F.E.A.R. S.E.Q.U.E.L. P.L.A.N.S. [June 05, 2007, 10:21 am ET] - 36 Comments
The Name Your Fear Website (http://www.nameyourfear.com/?goto=/contest/ContestEntryForm.aspx) offers the "Name the sequel to F.E.A.R. contest," which should ease any fears that there would be no follow up to Monolith's scary first-person shooter (thanks IGN) as they seek a name, or perhaps acronym, for the sequel. Once one convinces the site's virtual bouncer they are of age, the following explanation can be found:
Monolith is excited to offer our loyal community the unique opportunity to name the sequel to F.E.A.R.! We will be accepting name submissions from June 4th, 2007 to June 22nd, 2007. Submissions will be narrowed down to 3 finalists who will receive an all-expense paid trip to Monolith to meet the development team and tour our facilities. Additionally, each of the 3 finalists will have their name and likeness included in the game! Once the 3 finalists have been chosen, voting will be open to the public from July 23rd, 2007 to July 27th, 2007 to let our fans decide the name that will take this exciting franchise to the next level.
I might have to give that a shot. I'd really just like to see Monolith's offices and such.
H.O.L.Y.S.H.I.T. -
Hostile Ops of Legitimate secrecY on Sensitive Horrors of Impossible Terrors
2 Fast 2 FEARius
2 Fast 2 FEARius
Embrace Your New F.E.A.R.Cool.
Monolith discusses the search for a new name, the evolution of Alma, and the return of the almighty Penetrator.
by Hilary Goldstein
August 6, 2007 - Today, Warner Bros. announced that it -- along with Monolith Productions -- had narrowed the names for the sequel to F.E.A.R. down to three choices. Due to legal mumbo jumbo, Monolith (the folks who brought you last year's sensational F.E.A.R.) can't use the name for its sequel. However, the developer is still able to set the sequel in the same universe and with everyone's favorite creepy girl, Alma.
After a lengthy selection process, the final three names have been chosen: Dark Signal, Dead Echo, and Project Origin. Head on over to nameyourfear.com to cast your vote. You have until midnight, August 10 to submit your pick. The winning name will be announced shortly after the poll closes.
We spoke with Troy Skinner, a producer at Monolith, about not only the naming process, but what we can expect from the sequel to F.E.A.R. While Monolith wants to keep things under wraps a bit longer, Skinner did talk a bit about Alma's evolution, creating more diverse environments, and the return of the Penetrator. And, of course, we also discussed the Name Your F.E.A.R. contest and why the three finalists stood out.Okay.
IGN: Can you give us a little teaser set-up for the sequel to F.E.A.R.?Ahhhh, so it won't be after Extraction Point....
Skinner: It starts 30 minutes before the end of the first game. Your unit knows all hell is breaking loose somewhere in the city, but doesn't know any details about Alma, the battalion of Replica soldiers on the loose, etc. Your team is assigned to a seemingly routine mission, when Alma is released, the city is leveled and the effects of Alma's increasing power are felt.
IGN: So Alma is back. Can you tell us anything about her involvement in the new game?Sweet.
Skinner: When we started the universe we made a conscious decision to have it revolve around the antagonist's development, rather than the protagonist's development. So, Alma's release from her containment chamber has a radical effect on the world. I don't want to get into the particulars of the way she manifests in the new game, but she is central to the story-line, and has definitely evolved since the first game.
IGN: A lot of the story in F.E.A.R. was in the periphery and had to be sought out by players. Will you keep this same tactic for the sequel?Good.
Skinner: We will hint at key elements of the story, long before we come out and explicitly tell the player what's happening. So, it's not like we are trying to keep things on the periphery, as much as we want an evocative story with some mystery, depth and unexpectedness to it. Our story is often presented in a subtle manner.
IGN: Atmosphere was a big part of the F.E.A.R. experience. Can we expect that same balance of horror and action? And what's your philosophy behind the blending of those two elements?More destruction, I hope....!
Skinner: We think the elements work very well together so we will be striking the same fundamental balance between horror and action, but a key aspect of our universe is Alma's development. Now that she has been freed from the containment chamber, the ways in which she can affect the world are quite different than in the first game. So there will be some development in the horror delivery that I don't want to spoil for people.
Skinner: We have always perceived close-quarters combat as the centerpiece of the game, and the horror as a secondary element that helps to set up future combat scenarios. Our combat is brutal, frenetic, and visually overwhelming. On the flip-side, the horror elements are moody, creepy and more evenly paced. The relationship between the two is that the horror elements are a palette cleanser that resets the player's emotional state, and allows the kinetic aspects of the next combat to land with more force.Ok.
IGN: The original game didn't have a lot of variety in the environments, but you've said that won't be an issue in the sequel. When we're talking variety, does that mean we'll leave industrial areas or that there will be less corridor shooting and more open arenas?Yay for more of a variety of areas and more open-arena areas, too!!!
Skinner: Yes and yes. Our action all takes place within a single city, so the environments are true to what can be found within its confines. We're not a game that will be traveling to the Arctic Circle, or Mt. Kilimanjaro. That said, there is obviously a lot of visual variation within a city, and our game will take advantage of that, and spend more time outdoors than the previous game.
IGN: Are the weapons from the original coming back? (Please, please bring back the Penetrator!)I loved the Penetrator -- it better be back!
