E3 2011: Prey 2 Impressions

By far the most impressive title we saw at this year’s E3 was Prey 2. At Bethesda’s booth we had an opportunity to view a live demonstration of the title, and Bethesda has officially proved that a change to the series isn’t a bad thing. Prey 2 is built off of the same powerful engine that Rage uses, however in the background of a science fiction universe it looks even more breathtaking. Hit the break to view our initial impressions of Prey 2.

I was shocked, not because the original Prey was a bad game or I thought it wasn’t deserving of a sequel, but rather the enormous spike in quality we were treated too. Prey 2 is a beautiful looking title, not because it’s particularly pretty in the normal sense, but because like RAGE it sports a truly stunning amount of detail in the environment. I’ve been patiently waiting for a title that adequately uses an engine to its full potential, and in this regard, Prey 2 makes RAGE look like a lowly adopted brother.

Looks aren’t everything though, and this is where Prey 2 really impresses. The recoil of the guns are so believable, I sincerely thought I was watching a next-generation title. Even when our demonstrator was pumping bullets into his target it still looked unbelievable, and the animations of the enemies only further added to the immersion.

That would have been sufficient enough a demo; however we were also treated to the movement system. After getting a short taste of that, I had to wonder why Bethesda even bothered with Brink. Everything looked so fluid, and the demonstrator was able to pop headshots will sliding through pieces of cover with ease. Not only was it really cool to see in combat, but during chase sequences the amount of customization a player has to traverse different buildings and structures is remarkable.

Prey 2 as a whole was stunning and is easily our Game of the Show. After wondering if we would ever see a title worth gushing about, Prey 2 leaped from the shadows, captured us in an orb of electromagnetic energy, and made us never look back. Well done, Human Head Studios. We can’t wait to get additional information regarding this title.