WHAT. IN. THE. ACTUAL. HELL. NO. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

I loved...loved...LOVED the Fear Effect franchise, and the idea that a new one is FINALLY coming around after the massive cliffhanger of Fear Effect 2 is just...it's fucking insane!

Is this real life? Am I awake? Someone pinch me!

Is anyone else excited at the prospect of a new Fear Effect game? Am I the only one?

I enjoyed the games a lot at the time. The setting and backgrounds were really up my alley back then.

But I don't know how much I'd be into it now... Like I dunno the whole psuedo-lesbian stuff is a bit cringy isn't it...

I'll defo keep an eye on it though!

The fuck??? This is crazy news! The second Fear Effect game in particular is perhaps one of my all-time favourite games. Backin' this son'bitch soon as. Wonder if they'll incorporate the story stuffs from Inferno?

God, what does a modern Fear Effect game even look like. Is it a shooter? A stealth game? Will it have camera angles? Will there be a scene where Hana gets naked to distract a guard?

EDIT: Oh, so it's to be an isometric 'tactical' shooter? Fair enough then. Hope they'll include all of the same sort of puzzles as the first two, complete with nasty death animations should you fail them.

Odd to read that it's set post-Inferno, given that Inferno doesn't even really exist. Though maybe if this does well enough some sort of 'restoration' could be performed surrounding whatever Inferno's overall story was to be.

Gallery

I guess someone finally seized the opportunity http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/17/8052793/square-enix-new-gex-anachronox-fear-effect

Now it's only a matter of time before Gex 4!

With permission from the Square Enix something-or-other. Hmmm...

wait really...? really really?

MAN.

Fear Effect 2 holds a special place in my heart. Both those games are just amazing, especially numero dos. I look for them every time I hit the old games store.

For a second I had this confused with Parasite Eve.. doesn't Fear Effect also have a long shower scene?

is this the game where the ads that were all "check out these cel-shaded lesbians!"? they always looked super interesting stylistically, but those ads kinda made me write it off as a kid as something that a) would just be about sex, and b) i almost certainly couldn't let my family see.

but shit, reading the reactions here is makin me think i missed out.

yep same game. There was an ad with the two of them in underwear, massaging each other or some shit.

The marketing effort, I believe, was: "They put the ass in assassins."

There is definitely a "sexy" scene in Fear Effect 2. But, if I recall correctly, there is much less innuendo and sex in the games as the marketing wanted young men to believe. Certainly mature themes all around, but, you ain't gonna see much (luckily).

If you have an easy way to play either game I'd recommend 2 for sure.

The first one does but no memory about how long it was. Probably a few seconds, feel all the cutscenes were real short in those games. There were a lot, but all short.

It's a shame that they basically polluted the perception of the games via the marketing campaign, because the sauciness is pretty minimal in the grand scheme. It's basically a recurring joke (or as recurring as you can get with only two games) that disc 2 features a scene wherein Hana (and Rain also in Fear Effect 2) get naked to create a distraction. There's some innuendo here and there too, but they're by and large focussed on merging together a violent crime tale with Chinese mythological horror than constant cheesecake pandering. It's very similar in tone to, say, Dusk Till Dawn.

I'm still confused as to how it's a sequel to a game that doesn't exist.

Yeah. Fuck all that. Play the games. They were dope as fuck. One of the few games where I actually gave a shit about the story because it went totally crazy about halfway through the first one. You have to be okay with old-school Resident Evil-style camera angles and tank controls, but get past that and you'll find something special and enjoyable.

Though even as someone that will gladly defend the controls and combat of survival horror RE... the Fear Effect games combat and controls haven't aged very well.

I thought about buying both (or at least one) for PS3/Vita relatively recently, since they go for 6,95€ a pop in the PSN Store, but those (possibly) now even clunkier controls and combat have effectively scared me away. I do remember liking the visuals a lot back in the day, just from looking at bad quality videos and screenshots.

Oh yeah, the production was superb all the way through. Fear Effect 2 is definitely one of the best looking games on the PS1 without a doubt with its incredibly detailed and atmospheric pre-rendered backgrounds, but the voice acting was also (especially for its time) really high quality as was the music.

In fact speaking of voice acting, the guy who voiced the Marshal in Red Dead Redemption voices Deke in the original Fear Effect! Not the second one, though. Wendee Lee, who's kind of a voice acting Goddess on the same plain as Steve Blum, voices Hana in Fear Effect 2. Be great if she would return for this one!

Well, the good/bad, depending on your perspective, news is that they can't really market this new game like they used to unless they want to be lumped in with sketchy mobile/browser games because those are pretty much the only games that do that type of advertising these days.

Either way, this seems cool.

