Will you F.E.A.R. Alma again?
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is an action/horror game in which you take control of Michael Becket, who is tasked with arresting Genevieve Aristide the president of Armacham. Certainly seems like a simple mission, on paper. Things quickly go awry, and you’re thrust into a battle against countless soldiers and creatures straight out of your most recent nightmare.
The main draw of F.E.A.R. 2 is it’s horror themed elements. The game has a handful of jump scare moments, but not nearly as many as the first F.E.A.R. Instead, it uses it’s “scare” scenes to take you out of the standard kill room to kill room formula. They’re not really scary though, but highly atmospheric. After awhile though it becomes somewhat annoying to have to keep going back into these sequences, especially after some of them feel strikingly similar. The story however, is loads better than the first, and also can stand on it’s own. It would help to of played the original F.E.A.R. but it’s not necessary. The plot keeps you barreling down a strict set of objectives and you constantly know what you’re doing and why, and you usually care. While Becket himself is mute, you always have someone on your radio keeping you up to speed and giving their own commentary on the situation at hand, usually giving you that extra bit of insight. The characters feel a bit generic (tough black guy, strong willed female, etc.) but are still likable, though it doesn’t make them any less expendable. Overall, F.E.A.R. 2 does the story right by finally explaining what in the hell is going on, but still leaving you in the dark enough where you’re still a bit uncertain.
F.E.A.R. 2 plays very well. It takes several cues from Call of Duty 4's control scheme and feels just as tight. The weapons (with the exception of the pistol) all seem super satisfying, even if enemies can survive a few to many gun shot wounds to the head than you would expect. The way the enemies react to getting shot, and the amount of blood that comes out of each bullet wound is fantastically over the top. On that note, the color of the blood used is perfect, and goes a long way into making the excessive gore work, as does the weapons you get. Pulse rifles and a futuristic cross bow that occasionally pins enemies to walls rounds out the arsenal of standard arsenal of assault rifles and shotguns. You even get to control a powered up Mech suit a couple of times which lets you just ruin everything in your path, though these sessions are short and you only get to do it a couple of times. The melee attack seems a bit over powered. Slide tackling into most standard enemy types results in an instant kill, but pouring several rounds into their body and face does not? Granted, getting that close to an enemy usually results in being shot-the-hell-up so it sort of balances out. And yes, jump kicking is still there.
The first F.E.A.R. was well known for two main things: it’s bullet time/slo-mo effect which gave you a massive edge over the enemies by allowing you to aim in real time while their movements were slowed to a crawl, and it’s repetitive office building environments. While the slo-mo feature remains (and is now upgradeable through the game by finding “reflex injectors”) the repetitive environments have been nixed away, mostly. There are building complexes similar to the first F.E.A.R. but you are quickly taken out of them and placed in much different environments; a school, the destroyed city (which towards the end of the game offers some fantastic sight seeing), and a “hospital” are just a couple of the diverse locations you’ll visit, which is great cause you really get a sense of progress this time around. The environments do look very similar though once you’re in them. The game is for the most part a straight shot from fire fight A to fire fight B, but I found myself getting confused and turned around more than once due to everything looking the same. I even managed to somehow find myself at the very beginning of a level, after I had already passed the mid way point, foolishly thinking I was making a lot of progress.
The A.I. from the first F.E.A.R. is carried over as well but has been renovated in several key areas. The soliders you fight frequently bombard you with bullets up the wazoo, making sure you don’t refill your “reflex meter” and unleash death upon them, making your slo-mo ability less of a crutch this time around. Don’t assume you’re safe, cause you’re not. The A.I. can also flip object to make it’s own cover, an ability that also can be done by you. However, after playing through the entire game I can honestly say I never once found “making cover” very effective. It takes too long to do, you’ll likely end up losing a whole lot of health in the process of making sure you don’t lose health by making cover. It just never works the way it’s suppose too, but there’s always plenty of cover laying around anyway so it’s never missed. The other enemies you face have a less dynamic A.I. but it usually works in the context of the character.
After you’ve passed through the games 7 Intervals (though really the last interval pales in comparison length-wise to the rest) you still have the multiplayer mode to play around in. While the single player is tactical and usually involves some thought, the multiplayer is classic deathmatching from back in the day. People run fast, die fast, and respawn fast. You can pick your load out from the beginning of the match and change it at any time. The multiplayer even features a burst action rifle that is absent from the single player story, and is quite effective. The modes on offer are mostly standard stuff with the lone exception being the Armored Front mode where each team is tasked with capturing 5 control points. The twist? Each side has it’s own player controlled power armor. While you’re usually helpless against it on foot, it all becomes okay when you’re the one in the mech. It’s not the most terribly balanced mode, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t fun. Overall the multiplayer isn’t going to draw people in like Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4, but it’s nice to have and should certainly provide you with some entertainment value, depending on if you can get into the run and gun style of play.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is a damned good shooter. It’s a decent length (about 6-8 hour) and has an interesting story will keep you hooked to the very end. The end “boss” is interesting, and appropriately off for the series, but the cliffhanger ending might leave some a bit underwhelmed, and just raises new questions. Monolith made a fantastic shooter that nobody should really miss out on. It doesn’t do everything perfect, but it doesn’t have too. Turn off the lights, crank up the surround sound, hit the slow motion button and lay on that trigger. You’ll thank me later.