Skinner: We didn't see the entirety of Armacham's arsenal in the first game, so we will be updating the weapon-set with some new entries. To make room for those new entries, some of the older weapons will need to be retired. As for the Penetrator - is that really the kind of weapon a highly-trained Delta operative would want to use in an intense close-quarters combat situation? Nailing people to walls? I guess it could come in handy…
IGN: Does losing the rights to the name F.E.A.R. change anything significantly about the game? I guess I am asking this because many fans probably are a bit confused on the whole story. So, what impact, if any, does this have in designing the game?FEAR's AI rocked...
Skinner: It has almost no impact. The only things it changes are the name of the game, and the name of the unit the player character is assigned to. We have the rights to every other aspect of the game universe. Alma is ours. The previous story-line is ours. Armacham is ours. The weapons are ours. Obviously, the development team is ours. The game-engine is ours. The AI expertise is ours. So the game we are making is the sequel to F.E.A.R. I think that people who loved the first game are going to instantly gravitate to what we are doing.
IGN: You have to find a new name for F.E.A.R. How involved is Monolith in the process?Cool.
Skinner: We are extremely involved in the process. Once we realized that we were leaving the F.E.A.R. name behind, it was Monolith's idea to have a name contest. From a creative standpoint the process of finding a name is driven by Monolith.
IGN: Going into the contest, did you have an idea for the name or maybe type of name you were looking for? And if so has that informed your choices for the final three?Okie.
Skinner: We had a really good sense of what we were looking for. Beyond the essential legal considerations, like our ability to trademark the name, we favored things that were evocative of action/military themes, Asian-style horror, and fit into our conception of the game universe. Additionally, we wanted a name that was easy to say, easy to spell, and had a strong sound to it.
IGN: Have you been surprised by any of the entries? Can you give us some examples?Okie dokie.
Skinner: I don't think we were surprised by individual entries, as much as it really jumps out at us how much people love really exotic, over-the-top names. The team has been constantly joking about how certain names reminded us of 80's metal bands. Just off the top of my head, I remember names like "Lament: Spoils of the Reckless," "Drenched in Desecration," "Blood Geist" and "Burning Decay." There are literally hundreds of others that have that strong 'metal' feel.
IGN: What are some of the silliest (or dumbest) names that were sent in?LOL @ "C.H.U.C.K.N.O.R.R.I.S." as an acronymn name...
Skinner: It's actually extremely difficult to answer that question because ridiculous names came in so many forms. It was obvious that many contestants may have been less interested in winning the contest than in simply trying to come up with hilarious submissions. One thing that I will say is that we shouldn't have thought the public would act any differently than our own developers because many of the dumbest names submitted I have heard around the office for over a year. The first and most common form of mockery was, of course, the ridiculous acronym; among others, our fans suggested "S.C.A.R.E.D.," "A.F.R.A.I.D.," "C.H.U.C.K.N.O.R.R.I.S.," "M.e.a.t." and "S.A.U.S.A.G.E." (the fascination with food products was strange). Some of those avoiding acronyms were equally quirky, however; for example: "Little Miss Bloodshine," "Bloodbath Tycoon (for the mass market)," "Snake FIST," "Killdozer," and "N.O.L.F. 3."
IGN: Were any great names left behind? Could you tell us about a few and explain why they weren't chosen as finalists?Okay.
Skinner: It's hard to zero in on the best names that were not chosen. Another surprising aspect of the process is how little agreement there was at Monolith about what constitutes a "great name." For every name that had a strong support group, there were others on the team lined up against it. Just to throw out some names that had someone on the team advocating for them: "Rage," "Inhumane," "Aftermath," "Shroud," "Atrox," "Shattered." I could go on and on.
IGN: Can you talk about the final three a bit, and maybe just explain why each was chosen as a finalist?Okay.
Skinner: First, we are confident that each of the three finalists would make a terrific name for our game and we are all excited to see what our fans decide. Here's a brief explanation of each of the names:
Dead Echo: Dead Echo is strong, clear and, from a narrative standpoint, very fitting for the game. It evokes catastrophic imagery while it also implies a blend of action, horror and unease.
Project Origin: A name taken from the disastrous Armacham program that created Alma. The terrible repercussions of Project Origin are only beginning to make themselves known in the sequel.
Dark Signal: An appropriate name for the sequel because Alma is emanating signals which the player can interpret through hallucinations and precognition. We can't elaborate on the appropriateness of the name without ruining the story, sorry.
The next installment of Monolith's F.E.A.R., whatever it may be called, is expected in 2008 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.I can't wait!!!
F.E.A.R. Sequel Titled [September 06, 2007, 11:30 am ET] - Viewing Comments
This press release announces Project Origin as the title for the F.E.A.R. sequel in the works at F.E.A.R. developer Monolith, not to be confused with F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate, which is the actual sequel (expansion, actually) to the first-person shooter. Here's word on the unofficial sequel:
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will publish Project Origin, the videogame sequel to the hit game F.E.A.R., developed by Monolith Productions for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows®. The name was chosen by the fans, as they submitted entries and then voted for the winning submission.
“Project Origin is the name we can stand behind since it was picked by the gaming community, and this game marks a new beginning for the franchise,” says Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “With the consoles and the PC, we’re dedicated to add a new game dynamic to the universe and build upon what the players loved about the original game.”
“Our team really enjoyed letting the fans drive the naming process, and we are excited to expand upon the work we began in the original game and establish Project Origin as a premier gaming franchise in its own right,” said Troy Skinner, Producer, