Console Game Reviews F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin Review
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Compared with the original Fear… Let me start off by saying I have never played the original FEAR and therefore this review is from the perspective of someone that is new to the series.
The Positives: The game looks slick and has just the right amount of darkness and lighting that allows it to excel in the horror genre. There is no tutorial, however one is not needed as this is your run of the mill first person shooter. With that said, the game does start of relatively easy for new comers to the genre (i.e. people living under a rock). For me, the best part about FEAR2. is that it has its strengths entrenched in FPS basics, that is the aiming is accurate, the controls are responsive and it all feels very smooth. Although there are various weapons, there is nothing new. The game can be finished by just using the machine gun.
Kicking around internal organs is fun This is actually a fun game to play. In order to truly enjoy the game, it is highly recommended to play this game at night with the lights off. Be advised though that there is a lot of blood and gore in this game (as there should be in any horror genre game) and it truly is an above 18 game. With that said, I personally felt that sometimes the blood was too overdone. When there was little blood, for me, it would build the menace up even more. At times, the gore was way over the top. I remember at one point of the game, I shot one of the ‘bad’ guys and later on his guts were spilled all over the floor and I could kick around his stomach like a soccer ball. Actually, come to think of it, that was fun!
Slow motion done to death? The game has the slow motion function a la Max Payne and many others. In the beginning I saw no need for it but later on found that I had to use it a lot. But it felt as if it made the game easier and it never seemed to run out (which apparently is supposed to). Therefore, I do not know if I should classify it in the positive or the negative. There are advocates for and against it so I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
The Negatives As good as the graphics are there are glitches in it. At 1.5hrs into the game, I got stuck behind a window and couldn’t go anywhere. I would walk some place and the all of a sudden would be falling to my death. After a few falls I unlocked the ‘suicidal tendencies’ achievement (which I personally found a bit callous. An achievement for being suicidal, but I guess it is to be expected in a game where you can use a stomach as a soccer ball.) Due to this, I had to start the whole level all over again! Talk about monotonous and for me, unforgivable. After a quick search on the web, found that I was not alone in this and apparently there are other similar glitches further down the game as well (which thankfully I did not have to face). It just baffles me how a reputable company can release a game with a major glitch. At the time of writing this review there was no patch for these glitches.
Predictability: The other thing about FEAR2 is that it becomes all too predictable. The blood on the floor shows you the way. The music swells up before a ‘battle’ begins which really takes out the surprise element and brings in the ‘oh no here we go again’. Also, just before a big battle, conveniently placed for you will be ammo, grenades and armour, and just so you don’t miss it in the darkness it will be illuminated for you by a blue glow stick. Yippee.
Last but not least: My last gripe with the game was that as I had not played the original, I found myself lost for hours on not understanding the story line. The tagline for the game is, ‘Fear Alma Again’. Who the hell is Alma though?! Why am I supposed to fear her? For all purposes, I found her to be helping me when I was in a jam! I think that will be the case for most new players to and will lead to disappointment to newcomers. Talk about marketing blunder. You do find out later though who Alma is but the makers seemed to want you to play the first game to understand the storyline.
The Final Word: FEAR2 is a decent FPS with some great visuals. However, the glitches in the game are unforgivable for me and they had me put me off the game for a few days. It is a short game and the multiplayer is nothing special. This diminishes the replay value. You would probably be better off renting it if you want to give it a go.
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