Well this is unexpected. I don't even know what a Fear Effect game in 2016 would be. All I know is that I want pre-rendered backgrounds, tank controls, and puzzles, and for it to be just as crazy as the first two. But since it doesn't look like that's what this game is going to be, I can't say that I'm all that interested in it. Otherwise I'd probably throw money at it.

Marketing!

I'm all for it as long as they have a REAL plan for funding. The game will cost millions, we all know this, but how much are they asking for and how much is being put put by other sources. I don't want a 'half-ass' game, I want a real Fear Effect game and that will cost money and take time.

That is what bothers me about some of these "start from zero games". It takes time and planning for a real game, so typically gamers only know that game is coming when months if not years of work has already happened. If they do this, I sure has hell hope, something is ready. Otherwise this will be a LONG wait for a game people want now.

@yummylee: I don't know how I feel about it being a tactical shooter like Shadowrun Returns, but I also love the fuck out of Shadowrun Returns and all the expansions, so fuck it. I'm in.

Honestly it's the story, characters, and the cyberpunk + Chinese mythology infused world that I'm interested in more than the gameplay, even if I do lament the loss of camera angles. Though I do hope the puzzling aspect will stay intact at least because as far as playing the game they were definitely the highlight. They featured such a varied and satisfying selection of brain teasers to solve in those games. Remember that primitive little tactics minigame you had to play as Glas in Fear Effect 2? That was really fun!

I do however remember hating the bomb defusal puzzle in the first one because of how complicated it seemed, but I was also around 11 or so when I first played it so my limited logic no doubt contributed to my frustrations...

I absolutely love the first Fear Effect. I played it over the course of a week and I couldn't stop thinking about it. One of my favorite stories in the PS1 era, at least at the time.

Never played 2 so I don't know what all those ads were about, and I had been waiting for Tim Turi to play it at Game Informer some day. But alas, that opportunity has passed so I have to take care of that myself.

But yes, I don't care how it's brought back, I'm ready to support some more Fear Effect.

This might be the first Kickstarter I actually contribute to. I loved the first two games.

@yummylee: I loved the world itself, but personally, I love tank control games. Specifically, I love THOSE tank control games: Resident Evil, Fear Effect, and the like. I mean, think about it like this: that first zombie you see in the very first Resident Evil wouldn't have had the same impact if they didn't have the tank controls + those camera angles. The dogs that jump through the window? Same thing. Very specific camera angle that made that whole thing work (elongated look to the confined hallway making it seem like you can never get away from the dogs). Fear Effect had those moments, also.

Also, here's the bigger question that I have to start asking now: Gex, Fear Effect, and Anachronox are getting noticed...

...BUT WHERE THE FUCK IS MY NEW LEGACY OF KAIN GAME?! Nosgoth is getting shut down, that leaked footage from Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun had me happy and sad together, and goddammit... It's time that there was a new proper Legacy of Kain game!

Fear Effect is one of my favorite series of all time. I can't believe it's coming back.

I keep F5'ing and hoping the Kickstarter has gone up. I'm in for at least $100.

I liked FE1 and 2 a lot and I was pretty surprised to see the announcement of this game and that anyone had taken up Square Enix on their IP development scheme.

That being said it does seem like the game will be very different in scope and gameplay and €100K is a ludicrously low amount to ask. I'm pretty doubtful about it.

The Kickstarter is up!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sushee/fear-effect-sedna

Boom - pledged! Goddamnit listening to the music they posted on the page gave me chills.

Oddly I played FE1 and FE2 before Resident Evil and really enjoyed the games. I was looking forward to Fear Effect Inferno after reading the preview from Game Informer back in 2003. It was a huge let down when Inferno got cancelled and no other publishers picked it up. Its great that Fear Effect will get a second chance.

Watching the trailer, I thought it looked neat but I was wondering if these guys would nail the unique tone of those old games.

And then "Oh, hi, I'm the writer, director, producer of the original Fear Effect."

Backed!

eh, if this were something akin to the original games I might be able to get excited for it. This looks like the FE universe slapped on another game.

I'm just gonna sit here and squee a bunch......

Fear Effect was always a game i saw on the shelf of my local game retailer when i was a kid but never got around to playing, looking at videos now the gameplay looks extremely dated, i love games from the ps1 era but i'm not sure i could jump into Fear Effect now, will be interesting to see how they modernize it.

I wonder how they're going to handle Hana in this game. I haven't seen the story of the second, but I know that the fanservice for her was turned up to eleven. I can't imagine them doing the same thing now and having it be well received by people.

On an unrelated note, I'm glad they're keeping the same art style, it definitely looks like Fear Effect, that's for sure.

They seem to be aware.

