Monolith isn't exactly a stranger to the survival horror genre, or indeed the horror genre full stop.
Earlier this year, they released Condemned 2: Bloodshot, which assaulted our senses with some seriously R18 violence. This time around, they're pitching Project Origin at the same massive fanbase created by its predecessor, F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon).
Vivendi owns the rights to the name F.E.A.R., so in June last year Monolith created the "Name Your Fear" initiative in which fans were able to suggest prospective titles for the upcoming sequel. Project Origin stuck, and a little over a year on the game is finally approaching a finished state. The only indication of the slightly raw nature of the code came by means of several framerate issues, but that's to be expected with preview software.
The first thing that you really notice is the lack of cramped corridors and dingy buildings - Project Origin has been widely promoted by Monolith as being more open than F.E.A.R., and the new setting of a demolished city appears to be an effective way of providing masses of content as well as intense firefights in one handy location.
Emerging from a subway system, we had to battle our way through the AI in what appeared to be a demonstration first and foremost of the weapon types and capabilities provided to your character. It's interesting to note that the three-weapon limit has now been opened up to four, encouraging you to experiment a little further with weapons you'd otherwise generally leave behind, but apart from that it's fairly standard fare for seasoned FPS players.
What's interesting is that the AI does appear to have been given one hell of an overhaul; even in brief encounters the enemy players will make full use of cover and actively outflank you. Those equipped with sniper rifles are extremely accurate, and in order to have a chance at taking them out you'll need to equip likewise. Gone are the medpacks, replaced with the Call of Duty style gradual regeneration, which may irritate purists, but with the increased intelligence of the enemy it's not as if you can sit still to take advantage of this for very long. You might think you're safe; chances are the AI know exactly where you are and won't hesitate to attack.
After getting to grips with the inventory system (holding down the left bumper brings up the menu, the right stick selects the weapon) and managing to dispatch the AI using a range of weapons, we then were treated to a short go in a mech. These colossal contraptions will actually be usable (or is that drivable?) in Project Origin, and can unleash a serious amount of firepower.
Upon entering the mech, your HUD and view ahead changes to a stylized representation of the outside world, not unlike watching events through a closed circuit video camera. Using this view, targets are prioritised - you can instantly get a handle on your nearest and most dangerous enemy, and the typically red trails left by the sniper's laser beams become green to symbolise their relative danger in comparison to those right in front of you. The mech is a formidable machine, cutting in half an enemy trooper takes a split second, and even taking out fully operational enemy mechs isn't overly difficult. The guns will predictably overheat given too much enthusiasm, and if you prefer the "rush and see" approach to urban conflict you'll likely be ejected from the mech when it simply can't take any more damage. Either that or you'll explode and die.
A word about combat here - given that the preview build was just that, it would be unfair to say that the framerate issues seen in intense combat were due to anything other than unoptimized code, but there was a phenomenal amount of activity occurring during the main portion of our mech combat scene. There was so much smoke and debris surrounding our field of view it was genuinely difficult to make out the enemy, and if it wasn't for the mech's HUD they would be all but invisible. Hopefully this is an intentional gameplay mechanic and not an oversight by developers keen to push hardware limits. Call me old-fashioned, but I consider the whole "taking aim" aspect of a shooter somewhat important, and if the console version isn't capable of providing an unobstructed view by rendering semi-transparent textures fast enough then it's only going to make the PC version more appealing.
Helping you though the tricky parts, and being somewhat mandatory in places, is the slow-motion function. Using the 'Y' button you can momentarily slow time to increase your accuracy, dodge the enemy, run for cover or any number of life-saving moves designed to prevent the gruesome and slightly depressing red screen of death. It's been done before, not only in F.E.A.R., and there doesn't appear to be anything fundamentally different about how this feature works in Project Origin. Indeed, most of the changes appear to be largely terrain-based, such as opening a car door for cover and realising that the AI are capable of doing exactly the same thing.
Those looking to be scared to death won't have to worry about being disappointed, the entire Alma storyline is back, and it's clear that Project Origin is the only title that will offer this.
Vivendi really is taking the role of cyber-squatters here with the F.E.A.R. name - perhaps they'll come to their senses and in a little while we'll have an official announcement from Monolith that the game has been retitled as F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. Either way, it doesn't really matter - those who have enough of an interest to dive into Project Origin probably wouldn't care if it was called Tinkabell's Delightful Sunday Tea-Party: Bonus Rainbow Edition.
Watch out for it around late October or early November. Provided nothing political gets in the way of a release, that is.
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Want more? Check out the E3 Trailer at GP Downloads (56MB).
