Game rating: F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)

[B33 ENN]

Game title
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)

Category            Rating            Comments Story line 8 The theme for F.E.A.R. 2 is sci-fi horror played as an FPS, and is a direct sequel to the original PC game, F.E.A.R. It takes up the story near the end of that game. You start this time from the perspective of a character in a different team arriving on the scene. The plot may not be totally original, but the style and execution of it for a video game is. To remain spoiler free, I won't describe too much of the plot or story elements. However, the franchise has done an interesting job of mixing the traditional corridor-shooter with the backdrop and atmosphere of the late nineties Japanese horror genre: such classics as Ju-On or Ringu (remade in the West as The Grudge and The Ring respectively) are obvious inspirations. The way the story is woven into the gameplay also makes it feel natural, and appears subtly relevant to your character's development; yet it also manages to refrain from being overpowering and affected. Unlike some franchises where you feel they are trying too hard to communicate depth to the action, F.E.A.R. 2 allows for those that like to get absorbed by the story, but also for those that wish to ignore everything but the action and suspense. The enemies you face are the typical types you'd expect from a sci-fi shooter and all the usual suspects are accounted for except the aliens; and yet they seem to have an originality in execution that doesn't have you rolling your eyes at the stereotypes. In fact, some are quite surprisingly unpredictable and unsettling to fight. Indeed, even though you're unlikely to experience any nightmares, it will certainly make you jump a great many times! Graphics 9 The scenic graphics for F.E.A.R. 2 are impressive and the object detail balanced well with the need to ensure smooth running at good resolutions on most moderately specified hardware. Certainly on any dual or quad-core CPU with a mid-high range GPU you should be able to max this game out. It sensibly doesn't try to be photo-realistic at the expense of framerate, yet manages to be detailed enough to make you believe you are in the environment displayed. Generally, most of the places you'll navigate are deliberately dark and creepy, however not so much that you cannot appreciate the scenery. Sensibly, the game begins with a test setting to help set the brightness level as intended by the designers, but you can change this up or down as you like. As with most horror films, it is also a game that is best played with ambient lighting as low as possible if not totally dark, so definitely close those curtains in the daytime! For a two year old title, the lighting and special effects used in the game are stunning and stand up even against games being released today. The animations are replete with detail, mostly realistic and sometimes amusingly exaggerated. Whereas the first game was lauded from a technical perspective, it was criticised for lack of variety. This sequel has answered those points and gone further, it has built well upon the achievments of its pioneering predecessor. Sound 7 Like the graphics, the sound effects are not lacking in anyway. From the weapons to the explosions, from the interactions to the movement, the balance and quality is more than acceptable. Whereas the graphics are best appreciated in a darkened room, the sound is best enjoyed higher than normal. The voice acting of the NPC's is among the better games and reasonably well synchronised to the facial expressions, both in-game and during cut-scenes. The dialogue of the enemy soldiers during battles is often desperate and amusing, but not anywhere near as dynamic or varied as the mercs in FAR CRY 2. However, it is far more realsitic and natural then the Koreans in Crysis, even considering they have more in common with the Clone Army from Star Wars than the gung-ho wisecrackers of Starship Troopers. In standard stereo, the balancing worked well to isolate the direction of sound sources that were or were not visible on screen. This would w@&k as well if not better in 5.1 surround for those that have it. Game play 8 Whether the horror genre is for you or not, you should be impressed by the way the developer has managed to use the now common tricks of the trade like interactive cut-scenes, lighting and graphical effects to set the tone, yet not overusing them to break immersion as some games regularly do (Bad Company 2 comes to mind). In this way, F.E.A.R 2 can be compared to the style of FAR CRY 2, but focussed on the indoor arena as opposed to wide open country: more a tactical shooter rather than a strategic one. However, when you first enter the game, the gameplay quickly becomes monotonous in terms of level design and environmental variety. It will definitely feel claustrophobic to the player used to a more free roaming style from playing games like Crysis as opposed to the Doom 3. However, whereas Crysis gave you an uncommonly long leesh in the first half of its levels, F.E.A.R 2 does the exact opposite: it starts off badly but only gets better if you stick with it. The first six levels really could have been condensed into two or three at the most since the game really starts to take off from the seventh level and pretty much never lets up after that. Even though in most cases you are still following a route, the levels in the last half of the game open up a lot in terms of space and settings, therefore giving the player far more room for creativity in his approach. Replay value 7 After completing the first playthrough, you have access to replaying any level at any difficulty setting. Therefore the game begins to lend itself to experimentation and repeat attempts to conquer its not-so-easy challenges. The auto-save checkpoints are balanced frequently enough to ensure you don't get frustrated repeating long sections before you failed. Most of the time you almost relish repeating parts because you get to improve your technique and be more efficient with resources. Another thing that is distinctly positive about this game is the behaviour of the A.I. Some of the stunts they pull are going to surprise and their tactics will unbalance you, yet their patterns won't become too predictable or repetitive like some canned effects. They are mostly purposefully executed and improvised uses of the surroundings. However, like any A.I. opponents, they have their moments of neolithic incompetence, but usually that is either a relief or a source of great amusement. The one drawback of it's linear level design is that eventually you will learn the event triggers and that will limit consecutive replays in favour of occasional revisits. Final thoughts If you can view the first half levels more as training for the many and varied weapons you will need to learn to deploy effectively, for developing tactics against the distinct and threatening foes you will face later, then you are in for a treat when you get to open ground. If you like challenging tactical combat situations against smart and varied opponents that actually act like they want to survive and fight back, then you will be pleasantly surprised. There is a real sense of acheivement when you survive levels in this game. If you enjoy using a variety of believable but fantastic weapons, and not being spoon fed solutions on a painting-by-numbers basis, then F.E.A.R 2 is a game you will return to more than once. You may not pick it up again straight away, but you will most likely keep it in your library for some instant access to a quick fix on some particularly well designed levels. You can get this game for a budget price now so whether you like the theme or not, if you are an FPS fan who longs for a game where you can literaly nail your enemies to the wall, reliving nostalgic days driving a MechWarrior robot, you cannot miss this game!

