Prey 2 reportedly ditches portals and gravity

If the portal and gravity gameplay in the original Prey were the concepts that pulled you into its awkwardly designed alien doors, you might not be immediately enamoured with the game's upcoming sequel...

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If the portal and gravity gameplay in the original Prey were the concepts that pulled you into its awkwardly designed alien doors, you might not be immediately enamoured with the game's upcoming sequel.

Speaking with PS3M Magazine (via Beefjack), lead designer Chris Reinhart at developer Human Head has said neither gameplay element has made it into Prey 2. “Portals and gravity were the functions of The Sphere [the mothership in the original game]. And The Sphere’s gone," he explained.

From a story perspective it might make sense; however there's got to be another reason two of the most interesting pieces of the Prey puzzle. "We explored a lot of the ways you could use portals and gravity in combat, and I really wanted to shift away from making it too much of a puzzle game," Reinhart reportedly told the magazine.

At least we won't have to spend money on all those strategy guides and private lectures from Stephen Hawking to figure out how to play Prey 2 like we did the original, I guess.

Xav de Matos was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    April 1, 2011 11:45 AM

    Comment on Prey 2 reportedly ditches portals and gravity, by Xav de Matos.

    • reply
      April 1, 2011 11:50 AM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      April 1, 2011 11:54 AM

      Comment on Shackers reportedly ditch Prey 2, by Marrbe.

    • reply
      April 1, 2011 11:54 AM

      Summary: Prey 2 ditches Prey.

    • reply
      April 1, 2011 12:11 PM

      Different Protagonist
      Different Setting
      Different Gameplay

      Is there anything left to change?

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      April 1, 2011 12:22 PM

      i think this a good idea. portals and gravity have been done and done better since then. better to focus on something else.

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        April 1, 2011 12:27 PM

        I might be forgetting, but what other FPS game messed with gravity?

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          April 1, 2011 12:29 PM

          there was one crazy level in SIN, I think it was SIN

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            April 1, 2011 12:44 PM

            SIN Episodes (I only played original SIN demo when it came out)? I guess I was going with "since then" being since the release of Prey. I know Unreal 2 did a comparatively cheap play with gravity at the end of the game.

            Basically if there is a game I missed that has awesome gravity tricks, I wants it.

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              April 1, 2011 12:45 PM

              Oh, I guess there might be Shattered Horizon, but I don't really need another multiplayer only game... and at the moment I haven't the power to play that.

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              April 1, 2011 1:13 PM

              yeah, I meant the episodes

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          April 1, 2011 1:03 PM

          Dead Space!

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            April 1, 2011 1:21 PM

            And Portal 1/2...

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              April 1, 2011 1:27 PM

              Who?

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              April 1, 2011 1:36 PM

              Portal doesn't really play with gravity so much as use portals in a location that has gravity. Portal 2 does have the the "Excursion Funnel" thingies but that's (a) not really changing gravity in anywhere near the sense that Prey did and (b) not out yet (though soon, and is a buy regardless of gravity play).

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                April 1, 2011 1:47 PM

                True, but gravity / velocity is a huge part of the puzzles. It might be as simple as inverting gravity ala Prey, but using forward velocity to exceed gravity's effect on you.

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            April 1, 2011 1:39 PM

            That's right it does. I've been meaning to play through that. Sadly, I need to be in the right mood for it, and it runs slow on my laptop (and my tower is dead).

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          April 2, 2011 3:29 AM

          I can't think of any that utilized it so well in deathmatch multiplayer. nothing quite like getting the drop in on a camper from underneath.

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        April 2, 2011 1:20 AM

        is keeping the Prey name a good idea too?

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          April 2, 2011 9:27 AM

          you'd be surprised. even a moderately known existing franchise is easier to get people to buy than an all-new one. that's why Bethesda went to the trouble to buy Fallout when they could have just made Oblivion With Guns... or why my former employer makes games based on existing franchises instead of building all-new properties.

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          April 3, 2011 1:36 PM

          if it's continuing the storyline and uses the same character, yes

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      April 1, 2011 12:28 PM

      that would be stupid.

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      April 1, 2011 12:38 PM

      This has got to be an April Fool's Joke - take portals and gravity out and Prey becomes a generic shooter that no one will play.

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      April 1, 2011 1:01 PM

      Take away everything that made it unique. Great idea!

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      April 1, 2011 1:07 PM

      In other news, id are going to release a new Doom. It wont have demons, space marines or guns, but by heck it will have Doom on the box anyway.

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        April 1, 2011 1:17 PM

        It'll be called MooD and be set in an alternate universe where demons travel to Earth for research purposes, only to have hordes of humans descend on them from heaven and shower them with affection.

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      April 1, 2011 1:31 PM

      The setting is also now a middle eastern country, and your character is in the special forces!

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      April 1, 2011 5:44 PM

      How did "I really wanted to shift away from making it too much of a puzzle game" get translated into "no portals in Prey 2"?

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      April 2, 2011 1:08 AM

      i am just glad to hear that after all this time, the game is still in development. We need another game as good as ANY of the games that Human Head have made.

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      April 2, 2011 3:23 AM

      And then you realize prey 2 will be shit.

      Or this is a very bad April Fools.

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      April 2, 2011 7:51 AM

      So no more native american protagonist, just a random agent guy with guys; no more gravity, portals and puzzles.

      Welcome, generic shooter #1897163.

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      April 2, 2011 9:12 AM

      So if the spheres gone, what's that thing in the picture floating above the plane?

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      April 2, 2011 9:47 AM

      Stupid stupid stupid if true. Hard to tell though with stupid news coming out on the 1st. Still a dumb joke if fake. Stupid April Fool's >:(

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      April 2, 2011 1:33 PM

      I hope it's an April Fool's joke because those are pretty much the only thing which separated this game from pretty much every other shooter out there.

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      April 4, 2011 7:35 AM

      Oh so its going to be another streamlined all action expreience like ALL FPS games at the minute... wow, yeah no thank you.

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