F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

The chill factor heightens tension to almost unbearable degrees in a sequel that greets high expectations by showing them the finger!

More than anything else we love FEAR 2 for its attitude. Before you get into the technicalities of visually impressive this or that, or how clever the AI is and all that ‘review’ guff, you just have to step back and admire one of those rare games that the team responsible clearly believes in. It was Monolith that dreamed up the idea of a suspense-driven first-person shooter in the first place, Alma is their baby. FEAR 2 is a coming of age for the iconic psycho-nemesis and the trailblazing game design.

The FEAR 2 show breaks down into three distinct elements that work together extraordinarily well. As a first-person shooter you get state-of-the-art fire fights with a collection of meaty hardware and it flows as slick as you like. Even when all you’re up against is Replica soldiers, there’s menace and you’ll need to keep moving and think smart to overpower them. The level design is top-notch, and ideally suited to multiplayer scenarios for FPS freaks who live for this sh*t. Only time will tell how FEAR 2 ranks against so much quality opposition – Team Fortress and lately Call of Duty – but the potential is there.

Second, well let’s talk about your superpowers before moving onto the third and most obvious aspect – that would be fear. Using Sgt. Michael Becket’s slo-mo ability to outmanoeuvre the enemy even when faced with impossible odds makes you feel like Superman – or Hiro from Heroes in his futuristic samurai guise. You may think you’ve grown tired of bullet-time special effects in every other movie since The Matrix and subsequently games post Max Payne. But the chaos in FEAR 2 is another class; it’s always satisfying to dodge the traces of bullets while taking your head shots. If your sound-system is up to it that’s a whole other area of physical joy.

So now fear and the many appearances of Alma. If you’ve watched any of the Japanese horror films since The Ring, Dark Water or The Eye you’ll know how unsettling the mere glimpse of a spectre can be. Alma’s party trick is to randomly warp Becket’s viewpoint to become an entirely different scene, usually of gore soaked carnage, before quickly switching back. She’ll have you chasing shadows and then appear right before you in gradually more horrific form. While you’re contending with a bulldozer of a foe carrying the chain-gun from hell or ninja types that are so easy to lose track of, never knowing your own mind is a total freak out. Your heart is in your mouth the whole time while playing FEAR 2.

See, we managed to get all this way without even mentioning the post-apocalyptic (blame Alma!) city with its crumbling ruins and dust filled air. And how much fun it can be stomping around in the Elite Powered Armour (EPA) used to spice up the action and, let’s be honest, relieve a decade of stress amassed in only a few hours of gameplay. Shooting stuff to pieces in FEAR 2 is the ultimate pay off. Monolith throws your back against the wall and pushes you to the limit before allowing the game to give you some fleeting moments of pure bliss where you feel like the most kick-ass action hero on earth.

FEAR 2 is formulaic. But so is rock and roll. The important thing to know is that FEAR 2 gets everything so right and as such you should just knuckle down and enjoy.

4 out of 5