Prey

The combat gets better once you start paying attention to your research. Enemy weaknesses are clear and you can always setup traps and lead them into them. I would setup turrets and lead the stronger enemies into them. Remember to use your glue gun to subdue badguys as damage is increased to them when they are glued up. It isn't the best combat I've played admittedly, but I really started to like it towards the end.

Also, tip, you always run out of minerals cause they are for ammo and a whole bunch of useful stuff. I suggest dumping metal objects (gas tanks, dead robots) into a pile and recycler charging the pile. It will break the pile down into its base components, so you should always have enough ammo if you do this.

Also, do sidequests. They usually give you good gooseberry fool, and some of them are interesting in terms of lore.

I found this to be a much better game than Bioshock.

Squinty wrote:The combat gets better once you start paying attention to your research. Enemy weaknesses are clear and you can always setup traps and lead them into them. I would setup turrets and lead the stronger enemies into them. Remember to use your glue gun to subdue badguys as damage is increased to them when they are glued up. It isn't the best combat I've played admittedly, but I really started to like it towards the end.

Also, tip, you always run out of minerals cause they are for ammo and a whole bunch of useful stuff. I suggest dumping metal objects (gas tanks, dead robots) into a pile and recycler charging the pile. It will break the pile down into its base components, so you should always have enough ammo if you do this.

Also, do sidequests. They usually give you good gooseberry fool, and some of them are interesting in terms of lore.

I found this to be a much better game than Bioshock.

I appreciate the advice, but this boils down to 'you didn't play it right.' Believe me, I tried. I still have my old saves and I put 20h into the game. I did the side quests. I set traps. I did the in game research. I still hated it.

Tafdolphin wrote:

Squinty wrote:The combat gets better once you start paying attention to your research. Enemy weaknesses are clear and you can always setup traps and lead them into them. I would setup turrets and lead the stronger enemies into them. Remember to use your glue gun to subdue badguys as damage is increased to them when they are glued up. It isn't the best combat I've played admittedly, but I really started to like it towards the end.

Also, tip, you always run out of minerals cause they are for ammo and a whole bunch of useful stuff. I suggest dumping metal objects (gas tanks, dead robots) into a pile and recycler charging the pile. It will break the pile down into its base components, so you should always have enough ammo if you do this.

Also, do sidequests. They usually give you good gooseberry fool, and some of them are interesting in terms of lore.

I found this to be a much better game than Bioshock.

I appreciate the advice, but this boils down to 'you didn't play it right.' Believe me, I tried. I still have my old saves and I put 20h into the game. I did the side quests. I set traps. I did the in game research. I still hated it.

Yes but there is a difference between you hating it and it being crap. You seem to be trying to suggest that the former confirms the latter, which isn't necessarily the case.

Better then BioShock?!

sonjustdont.gif

Buffalo wrote:Better then BioShock?!

sonjustdont.gif

I'd agree with Squinty on this one, as a game it is far superior to Bioshock. Bioshock had some things that stand it apart in terms of narrative (until it drops the ball massively of course) - but in most other aspects that I would expect from an Immersive Sim game Prey walks all over Bioshock.

Jenuall wrote:

Buffalo wrote:Better then BioShock?!

sonjustdont.gif

I'd agree with Squinty on this one, as a game it is far superior to Bioshock. Bioshock had some things that stand it apart in terms of narrative (until it drops the ball massively of course) - but in most other aspects that I would expect from an Immersive Sim game Prey walks all over Bioshock.

"In my opinion, Battlefield 1 far outshines Blood as a first person shooter."

Snarky yes, but the point stands. BioShock was an industry changing game when it was release. Prey, in my opinion, was a worse immersive sim than the latest entry in it's sister series released the year before

EDIT: To make my point extra clear:

Comparing a game released in 2007 to one released in 2017 and saying without context that the latter is better means nothing.

Tafdolphin wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Buffalo wrote:Better then BioShock?!

sonjustdont.gif

I'd agree with Squinty on this one, as a game it is far superior to Bioshock. Bioshock had some things that stand it apart in terms of narrative (until it drops the ball massively of course) - but in most other aspects that I would expect from an Immersive Sim game Prey walks all over Bioshock.

"In my opinion, Battlefield 1 far outshines Blood as a first person shooter."

Cool story.

So I'm about an hour in.

The intro is very clever. I liked it the first time, and I like it this time. The Looking Glass stuff (ie the breakable 3D viewscreens) never gets old apparently.

