F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (Xbox 360, 2009)

F.E.A.R was an intense shooter that offered solid gun play and a few scares here and then. Since The game and its two expansions, I have been waiting for a sequel. When I got fear 2, I had a big expectation for it to fill and I'm glade to say that fear2 is met my expectations. Now the game still has its problems, but this action packed shooter has a lot of good to give.

Fear 2 begins just before the first ended, to be exact 30 minutes before the first one ended. You play a new character named Michael Becket. He is part of another team that goes into try and gets the president of this company called Armacham. Well, the ending of the first fear happens and Becket finds himself on an operating table get some sort of an operation. This operation will connect Becket psychologically to Alma, the creepy little girl who causes people to explode. Becket will need to go through a bunch of new locations to try and find a way to defeat Alma once and for all.

The biggest improvements to fear 2 are the levels. The first fear game was really repetitive in the environments. The second one has a bigger variety ranging from hospital to schools to even out door environments. You do spend a bit too much time in the hospital at the beginning, but that really isn't a big complaint, especially since the hospital has underground facilities.

A big thing in the first fear was the weapons and how they fired. Like its predecessor, fear 2 has a lot of cool guns that fell great to fire. There are your standard assault rifles, sub machine guns, pistols, shoot guns, rocket launchers, The Hammer head which pins enemies to walls, and there are a few new ones. Those consist of guns like the laser which cuts enemies apart, or this gun that I can't even name, which melts all the skin and flesh of your enemies, so all that's left is a burned skeleton. The weapons in fear 2 feel so powerful, because, every time you shoot someone, a whole lot of blood comes out of them. This game is ultra bloody and gory. The weapons in fear 2 are awesome and are defiantly a big part of this series.

Fear 2 also introduces mechs to the series. The mech levels in fear 2 are awesome. They are intense and chaotic. You will be going through a city shooting everything that moves. These levels provide some of the best fight scenes in fear 2, and are a great new game mechanic to the series. Fear 2 is also one of the only games that makes turret missions fun. There are about 2 or 3 turret missions and they are tons of fun. It is probably, because, the turrets feel good to fire and they control nice.

The slow mo abilities return from the first game, and they play out the same way in this game. Basically you hit a button and you go into this bullet time mode. It is really cool to see enemies explode into a bunch of blood, and it helps you get out of tough situations.

Fear 2 has a few problems in it. For one thing the game just isn't scary any more. Never once did I feel I had to turn down the sound or stop playing, because, this game just didn't scare me. Also, the single player only takes about 7 hours to complete. Another problem is the enemy A.I. While it is better than most games, they do have some problems. One thing is that they will tip over objects for cover that they are bigger than, so they will be hiding behind of soda machine with half their body sticking out. But for the most part, the enemy A.I. can put up a good fight.

The graphics in fear 2 look pretty good.

Monolith Studios has been known for making great Horror/Shooters like the original FEAR and The Condemned series and I have enjoyed them both but FEAR 2 is definately thier best game so far. I was skeptical about getting this game because I heard that is was very short. Well I was surprised to see that the game was a "normal" length, I would guess 8 hrs or so. The graphics are very well done and there was more variety in this installment, although they still put you indoors a little more than I would have liked. The character models are good and the lighting and textures worked well for the game, not the best Ive ever seen but solid all around. FEAR is know for its slo-motion feature and it never gets old going into slo-mo and seeing the enemy splatter apart as you shoot them or make them explode with a grenade. There is no shortage of gore in this game and that alone adds to the shock value while playing. The sound in this game is also very well done, I played through the whole game with headphones on and I think this added alot to the overall atmosphere. All of the sound effects and the music are well done and really made for an intense experience. The controls are great too although I should mention that they added some "bobbing" motion while walking/running and that may bother some ppl but I thought it was fine and actually added to the game. Theres not alot of weapons but the ones you get all "feel" good and effective in eliminating the enemy whether it be a shotgun, machine gun, pistol, sniper rifle or rocket launcher they all work well and are accurate when going for a head shot. The game is well paced and was actually a little easy because there is always plenty of ammo, armor and health lying around. Which I liked, I dont really enjoy being frustrated in games and this game was enjoyable all the way through on the medium difficulty mode. If you want more challenge then play it on a harder difficulty, simple as that. The story is good and kept my interest, alot if the story detail is found in intel items you find and read through the PDA, kind of like DOOM 3, but no VO. I would recommend reading them, they are short and too the point and really make the story better. I only played the single player and I doubt theres anyone playing multiplayer as of today, 3/8/2010, but I didnt get the game for MP anyway. Overall I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a solid horror FPS. It is really fun and put me on the edge of my seat a few times and thats really all I wanted from the game going into it. I hope Monolith keeps the series going because I feel this is the best game of this type available today. I give it a 9 out 10.

