![]() ![]() Graphics: The 3D engine is blocky and the textures are uninspired. Primal Prey doesn't accomplish this and provides neither incentive in the form of meaningful power-ups or strategic variation, nor an engrossing environment. However, aside from the shrink ray (the only really distinctive armament in the entire game), weapons feel largely interchangeable, making the choice seem somewhat inconsequential.Īdmittedly, many action games essentially repeat the same action over and over, but the good ones are effective by distracting you from the repetition. The different weapons are distinguished by varying ranges and speeds, and each is more or less appropriate for the various dinosaur types. Each level consists of the same pattern - find and claim your target without getting sucked into quicksand, trampled, gored, chewed up, or nibbled to death in the process. In addition to being stuck on the same map for each mission, the action and goals are equally unvaried. Purchasing binoculars and night vision goggles do little to penetrate the fog, as they only bring it that much closer to your face. The only differences in terrain are alterations to weather and lighting, both of which boil down to varying the color and density of the omnipresent pea soup "fog of war" that pervades every scenario. Perhaps this is unsurprising, given that every mission takes place on the exact same map. The pace is remarkably slow, even down to your hunter's movement rate, which ranges from a torpid "run" to a molasses-like "walk." Though over 20 missions are offered, each with slightly different prey requirements, they feel remarkably similar. ![]() While this may be a minor quibble in the grand scheme, it's unquestionably an irritating one for gamers used to flight simulations and other first person games with this type of control. The interface controls are fairly standard for a first person 3D engine, though it's not possible to invert the mouse look. Branches appear and disappear as you move amongst trees, and the clipping algorithms cause them to spontaneously sprout or shed. ![]() Walking through dinosaurs is also possible, at least until you've gotten their attention, at which point they become distinctly and painfully solid. You can literally walk through giant ferns and small trees the size of your arm, but a log on the ground is an insurmountable obstacle. The clunky 3D engine helps create not only a visual non-stimulating world but a strangely inconsistent one as well. The same primary game elements (traveling through time to bag prehistoric big game and buying new weapons in between each mission) are emulated, but with little of the charm or novelty. Largely a low-budget copy of the dinosaur hunt simulation Carnivores, which itself is another gimmicky (though entertaining) variation of the ever expanding line of first-person hunting simulations flooding the market, Primal Prey limps along in its shadow. Had they been, no self-respecting publisher would release the game in good conscience. So blatantly underwhelming, these titles seem not to have been played by the developers prior to shipping. ![]() Some games inspire nothing more than confusion, and you can't help but wonder why and for whom they are made. ![]()
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