slew of nagging questions, too. Where did the spheres come from? What happened to the humans that were abducted and survived? Where is Tommy?

Regardless of the drastic departure from a narrative standpoint, the game itself starts off in a very familiar setting, as per our demo last week. On July 11, 2006, an unknown force invaded Earth, ripping Tommy and those close to him from their reservation in Oklahoma. That same night SeaJay Air Flight 6401, a commercial airliner, was abducted alongside countless others. More astute Prey fans may remember Tommy stumbling past the captured craft in the first game.

Prey 2 follows Killian Samuels, an air marshal on SeaJay 6401. He awakes on the sphere none the wiser than Tommy, working his way through rubble and burning debris to find himself gazing upon earth from a most disturbing perspective.

Samuels pulls out a gun – a luxury afforded to him thanks to his status as an air marshal – only to be attacked moments later. Instinct takes over and he chooses fight over flight. Eliminating the first round of hostiles, Samuels traverses his way toward the burning cockpit of his vessel, following screams in hopes of finding other survivors.

Reinforcements halt his progress, requiring even more aggressive tactics. This next encounter highlights the expanded cover system. Samuels pops in and out from behind debris, blind firing as needed, or running, jumping, and sliding to a new vantage point. Armed only with a pistol against superior technology, Samuels is stunned and staggers to the ground. The alien creatures close in, tower over him while muttering in their foreign tongue, and knock him into oblivion.

Time passes, and the familiar surroundings disappear. Samuels awakens after an undisclosed amount of time and finds himself acclimated to life on an alien world called Exodus. It is obvious that he has been a resident for some time, and more bizarrely, has made a name for himself as a bounty hunter. With no recollection of the years between the initial abduction and now, we have as much catching up to do as Samuels does. Like Tommy before him, Samuels has no grasp of his role in the world, and even thinks that he may be the only human left. Until he meets Tommy, that is, who is said to play a substantial role in the sequel.

The bounty hunter vocation was intentionally chosen by Human Head in an effort to explore both sides of the predator/prey relationship in the sequel. Samuels has made a number of friends over the years, but even more enemies.

We get a first look at Samuels in action in a city described as “alien noire” in presentation. Exodus is unique in that it is a tidally locked planet – one side always faces the sun, and another side never feels its warmth. This Blade Runner-inspired city falls somewhere in-between the light and dark zones, a vertical playground perfect to show off Samuel’s new moveset. He is more agile than one may expect, able to run, jump, vault, grab, shoot, and dive in a parkour-esq movement system. These augmented abilities will be an imperative part of the job, necessary for pursuing bounties and surviving the daily dangers of life as a bounty hunter.

Samuel’s life on this alien world is much in the hands of the player, as Prey 2 eagerly embraces an open-world setting. “Player choice” was an oft-repeated phrase during our demonstration. What missions Samuels accepts, where he travels, what gadgets he uses, and how he interacts with others is all dependent on play style. Despite what the genre may dictate, Samuels won’t walk around sticking a gun in the face of all he passes, either. Rather, choosing to be aggressive is a deliberate act, and one that will have repercussions in nearly all facets of the game.

Not wasting any time, we jump into a mission that highlights both player choice and the open world nature of the game. Gadgets are core to the bounty hunter profession, and Human Head promises well over twenty, with double the upgrades available throughout the campaign. A scanner of some sort provides an AR layer over the world, similar to Arkham Asylum’s detective mode. This particular city is home to drug and armament trades, seedy casinos, and strip clubs. Characters of interest are highlighted throughout the environment, and considering the shady populace, many opportunities for interactions become available. This is a good place to be a bounty hunter.

Prey 2 Trailer Puts Fire in the Sky

Matthew Kato — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:36:00 GMT

Bethesda just announced Prey 2, and this initial trailer for the game will get your attention.

It starts off aboard a routine flight with one of the passengers doing a little covert filming with his video camera. After catching sight of what must be the worst undercover cop/FBI/Sky Marshall in the history of aviation, all hell breaks loose. Aliens invade the plane (who else would be preceded by a glowing green light?), shots get fired, passengers get shredded, and it's all a prelude to the great big abduction in the sky.

Although this is just a teaser, we're not sure how or if this relates to Tommy from the first Prey other than aliens are involved. Developer Human Head has stated that Prey 2 would explore a "new facet" of the game's universe, so we'll have to wait and see.

Prey 2 is scheduled for a 2012 release on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

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