The combat is as bad as I remember, but I'd forgotten about the pointless stamina metre. The mimics aren't fun to fight at all, being as they are barely visible shapes that appear from behind you and nab a bunch of your health.

Talos is very pretty.

I'd forgotten how much I disliked the direct lifting of the Dishonoured style of character design into a sci fi world. In Dishonoured, those craggy, exaggerated faces perfectly aped the Victorian style of characterisation (as used in satiric cartoons of the time) but here it looks out of place and ugly.

EDIT: Ha. The second phantom I encountered killed me almost immediately from 2/3rds health. I'm done. Again.

Tafdolphin wrote:So I'm about an hour in.

The intro is very clever. I liked it the first time, and I like it this time. The Looking Glass stuff (ie the breakable 3D viewscreens) never gets old apparently.

The combat is as bad as I remember, but I'd forgotten about the pointless stamina metre. The mimics aren't fun to fight at all, being as they are barely visible shapes that appear from behind you and nab a bunch of your health.

Talos is very pretty.

I'd forgotten how much I disliked the direct lifting of the Dishonoured style of character design into a sci fi world. In Dishonoured, those craggy, exaggerated faces perfectly aped the Victorian style of characterisation (as used in satiric cartoons of the time) but here it looks out of place and ugly.

EDIT: Ha. The second phantom I encountered killed me almost immediately from 2/3rds health. I'm done. Again.

So your problem is what? It's too difficult? They're aliens that can move quickly and your a scientist armed with a wrench, it isn't meant to be a walk in the park. Did you expect the mimics to just stand still and let you hit them?

Even at the default level of stamina you get at the start of the game you should have more.than enough to deal with multiple mimics as long as you time your swings well and don't keep missing.

It sounds like you want to hate it, Taf. I don't understand a lot of your complaints, but if you don't like it you don't like it I guess.

I thought it was brilliant, anyway. I'd probably agree that it was my GOTY last year (yes, better than Zelda). The intro was just so well crafted, and from there I was couldn't stop thinking about it. 'Immersive sims' and related games have always been my favourite, and it's such a joy whenever I get to play a new one, especially one as polished and lovely as Prey. Glad we're getting some DLC.

And strawberry floating hell yes is this game better than Bioshock. Bioshock is a mediocre shooter with a sort of interesting story and an amazing setting wrapped up to seem like an immersive sim. It was great at the time, it's aged terribly, and Prey is miles better than it.

smurphy wrote:It sounds like you want to hate it, Taf. I don't understand a lot of your complaints, but if you don't like it you don't like it I guess.

I thought it was brilliant, anyway. I'd probably agree that it was my GOTY last year (yes, better than Zelda). The intro was just so well crafted, and from there I was couldn't stop thinking about it. 'Immersive sims' and related games have always been my favourite, and it's such a joy whenever I get to play a new one, especially one as polished and lovely as Prey. Glad we're getting some DLC.

And strawberry floating hell yes is this game better than Bioshock. Bioshock is a mediocre shooter with a sort of interesting story and an amazing setting wrapped up to seem like an immersive sim. It was great at the time, it's aged terribly, and Prey is miles better than it.

This guy gets it.

Better than BioShock is a silly thing to say, but I can understand where that's coming from. Better than BoTW is like telling me up is down and left is right.

I didn't want to hate it, despite the vitriol I've spat. I've loved all of Arkane's output and was bitterly disappointed that Prey wasn't the game for me. I gave it another go today and found that my will to continue had depleted after less than 2 hours due to the combat which is just as cheap and unsatisfying as I remembered and the...feel of it. It just doesn't play right for me.

Apart from some mad hyperbole out there* I don't doubt that people liked it. I'm really disappointed that I did not.

*Better than BoTW!

Tafdolphin wrote:Better than BioShock is a silly thing to say, but I can understand where that's coming from. Better than BoTW is like telling me up is down and left is right.

Why is it silly? Bioshock, whilst thematically interesting and with some beautiful visual design, is an incredibly shallow game - particularly when compared to the games it was supposed to be a "spiritual successor" to.

As for BOTW, it's harder to directly compare as they are very different games. Zelda is an incredible game and a brilliant evolution of that type of experience. I've loved the ~120 hours I've put into it so far. But I still prefer Prey.

Tafdolphin wrote:I didn't want to hate it, despite the vitriol I've spat. I've loved all of Arkane's output and was bitterly disappointed that Prey wasn't the game for me. I gave it another go today and found that my will to continue had depleted after less than 2 hours due to the combat which is just as cheap and unsatisfying as I remembered and the...feel of it. It just doesn't play right for me.

