The original F.E.A.R managed to take the FPS genre to a new incorporating a huge dollop of horror into the mix. The underlying story and sudden unexplained game sequences had you on the edge of your seat.. It's sequel, F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin therefore has a lot to live up to.
F.E.A.R. 2 starts where the original game left of. You play the character of Sgt Becket a soldier in an elite force of genetically enhanced soldiers. Your initial missions sees you attempting to rescue a doctor who was part of the team that created you. It is in her apartment where you witness the destruction of the city in a fiery nuclear blast. Awakening in hospital, you struggle to hold onto the threads of life while around you is awash with corporate goons hellbent on your destruction and for good measure there are the mutants who see anything that moves as potential lunch.
Survival is dependent on your ability to take down the opposition and take them down hard. This is achieved by the use of an array of weapons including assault rifles, sub machine guns, shot guns and our favourite the plasma flame thrower. These weapons you pick up as you progress through the game along with grenades and helpful data discs that aid in unraveling the underlying game plot. These are easy to spot as they are surrounded by a blue glowing box. With limited weapon slots you have to plan carefully as certain weapons are better in close quarter fighting while others needed to be saved for the biiger enemies..You are restricted to only carrying 3 med kits, and because sometimes it takes two of these to fully heal yourself they tend to be the most sought after item (ammunition never seems to be a problem).
As you proceed through the game you are stuck first by the high level of graphic detail which shows off the graphic power of the console well. Whether its the hospital, or apartment building each feel they are lived in environments with a lot of detail evident throughout the environments. A lot of the items you can interact with. Sometimes this is essential, where for example you need to move a cabinet to clear a door way or to over turn a table as cover. Your opponents are not afraid to make use of cover as well and they are quick to either hide behind an object or to attempt to out flank you. The enemy AI is generally very good and at times it can be quite challenge to take them down while protecting your self.
The other thing that you need to be prepared for is the copious amount of blood.. Now a bit of realism is fine however there is a stage where it can become too much. There is blood trails, piles of bloody goo, blood dripping walls, mutilated corpses, machines dismembering corpses and the violent and bloody results of your own death dealing from your array of weapons. It is over the top and its level of horror it seeks to deliver the player quickly wanes in the sheer depth of blood you are assailed with. This is very much a case of less would have been more. Some of the death sequences can be quite gory with burning soldiers thrashing about the room or one particular kill where the soldier collapsed to his knees and fired a full clip into the air bleeding out his last.
Other than blood the graphic flashes of the wandering child return and a set of more detailed dream like sequences. Whether it is that we have seen it all before or that their delivery is more predictable it is hard to say however they certainly do not deliver the punch of the previous game. Strangely for us the more scary moments is when the mutants attack. Climbing walls and ceilings, and fast moving they can quickly get into hand to hand combat with you. As they snap at your throat you furiously try to fend them off by bashing them with your weapon or fists.
The graphics are good with some great animated sequences. These include a plane crash and of course the nuclear explosion. We particularly liked how the power lines and their electrical discharge could both hinder and help you advance in the game. What is however evident very early on in the game is how much you are channeled. There is basically only one way to go and often there is no way to go back. Full on med kits? Don't count on being able to go and pick up that spare one you spotted earlier on. The game relies on an auto save feature, which thankfuly is frequent however at some of the more difficult areas it would have been good to set your own save point.
Take away the blood the occasional horror bits the first person shooter beneath is nothing special. It's good, well polished and does the job but in reality it delivers nothing new or innovative. If you can stand the blood then fill your boots, but it certainly nots as scary as the first one. That been said it is still fun to play.
