Shippin' Out July 10-14: Prey vs. Chromehounds

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Jul 11, 2006 1:23 pm PT

2K Games' long-awaited shooter takes on Sega's mech actioner for top honors during a slim release week.

Traditionally, as the height of summer approaches, the game-release schedule shrinks--the conventional wisdom being that most people are on vacation, engaging in outdoor activities, or plunking down their dollars to see big-screen blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. That certainly seems to be the case this week, which will see less than a dozen games hit store shelves.

But while the week's release slate may be light, some of the titles on it are heavy hitters indeed. Foremost among them is Prey, the much-anticipated shooter from 2K Games. Loosely based on the canceled shooter from 3D Realms, which oversaw Human Head's development of the current game, Prey shipped for the Xbox 360 and PC on Tuesday. The game, which received decent reviews, is rated M for Mature and will retail for $59.99 on the 360 and $49.99 on the PC.

Prey's only competition on the 360 will come in the form of Chromehounds from Sega. Developed by From Software, creators of the Armored Core series, the game centers on third-person mech combat, with multiplayer Xbox Live battles playing a key part. However, while the game shipped today, its online component got off to a shaky start, not allowing players to log onto Xbox Live until late in the afternoon.

The rest of the week's releases are a mixed bag of lower-level PC titles, including VU Games' Outlaw Chopper, DreamCatcher Interactive's First Battalion, and Wings of Power II - WWII Fighters, a third-party add-on for Flight Simulator 2004. There is also a single PlayStation 2 release, Ultimate Board Game Collection, which had been slated for the previous week but has since slipped without explanation.

This week's new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information--actual dates subject to change).

JULY 11, 2006
Chromehounds (Xbox 360)
First Battalion (PC)
Outlaw Chopper (PC)
Prey (Xbox 360, PC)
Ultimate Board Game Collection (PS2)
Wings of Power II - WWII Fighters (PC)

JULY 14, 2006
Oil: Build an Oil Empire (PC)

58 Comments

  • surewin

    Posted Jul 17, 2006 7:58 pm PT

    i don't think it matters either way. we all know that everyone has their opinion saying chromehounds sucks, then below that its great here and their its just the individual.

  • BentSea

    Posted Jul 16, 2006 11:49 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • BentSea

    Posted Jul 16, 2006 11:49 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • BentSea

    Posted Jul 16, 2006 11:48 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • BentSea

    Posted Jul 16, 2006 11:48 am PT

    "I don't understand the whole PC vs Xbox 360 . I don't see it as a competition. I enjoy the games on the PC but own a Powerbook. I would rather spend 400 bucks on a console to hook up to my home theater surround sound and projector than 1500 ( maybe 1000 if I have tech buddies help me spec it out) on a good gaming PC. The console just suits my needs better. However I have many friends who prefer headphones, a desk, mouse, quick refresh LCD or CRT and a WOW account. I can respect that. We just have different tastes / needs."

    The trouble with the difference between the two really starts when you factor in that Prey runs perfect on my computer with settings set to high, looking better than on the Xbox 360.

    The caveat of that statement is that my computer is maybe cheaper than the 360 right now and has not been upgraded in about 2 years.

    Athalon XP 2400+ (maybe between 50 - 100 with an agp mobo, a nice one even, not a good upgrade buy, but neither is a 360)
    Radeon 9800 (60)
    1.5 gigs 2700 RAM (about 100, maybe less for 3 sticks of 512megs)
    250 gig drive (45$)
    Wireless 802.11g Network Card (15$)
    DVD Burner (60$)

    330 for a far more functional, and in the case of both Prey and, I've found, Oblivion, better performing graphical machine, to which all the good games for the 360 have already been ported.

  • nrighton

    Posted Jul 14, 2006 9:32 am PT

    I don't understand the whole PC vs Xbox 360 . I don't see it as a competition. I enjoy the games on the PC but own a Powerbook. I would rather spend 400 bucks on a console to hook up to my home theater surround sound and projector than 1500 ( maybe 1000 if I have tech buddies help me spec it out) on a good gaming PC. The console just suits my needs better. However I have many friends who prefer headphones, a desk, mouse, quick refresh LCD or CRT and a WOW account. I can respect that. We just have different tastes / needs.

