Behold! Monolith's horror shooter is back in its second installment, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.In the first encounter we had our intrepid hero Point Man battling against soldier, monster and even his own mind. Full of chills, thrills and even a few scares, F.E.A.R. was both a game and an experience.
In this installment, Alma is back. Those of you who finished the first game will remember this last scene that segued us into the sequel. Creepy little tart isn't she? Though more commonly seen as her projected 8 year old self, her true form is this young woman with a distaste for any clothing whatsoever.
This time around we have control over Michael Becket, a member of Delta Force we know nothing about. He and his team are searching for Genevieve Aristide, president of the Armacham Technology Corporation. And no, F.E.A.R. fans, you can't shoot her in the face. I feel your pain.
I won't go into too much detail on the plot, as it's better experienced than told, but I will do a bit of comparative study.
First off, the scare factor. F.E.A.R. 1 (as it will be referred to from here on in) was an atmospheric wonder. Destructible environments, fully developed audio for effects and environment, a subtle yet chilling music score and one scary little girl made it one of the most immersive games I've ever played. The combat sequences and haunting environments were almost cinematic in quality. Casual exploration was also littered with action events involving our little Alma popping up from everywhere imaginable, screwing with both the character's and my own head.
Origin includes much of the same thing, which is more con than pro. The creepy Grudge-esque girl is nothing new, the terror replaced with a mild disgust. While still disconcerting to see in the window across the hall, that's about all she does now. Sudden hallucinations are few and far between leaving the shock factor to the faceless grunts our character mercilessly slaughters at every turn. Those familiar with the pacing of F.E.A.R. 1 will find the exact same in 2, leaving these scripted events very predictable. While still a creepy experience, it definitely falls short of its predecessor.The core mechanics for combat, I'm happy to say, are back in full force. The guns pack a solid punch no matter what weapon you hold. You certainly feel like you're holding instruments of death at your fingertips. As before, the level of our destruction is limited to three guns at any given time forcing the player to choose carefully which weapon he carries into the blood-spattered room ahead. Grenades are a welcome and frequent find as well, coming in four varieties: Frag, Smoke, Incendiary, and Shock. Aside from grenades though, while powerful and effective, the variety of primary weapons is considerably lacking. While the hammerhead is very amusing and the shotguns pleasantly potent, the majority of your weapons consist of slight variations on the original SMG. The scopes change, the design is tweaked, but the sound and feel of the gun is exactly the same. To their credit, Monolith did make up for this with a very satisfying mech rampage. That's right, fucking mechs.
Level design has improved, with drawbacks. As opposed to F.E.A.R. 1, the player can now find himself out in the streets. While F.E.A.R. is primarily a corridor shooter, scurrying from building to building for cover is a nice break from the monotony of the office buildings we're usually slogging through. In turn, it does suffer the blatant laziness of what I call "rubble linearity". Convenient piles of easily surmountable debris accompanied by invisible walls bluntly corral you towards your goal, reminding you that you're still playing a game and breaking up the otherwise immersive atmosphere.
Enemy design is one area that Project Origin has greatly improved upon. Instead of the constant stream if replica soldiers and special ops units (could you even tell the difference?) F.E.A.R. 1 presented us with, Origin has expanded its bestiary to include all sorts of mutated baddies. Replica soldiers still abound, though this time there are many variations including (but not limited to) grunts, flamers, snipers, demolitions, heavy armor, and stealth. Also thrown in the mix is our old friend the REV6 and its big brother, the Elite Powered Armor. Alma's abominations are also in greater force than ever. Ranging from the disturbed spirits of the dead to the ear-bursting puppet masters, the Remnants. Featuring ridiculous amounts of health and the ability to re-animate the dead with a piercing and disorienting scream, the Remnants are certainly a force to be reckoned with. Unless they don't re-animate the dead, in which case they're weaponless and scared. Still creepy though... yeah...And finally a look at the graphics. The bits and bobs, textures and effects, that make us ooh and ah and drool all over ourselves and our pets. Project Origin, as a whole, looks good. Not quite next-gen, but sporting fair resolution textures and ample use of bloom. The models tend to be blocky and the inanimate objects are all unpolished polygons, but it doesn't take away from the experience. As a result, the game has next to no frame rate issues. The game handles smoothly, no major clipping issues to speak of, and as a personal delight you can see the character's legs. Michael Becket is not a floating torso, ladies and gentlemen. Rejoice.
Overall, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is a solid shooter that's definitely worth playing for those gamers that like a bit of immersion with their gore. For the full horror shooter experience though, Origin falls decidedly short of the first. Take the cue from its name, play the original first. You won't be disappointed and it will make your F.E.A.R. 2 experience that much better.
You killed the Joker! YOU BASTARD!-Kiefer
