14 DAY TRIAL // What we know:
Prey 2 has little to no connection with the first game that bears the same name, although it seems that first-title protagonist Tommy will make some appearances that will further the narrative of the sequel.
Instead the team at Human Head Games seems to have settled on a game that will put the player in the presumably alien skin boots of one bounty hunter who at one point used to be a United States Marshall.
On the planet of Exodus, the man lacks a memory but has a lot of lucrative contracts and the central plot of the game will evolve around his missions for aliens and the gradual rediscovery of his origins and the circumstances of his abduction.
Prey 2 will be open world and will allow protagonist Killian Samuels to take on missions that suit his style, with each player able to develop his character in various ways.
The game engine is a heavily modified id Tech 4, with the newer fifth version appearing too late for the project.
At the moment Bethesda says that the game will arrive during the summer of 2012, although the project might be pushed back to the fall.
Expect to see Prey 2 arrive on the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PC.
Why it matters: The first Prey relied heavily on its portal like mechanics, but other than that delivered a fairly standard shooter experience and the sequel needs to create an identity for the series, one which is both engaging at first sight and memorable in the long term.
The Blade Runner and Firefly-inspired Prey 2 I have seen at E3 in 2011 seems like a solid game but any judgment on the game must be held back until we know more about the story and about the actual features.
The full Incoming 2012 series of articles can be read on Softpedia right here.