July 25, 2006

Review of Prey

A diverse death worldYou won't find many video games that take place on an Indian reservation. The game Prey does--for, oh, about 10 minutes. And then Tommy, the main character, gets sucked into a giant alien spacecraft.

The irony is that Tommy, a Cherokee, was just saying how he wanted a new life, off the reservation. Well, he gets his wish--except that it involves skulking around a dark, bio-mechanical alien ship in an effort to save his girlfriend and grandfather, who also were abducted.

As a first-person shooter, Prey may not win many awards for originality, but it's got enough going for it to keep fans of the genre interested. And, yes, in case you're wondering, there's a reason for Tommy's Native American ethnicity: Early in the game, he learns how to "spirit walk," which allows his spirit to leave his body and access areas his physical presence cannot, all while remaining undetectable to surrounding enemies (as long as Tommy doesn't attack them first).

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