  • Chubbums

    Posted Jul 13, 2006 3:40 pm PT

    gothicdragon216 wrote:
    exclusive to 360: full auto (most fun car based shooter since Twisted Metal)
    Perfect Dark Zero (mediocore single play, good multiplay)
    Chromehounds nuff said


    Thank you for proving my point that the 360 has lackluster games. Chromehounds has been getting bad ratings so far nuff said.

    Please don't come at me with this "oh, and list some good PC exclusive games" because quite frankly every stellar game the PC gets people with consoles cry for a port.

    Go to any of the PC forums and you'll see this question constantly asked "Is this coming to the 360/PS3?" PC has such a huge catalog of great games. Don't try to play it off like you wouldn't like to see some of these games on a console.

    Don't get mad because I'm telling the truth, right now the 360 hasn't released an exclusive killer app.

  • gothicdragon216

    Posted Jul 13, 2006 10:25 am PT

    "360 has yet to release an exclusive stellar game."

    exclusive to consoles: too many to list

    exclusive to 360: full auto (most fun car based shooter since Twisted Metal)
    Perfect Dark Zero (mediocore single play, good multiplay)
    Chromehounds nuff said.

    When Fable 2, Halo 3, Forza Mortorsport 2, and Gears of War come out, the strength of the x360 will be realized.

    oh, and list some good PC exclusive games (besides Spore)

  • Fallout_red

    Posted Jul 13, 2006 10:11 am PT

    Pery DOES NOT suck. Prey is the best Xbox306 game after Oblvion and is way better than GRAW. Prey is a fresh and awesome experience and not stupid and cliche like GRAW. I hope Prey does great on sales and sequal arrives soon.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 9:53 pm PT

    Yea, not many this week

  • soulknight63133

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 9:02 pm PT

    PC runs smoother and faster games than on a CONSOLE?..duh!! It's supposed to.

  • Chubbums

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 4:50 pm PT

    Yes your right ssj4_2004 because we all know that Oblivion, G.R.A.W., Call of Duty 2, and Burnout Revenge are exclusives. It's really sad that an Xbox Live Arcade game is ranked in fourth place. Goes to show the rest of the 360 library is full of lackluster games. If it isn't above 90 then isn't stellar.

    You may want to actually read my posts next time, if not don't bother trying to prove me wrong.

  • ssj4_2004

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 4:06 pm PT

    Chubbums
    ssj4_2004 proof enough your a mindless tool. 360 has yet to release an exclusive stellar game.
    ----
    Gamerankings says otherwise...

  • Saturos3091

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 11:09 am PT

    prey and chromehounds both look...okay. The Mechwarrior series was my fav so far...and I hear bad things about both chromehounds and prey. I hear that chromehounds is an extremely slow-paced mech game, with a terrible single player. I hear the multiplayer *online* is good though. I hear prey has a fun single player, but it is only 6-10 hours long and has a bad multiplayer. I can't play online anyway, so I don't care for prey or chromehounds online and I don't know if I'm gonna buy either. So I guess I should say: wait for Gears of War. (if that's your type of game.) and chubbums is an idiot...the 360 hasn't even been out a year and they're still making some of the exclusive games such as "Gears of war", "too human", and "halo 3" better. The 360 will end up with good exclusives and probably more than the ps3, as they seem to be thinking about putting some of the ps3s top sellling games on 360 also.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 9:44 am PT

    the summer drought continues.....

  • TheNasty1

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 9:03 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • crazy_boy166

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 8:20 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • TheHunter123

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 8:19 am PT

    I played the prey demo for PC, and I have to say I enjoyed it, because the game has a total different lean on the FPS series, what with spirit walking and gravity paths.

    I have to say though I was waiting a long time for Chromehounds. I love 'mech games, and Chromehounds is a breaktrhough for current playable 'mech games, since you can build your own Hounds and fight online in part of 3 countries for world domination. THAT is awesome.

  • paradyme777

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 6:09 am PT

    Yay! I have Prey and it is uber fun, glad I purchased it. I'm still pretty positive I won't be picking up Chromehounds.

  • glinz

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 4:42 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

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