Prey Demo

Prey is one of the most anticipated shooters ever - if only because it's had such a long time to work people up. In fact, this first-person shooter has taken longer than America's entire moon landing mission, from JFK's "We choose to go to the moon" speech to the final splashdown of Apollo 17. After 11 years in the making, Prey is finally here. Almost.

The demo contains the first hour(ish) of the single-player game and two multiplayer maps. And while your character Tommy doesn't exactly choose to go into space like JFK did, as a Cherokee Indian with a grandfather of the moccasin-clad, wise-old-elder variety; he's actually quite well prepared. He has dormant powers.

Nevertheless, Tommy makes it clear he's not happy about the whole suddenly-in-orbit thing. You could say he has reservations.

Yet it starts, as so many alien abductions do, in a bar. It's a quiet night. It's pouring. Take time to look around and you'll find much is interactive - the lights, the hand dryer, the TV, the jukebox. There are even arcade machines, one of which, Rune Man, is a cross between Pac Man and Human Head's own third-person adventure Rune.

Fiddle with all this a bit longer and you'll wonder why they're interactive, however. What now? Best start a fight. The barmaid's your girlfriend and those bikers are frisky... and you might as well get used to saving Jen.