[Art Blade]

NICE rating.  :-X

Makes me want to forget about what I did when starting to rate games..  ;D

I played the first FEAR, and I still remember some levels and enemies and also those memorable moments of AI failing to do things right (relief or fun, indeed) but also how they sometimes frightened the sweet bejabbers out of me when they managed to flank me and get me from behind..  ;D

At that time I still used to play online, so I also remember that aspect.. I don't know if FEAR2 would be fun to play online, but FEAR1 for a certain amount of time sure was.

[PZ]

Nicely written!  :-X

[fragger]

Terrific review, B33 ENN :-X

I too played the first F.E.A.R. game and although I was generally impressed by the overall presentation of it, I felt it wasn't quite my cup of tea. I did play it all the way through, but just once. #2 may be worth looking at, I'll certainly keep it in mind.

Cheers! :)

[B33 ENN]

I played the first FEAR, and I still remember some levels and enemies and also those memorable moments of AI failing to do things right (relief or fun, indeed) but also how they sometimes frightened the sweet bejabbers out of me when they managed to flank me and get me from behind..  ;D

At that time I still used to play online, so I also remember that aspect.. I don't know if FEAR2 would be fun to play online, but FEAR1 for a certain amount of time sure was.

I got caught out by that trick several times too :-() , often because I didn't realise he had another way around to me, but mostly because I didn't presume they'd be able to "think" outside the box. Like in Far Cry 2, if you hide in a building or a large piece of pipe, they often don't have an effective strategy for that.

Here thery "know" their environnment well, but even so, they advance on your position carefully and use teamwork against you. I never play multi-player online so can't comment, but it does have online and LAN mode options in the game. I have still to play FEAR 1, as I haven't got into any games older than FC2 yet.

[Art Blade]

welcome to the club of non-online gamers.  :) I stopped playing online a couple of years ago. These days aren't the days any more.. too many trolls out there.

[PZ]

Indeed - I tried a bit of MP during my FC2 days, but quickly became disenchanted when spawn campers delighted in shooting everyone as they spawned.  The last MP I played was Red Dead Redemption with my son in a private session.

[JRD]

Great review B33 ENN  :-X

I just checked some gameplay vids on youtube and the game looks pretty nice. I like the melee and cover system they created and also the animations of you jumping over obstacles. I like when you just don't leap up as if you had springs on your feet.   ;)

This video features the first mission. It probably shows nothing of the creatures you face latter on, but you can see the eerie girl popping,,, creepy  >:D >:D

FEAR 2 Gameplay - 1st Mission Complete Walkthrough

[B33 ENN]

Boy I haven't seen that level in so long! Makes me want to go back for another playthrough now that I'm skilled up on the game 8)

This video is cool, but it's a total speedrun, as he knows the game very well. In playing it really it takes much longer and  there is a lot of sneaking and peaking if you want to survive! The enemies on that first level look so tame now compared to what comes later, but at the time I had my w@&k cut out with them! :-()

It;s one of those games where nothing happens for ages when you are expecting it to, and just when you get used to that all hell breaks loose! :-X

[Art Blade]

 ;D :-X

[Jim di Griz]

Good review indeed B33 ENN  :)

Just playing this myself after two years or so of seeing my lady play through it four or five times (currently on the hardest difficulty level.) A great game that has a lot of replayability, especially if you want to explore as there are quite a few routes in most cases that will get you to where you need to be.

The 'Alma sightings' seem to be random also, or there are so many subtle extra ones, that you only occasionally get to experience them. My favourite so far is coming up a ladder and she's there, peering down at you from the top.

The ghost sections are well creepy too with a superb use of malfunctioning lighting and a dimming of your torch's capability - really adds to the drama.

We have all three of these games and the stories mesh nicely. I will definitely be playing the first and third installments when other games permit. Another plus point is campaign length - they're all very long  :-X

Slightly off topic, but can I join the non-MP club?  :) I'd love to get the BF3 maps coming out now (as I love tanks) but that game seems to have so many campers it's ridiculous. FC2 MP has a lot of new players now, so there isn't so much spawn camping, though I'm sure that'll change before too long  :(

[Art Blade]

My favourite so far is coming up a ladder and she's there, peering down at you from the top.

I'm trying very hard to convince myself that the "r" in "peering" isn't a typo.  :-D

Slightly off topic, but can I join the non-MP club?

I think you're already in  :)

[Jim di Griz]

I'm trying very hard to convince myself that the "r" in "peering" isn't a typo.  :-D

just as well I didn't write 'sitting above you...' then  :)

[fragger]

 

FC2 MP has a lot of new players now, so there isn't so much spawn camping, though I'm sure that'll change before too long  :(

Spawn campers should be throttled at birth with their own umbilical cords

[Jim di Griz]

...Spawn campers should be throttled at birth with their own umbilical cords

Sounds like a worthy job for SkyNet  :-X

[Fiach]

I like the FEAR games, you should try 3, its quite good too.

[Jim di Griz]

True indeed, I liked the look of it, plus the ability to play as either brother and so using different abilities. We have the third but it might take a while for me to get around to it - for some reason, I really liked the overheating gun effect with the steam/smoke obscuring your view  :) I am a simple soul though...