Prey is truly a mixed bag and a frustrating experience. Single player ALMOST makes it worth while.
So many of the reviews complain about the lack of multi-player game types, or the fact that Prey only supports a max of 8 players at a time. But I don't feel that these problems, though very real, are really what ruin the multi-player experience. Prey's multi-player could support 24 players, and have every variation of capture the flag and king of the hill ever conceived, and still not come close to being up to par. No, Prey's real problems are more basic in nature. Simply put, it cannot do what it claims it can do. It, at this moment, cannot support 8 players at a time. The game is very nearly unplayable with anything more than 6 players on the server. The claims of problems with lag by other reviewers is an understatement. It is terrible!!! Once it starts lagging, you cannot aim accurately, and worse yet, some times, you cannot move. Your character will be relegated to twitching back and forth within an area of about two to three feet. It is extremely frustrating, yet also slightly amusing, because the whole time this is happening, voice communications work perfectly, so you get to share your frustration with the other players. Just one big happy pissed off and frustrated family!
Ok, enough negativity, for now. As I said at the beginning of the review, the game is a mixed bag, meaning that there is some good to go along with the bad. Ninety percent of the good is in the single player game. It is fun, engaging, and fairly unique. The story won't win any awards for best screenplay, but as games go, it is good. You really do get a sense of what it might possibly feel like to be abducted by ruthless aliens. The graphics are great, by any standard, and the voice acting and sound are good. The controls are also good. Nothing revolutionary, but adequate. I've enjoyed the single player game, but, there are a few things that stop it from being able to overcome the mess that is the multi-player. For one, the enemy AI. It is far from being "next gen". Also, the length of the game, or lack there of. Being that this game can't fall back on it's multi-player to add replay value, the short 8-12 hours that it should take most of you to finish this game are not enough to leave you feeling like your $60 were well spent. And, also, the whole portal and gravity reversing theme is under developed. It's cool at first, but is soon revealed for what it really is, a rather shallow and inconsequential part of the game. The worst part is that it could have been so much more! The concept truly is unique, but the execution is underwhelming.
To sum it up, despite of a few flaws that keep it from being great, the single player portion of Prey is good and most people will enjoy it. The multi-player, for now, is a mess. To those who love playing online and have already forked out $60, then keep your fingers crossed and hope that they come out with a fix that we can download. Or, play through the good single player portion, then bite the bullet, sell the game back to the store, cut your losses, and wait for Gears of War.