Apart from some mad hyperbole out there* I don't doubt that people liked it. I'm really disappointed that I did not.

*Better than BoTW!

Shame you couldn't click with it, but at least you have it a good go!

Buffalo wrote:Better then BioShock?!

sonjustdont.gif

It is though. I had way more fun playing this game. Very little of the gameplay in Bioshock is actually satisfying to play. The gunplay feels cack in it. It's a fine setting and narrative twist admittedly, and it was quite a looker back then. I have always thought that it is incredibly overrated though.

I haven’t played Prey but I’d be stunned if it’s better than Bioshock/Bioshock 2.

And the Prey gunplay is a world beater? It’s just as bad!
The strawberry float outta here maygne

Buffalo wrote:And the Prey gunplay is a world beater? It’s just as bad!
The strawberry float outta here maygne

I'd say the gunplay in Prey is better than Bioshock, but obviously neither is a world beater. That said focusing on the gunplay in these games is like complaining about not being able to talk to the monsters in DOOM. Yes it's a part of the experience, but there is so much else going on as well!

Jenuall wrote:

Buffalo wrote:And the Prey gunplay is a world beater? It’s just as bad!
The strawberry float outta here maygne

I'd say the gunplay in Prey is better than Bioshock, but obviously neither is a world beater. That said focusing on the gunplay in these games is like complaining about not being able to talk to the monsters in DOOM. Yes it's a part of the experience, but there is so much else going on as well!

Quelle surprise but I disagree. I played BioShock remastered recently and the moment to moment gun play is far more satisfying than Prey, and that goes double for BioShock 2.

Prey is a more complete game, having coming out ten years after BS and stealing its opening sections almost verbatim, but they didn't best the boom boom.

Tafdolphin wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Buffalo wrote:And the Prey gunplay is a world beater? It’s just as bad!
The strawberry float outta here maygne

I'd say the gunplay in Prey is better than Bioshock, but obviously neither is a world beater. That said focusing on the gunplay in these games is like complaining about not being able to talk to the monsters in DOOM. Yes it's a part of the experience, but there is so much else going on as well!

Quelle surprise but I disagree. I played BioShock remastered recently and the moment to moment gun play is far more satisfying than Prey, and that goes double for BioShock 2.

Each to their own I guess, but to me the arsenal and application of weapons and equipment in Prey is far superior to Bioshock. I mean what do you actually get to work with in Bioshock - some fairly dull conventional firearms in the pistol, shotgun and machine gun; a bog standard grenade launcher; and a pretty useless crossbow. The only thing which is of any interest is the chemical thrower.

Prey on the other hand has a fantastically varied selection of weaponry, most of which have multiple applications within the game beyond just shooting gooseberry fool up. Also Prey atleast tries to be thematically accurate with its weapons - you're on a space station, nobody wants heavy weaponry that is going to tear a hole in the hull and destroy the whole place. Ryan/Fontaine clearly didn't give two hoots about drowning everyone in Rapture with the amount of boom boom they provided down there!

Tafdolphin wrote:Prey is a more complete game, having coming out ten years after BS and stealing its opening sections almost verbatim, but they didn't best the boom boom.

A common complaint by fans of the genre is that Bioshock is a less complete game than the likes of System Shock 2, Deus Ex, or even the original System Shock, all of which came out long before Bioshock. Prey isn't better than Bioshock because it's newer, it's better because it offers more and is generally a more effectively designed gameplay experience.

Also: "stealing its opening sections almost verbatim" They're completely different!

Tafdolphin wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Buffalo wrote:And the Prey gunplay is a world beater? It’s just as bad!
The strawberry float outta here maygne

I'd say the gunplay in Prey is better than Bioshock, but obviously neither is a world beater. That said focusing on the gunplay in these games is like complaining about not being able to talk to the monsters in DOOM. Yes it's a part of the experience, but there is so much else going on as well!

Quelle surprise but I disagree. I played BioShock remastered recently and the moment to moment gun play is far more satisfying than Prey, and that goes double for BioShock 2.

Prey is a more complete game, having coming out ten years after BS and stealing its opening sections almost verbatim, but they didn't best the boom boom.

Might be the case for Bioshock 2. It is a significant improvement over the original in that regard. But I'm talking about the original.

I still think it's a better game though. The amount of choice you have is amazing the further you get into it. Bioshock is pretty shallow in that respect.The level design is nowhere near that of Prey's.