You dont have to F.E.A.R. this sequel
*No Spoilers. This review is based on production, and gameplay.*
The original F.E.A.R. came out of nowhere in 2005 and reinvented the FPS horror genre with awesome visuals, advanced AI, and a story worth following. The original game is still used today as a graphics benchmark for pc systems, and is usually used in comparison against some of today’s FPS games, it was and still is that good. Gamers have been waiting on Monoliths F.E.A.R. 2 for a long time. While it is good and a lot of fun it seems dated with its concepts, and there is really nothing new to the series to even compare it to more recent sequels.
Now going into this game I had high expectations including a possible GOTY contender. The original development team was back and the trend of sequels being better than their predecessor is a good bet .
After you complete the game you are probably going to say to yourself like I did, that was really fun. It s not going to win GOTY, its not a better game than the original, but where did it all go wrong? The good things about F.E.A.R 2 include some of the following:
-HUGE production values. This is a game you will notice every step of the way. Attention to detail, the cuts scenes, pace, and shine.
- The environments are just awesome. It reminded me of the first time when I played Half-Life. The indoors, and the outdoors( while not very often), are just plain cool.
- While the gunfights are not close to the original, there still some moments when they are challenging and fun.
- Scariest part of the game IMO, a creepy, grizzled slow voice trying to correctly identify animal pictures in a slide show during the school house sequence.
So, what happened? How did this become just an OK game? In the first 5 minutes of play you are going to notice this was built primarily as a console game which pretty much sealed its fate. Some of the bad decisions made by Monolith include:
-There are very few options to change the game play on the main menu. Trademark options from the original such as an “insane level”, or turn off, or change cross hair to name a few are not included.
- The inability to lean. This really made me upset. A very cool aspect in the first game now omitted, while the enemy is able to conduct the movement.
- The game is SO easy on the hardest level. The game actually should be renamed No F.E.A.R., it’s that easy. There is ammo, health, and armor everywhere. The original was tight with ammo at some points, but not in this game. The only decision you will have is which weapon to keep and use. Also, everything glows. The health, ammo, and enemy during slow mo just another reason the game is easy.
-There is no quick save(F5). The save points are actually placed just right. There may be 2 spots I thought they should have saved, but due to the ease of the game its not really a major factor.
- The AI only will only come out in groups of 4 or 5. There are some huge areas that are totally not utilized because of the lack of enemies that are attacking. The boss fights are over so fast, I still am trying to figure if they actually were boss fights.
-Speaking of AI. Comparing it to the original, its not a comparison. Because the game is easy enemies don’t have time to flank, or position themselves to be a threat. You will kill a majority of them running out into the open before they get to cover.
- Dated game play. If you were hoping for a more open world, outdoor experience its not here. The game is full bore keep moving, and there is not much to stop you. Those outdoor sequences are few, and I mean few. I was also disappointed in the use of tired concepts of health packs and power ups.
- The audio is pretty good, some really awesome explosions and weapon sounds, but my beef would be with a lot of re dux of the enemy comments from the original game.
My final thoughts are it seems Monolith forgot it was their PC roots that gave them their big start. I understand economics of the console genre, but if you create a great game, no matter what, it will sell, and it will sell a lot. While the game seems a little dated in some of its concepts, not including the awesome graphics, and levels it is a lot of fun and I would recommend to any FPS fan. If you are looking for an easy, good time look no further than F.E.A.R. 2. It’s safe to leave the light off for this one.