"The only thing that we will be careful about is not to over-sexualise this love relationship, that has been probably clumsily highlighted in some marketing campaigns in Fear Effect Retro Helix, and wasn’t doing justice to these two strong characters’ love affair."

They've said they won't be repeating the same marketing trends as what Fear Effect 2 saw, but I think it's clear Hana & Rain will still be sexualised to some degree. I mean they both still appear to be as busty as they were in FE2, and there's a gif of them both in their underwear on the kickstarter page.

I'm sure there'll be some ire because ''sexy = sexist'', but if Hana's as well written and voiced as she was in FE2 in particular she'll continue to be a really awesome protagonist. Her sultry nature exists and naturally fits as a piece of her character, but it's also not nearly as prominent as the marketing would have had people believe. The fanservice wasn't ''dialled up to 11'' in any case - all of the innuendo and suggestive scenes are relegated to the party section and a little of the aqueducts. Once the game's story opens up as soon as you first play as Deke, the game quickly takes a very different turn in tone.

@yummylee: The thing about Fear Effect is that these characters seemed real. And I don't think they have to shy away from some of the private things these sorts of hardened people would be into. They show Glas at a bar, Deke hanging out with two girls. Hana and Rain being together gives them some extra dimension, but it sucks that the marketing is what those games are remembered for these days.

The part I didn't include from the FAQ section was:

Hana is now free from the Triad, and Rain still follow her closely. They live & work together in Hong Kong, as mercenaries. And still in love, of course.

We saw that that some of you thought that we would avoid to make any reference to their relationship in the game. That’s not our intention: for us, Hana & Rain are in relationship, and there is no doubt about this!

So they do see that relationship as a core part of her character, and I would expect them to treat it realistically. Even mentioning it in the Kickstarter gives the team a different dynamic. It happens to be the two women, but if it was Hana and Glas it would have the same effect than if it was a bunch of strangers.

And yes, an on-screen relationship could include some sexiness, but I'd expect it to be subtle and alluded to rather than "13 climaxes." Deke's shirtless on that page, Glas is a big buff dude, Axel looks like a male model. I think every character in that game is sexualized to a degree.

I don't remember much about the games since I was so young at the time, yet I remember being blown away by the mouths moving. It makes me interested to revisit the old games and see if my nostalgia was accurate or if I am just remembering the days of past.

Not many games have the guts to tackle subject matter like sex trafficking. PTSD and bisexuality even today. You have to give Fear Effect serious kudos for that.

Wow this is unexpected. I've only played the first game but it was great! I haven't played the second one so I'm still a bit puzzled as to how there is a sequel considering the ending. The second one was a prequel wasn't it?

Not sure how I feel about the game being a top down tactical game though. I sorta liked how Fear Effect went overboard with the adventure gamey puzzles and looping prerendered backgrounds (that age puzzle near the end will always haunt me).

And isn't Deke supposed to be fat?

Yeah, the game's first and only sequel is a prequel strangely enough! Though with regards to the ending of the first game, the Happy ending is the canon outcome, where Deke is revived and Glas gets his arm back. Honestly it's really hokey and contrived when I think about it now and I'd say the other two ''shoot Glas/Hana'' endings are more tonally appropriate. Though all the same I like the characters and I'm glad all three can thusly continue to star in more games. Or... at least this one.

In the first one he looked a bit portly, but they upped his Aussie masculinity in Fear Effect 2 and made him look much tougher and brutish.

@yummylee : Oh right I totally forgot that there was an alternate ending when you play through on a harder difficulty.

I remember loving Fear Effect 1 and 2, but don't really remember any specifics. I know there was a dock scene with you running around in a towel, and I know the endings were insane, and I know it was the first time I heard a guy yell "shit" in a game. It really dipped my young brain into some weird psychological-thriller euphoria.

Huzzah - it's now just recently surpassed its goal! That it took this long to reach 100K euros certainly speaks to the niche audience the Fear Effect games have. Perhaps they were aware of this, hence the relatively small goal to getting it funded. I assume that's also all the resources they're working with? This wasn't to prove to squeenix that fan demand was there so they would then pitch in? Because 100K euros still seems like a pretty small amount of cash for any kind of game really.

They have a video of gameplay footage up. THEY HAVE REACTIONS TO THINGS THAT YOU DO! IT'S AWESOME! IT'S SO FEAR EFFECT! THEY HAVE THE SAME MUSIC FOR THE GAME OVER SCREEN!

Oh goddamn, I'm excited as fuck now!

I liked the tone they were shooting for and everything, but I had no idea what the actual gameplay would be like. Luckily, it looks to have some potential.

Really glad they hit that goal, looking forward to it a great deal.