This review is solely on my single-player run of the game, as I don't have access to Xbox Live Gold (and none too thrilled with playing online competetively nowadays).

Pros -

+6-8 hours to complete
+great effects such as motion blur and film grain with a consistent 30 frames/second.
+satisfying story, action, and ending (definitely not for the younger gamers)
+great environmental modeling
+the use of color to set the mood/atmosphere/suspense is excellent
+slo-mo is actually better than the first (360 version) in dodging bullets, at least in my experience.

Cons -

-might be too easy for some people (as I began playing, I adjusted to the hardest difficulty setting) especially for anyone who finished CoD 2/4 on veteran, or Gears of War 1-2 on insane, or Halo 1-3 on legendary alone. Then again, it's labeled as "hard" not "insane", though.
-no noticeable gameplay innovations over other first-person shooters
-some low poly models and blurry textures to maintain consistent framerate
-the addition of the ability to tip over environmental objects for cover is virtually useless, as it seems my head is eternally sticking out over said tippable cover. I eventually just stuck to the old slo-mo or hiding behind walls for defense.
-*actually less "scary/startling" than F.E.A.R. 1 (on the xbox 360); for a moment, I thought this was due to my exposure and expectations due to the numerous other "survival horror" titles out in the market. So I had played FEAR 1 again just for kicks (after not playing it for over a year and a half or so) and FEAR 1 still has much more surprising/scary moments than this sequel. This might be my biggest letdown from this title.*
-no "Instant Action" mode found as in FEAR 1 Xbox 360
-no feature to play multiplayer bots as in Gears of War 2, Killzone, or Perfect Dark: Zero solo offline.

Variable -

=the online mode, which I haven't tried out or have the interest to try out in the immediate future, looks robust from the videos I've seen, especially with the mechs. Might try to "jump in" in the eventually if the community's still existent in the future.

Definitely recommended for fans of the first game who are curious about the story progression. Less scary and no "instant action" than the first, but solid gameplay and nice camera/post-processing effects make this a worthwhile purchase for me.

F.E.A.R. 2 continues where the first F.E.A.R. left off. It delivers action, suspense and most of all horror. F.E.A.R 2 is meant to be played at night with the lights turned off and the surround sound turned up. This game is meant to scare the hell out of you and it sure does. The graphics are amazing and the story line is excellent. I also love the slow motion option. It gives you an advantage to take out the enemy as they swarm in to battle against you at the same time. There is never a doll moment in this game and I am sure that if you love action, suspense and horror, you will love F.E.A.R. 2.

The jump to next generation gaming took the original fear game and upgraded its graphics and slick movements, but in comparison to other games that have been released, F.E.A.R. 2 didn't really stand out as a particularly amazing game. It satisfies most of the expectations of the FPS genre, but fails to provide some decent scares, thus failing to live up to the name of the game. Gameplay provides little challenge against repetitive enemies, but succeeds in creating an atmosphere of tension, with blood stained walls and graphic-intensive special effects. If you loved the original game, chances are you'll love this one as well. However, being the tasteful, story seeking FPS and horror-loving type, I'd give this game a nod of acknowledgment, but it's not going on my top ten favorites.