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

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin begins shortly before the original game ends and is the first official sequel to the original FPS fright-fest, F.E.A.R.  The game retains all of the elements that made the original a hit: the advanced AI, the creepy Japanese horror movie-influenced imagery, and great FPS action.

Although the game doesn't add anything new to the first-person shooter genre, it retains the psychological scare factor and the hallucinations that made the original such a great title.  You are a lone soldier, Michael Becket, armed with a handful of weapons, your fists, and a few kung-fu kicks against a legion of bad guys. 



On the normal game setting, the game likes to play rough, and hard is just beyond what my n00b thumbs can fight off.  One of the things that the original was known for was the intelligent AI that fought as a team.  While not as brutal as in the first game, the enemies in this game still "think" and act like a squad.  Enemy actions feel very dynamic and rarely seem scripted.  They are by no means stupid enough to just stand around and shoot back; they will instead pull away and regroup.  Other times, the enemies will get together while you are behind cover and flank you.  In one particularly cool moment I shot someone down, and as he tried to crawl away dying, he fired at me.  Those are just a few examples of what the computer opponents will do to take you down.

Luckily, you can still slow things down.  It gives you a chance to aim and shoot at the enemies around you.  While this is not a new feature in gaming (Max Payne did it years ago), it can be useful for getting you out of a bind.  Just don't forget that it's available.



Project Origin keeps the gore level up, usually through the game's infamous hallucination scenes.  Many times you will run into grotesque visions of NPCs being dispatched in horror-movie style death scenes.  Walking into a room and seeing someone's bullet-riddled body fall from a higher floor and form a pool of blood on the tile is just one of the many encounters you will have.  The damage on the enemies is also very awesome; grenades literally blow them to bits, while shooting at a dead enemy actually causes their blood to splatter on the screen.

Through mixing horror with the fast action of a first-person shooter, Project Origin accomplishes something very few other games manage to do.  It actually makes the player feel uneasy about proceeding, despite being in first-person, which has the limitation of being confined to one camera angle throughout the entirety of the game.  It relies less on cheap "startle" scares, and more on making the player genuinely afraid of what the game may throw their way.  This is one of those games that can actually become difficult to play at night, and long after you turn the console off, Project Origin's surreal visuals linger in your mind.



There is not a whole lot of bad to say about this game.  Some players may not like that the game can be beaten in one 8-hour play-a-thon.  The running is terrible because you have to use the L-stick to move while at the same time pressing it down as a button (L3), which makes the control awkward.  However, Project Origin is definitely made with the core gamer in mind.  At $60, the game is a deal for any shooter fan.  Just don't expect anything revolutionary in the FPS genre, instead, take it for what it is—good, fun, shooting action with a hearty scoop of horror.
 
Fun Factor:  Project Origin is one of the highlights of February 2009, because it is enjoyable to play.  It is unfortunate that the game launched at the same month as SFIV, because F.E.A.R. 2 is a damn fun game that just might get overlooked.

Game Length: This is one of those games that you should be able to run through in about 8 hours if you don't spend much time getting killed or lost.  I spent some time fighting bosses a few times over, or getting lost in dark areas with the recommended brightness settings.

Difficulty: On easy, the game cuts you some slack, but makes sure not to insult your gaming abilities.  When playing on hard, you had better have some quick, precise thumbs on ya.

On the Negative Side:  Some may find it short, others too hard, even on easy.  Running feels weird because of the control method. 

Bang for your Buck:  F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is a nice game for $60 bucks, mostly because it was made with the core-FPS fan in mind.