Cherokee Versus Aliens

Your name is Tommy. You're a Cherokee Indian, and you're thinking that your day couldn't possibly get any worse. Your grandfather, a tribal wise man, keeps nagging you to embrace your heritage. Your girlfriend refuses to leave the reservation with you. You both work in a bar, and the jerks who drink there paw your girlfriend and make rude comments about Native Americans.

All you want is to get out of this place, explore the world and make a real life for yourself. You're depressed and unmotivated. Thta's when the aliens attack, of course. At least now you have a target for your aggressions. Fight back or become Prey.

Grandfather knows best.

The Cherokee Way
The aliens have been traveling through space, attacking other species. They're not just killing people, they're kidnapping them and harvesting them. As Tommy, you find yourself and those you love on a conveyor belt that's taking you to who knows where; but wherever you're going, it can't be good. You manage to free yourself, and thus your adventure begins. Inside a living space ship, you must fight your way to clues in order to rescue your girlfriend, your neighbors and Earth itself.

The single player Story Mode takes center stage in this first-person shooter. You're tossed from an American drama into a science fiction action feature with all the creepiest elements you'd expect and a few surprises sprinkled on top. Sure, you're shooting nasty, ugly things, but the folks at Venom Games have made a storyline that's more than just, "Bad things are coming after you. Kill them."

When Tommy dies, you're tossed into the bad
neighborhood of the spirit world, and you must
fight your way back to life.

As you explore the enormous alien spaceship, you discover just how disturbing this attacking race of aliens is, and you realize that Earth isn't the first place they raided for slave labor. If you don't get your act together, it won't be the last, either.

As a pissed off ex-military Cherokee warrior, you have something of an advantage on the alien ship. You have enough smarts that you can pick up the alien weapons and make use of them, and you quickly figure out that not all the aliens on this vessel are intelligent. Some are just hungry.

Tommy walks in the spirit world.

Fighting in the Spirit
This game has a number of special elements that make it different from other shooters. To begin with, Venom Games made Tommy Native American for a reason. Native American mythology is a strong theme in the game. Once Tommy embraces his heritage, for example, he begins to discover inherent abilities.

He finds that he can Spirit Walk, that he has the ability to step out of his body and travel in the spirit realm, just like his ancestors.

This ability works similarly to astral projection, except that Tommy can actually interact with his environment from the spirit dimension. He can open doors and even attack aliens with his spirit weapon. Strategically, this ability is of great importance. Use it to access places you wouldn't be able to get to while Tommy is in his physical body.

Unfortunately, Tommy's physical body remains endangered while he's out roaming without it. If an alien creature attacks the abandoned body, Tommy is forced back into it, and he will suffer much more damage than he would if his spirit was in the body when he was attacked.

Dead Man Walking
Death happens. In Prey, however, it happens somewhat differently than in other games. When Tommy dies, you're tossed into the bad neighborhood of the spirit world, and you must fight your way back to life. How well you succeed determines the amount of help the spirits give you upon reentry to the living world.

Basically, it's a mini-game you play to earn your life back. Your success in the mini-game impacts the stats you'll have when you resurrect at the exact time and place of your death.

Gravity goes gaga.

Falling Up
Venom Games has also built changing gravity into the game. You can walk on walls and ceilings, and so can your enemies. Being in an alien spaceship takes some getting used to, especially when attack can come from any diredction. This adds a unique element of threat and intensity to your FPS experience.

Multiplayer in Prey include both Xbox Live® and System Link capabilities. You can play both single player and team Death Match games. Whether it's every man for himself or team versus team, the game's special features complicate your strategy in Death Matches. The changing gravity puts all players in three dimensions and means you can attack and be attacked from any side, at any time.

Venom Games started with the goal of making an FPS that was more challenging than just slaying waves of aliens. Telling a rich story through deep characters and innovative gameplay, built on the DOOM 3® engine, Prey succeeds and surpasses Venom's goals. This game is an alien experience in more ways than one.

Article by Angel Leigh McCoy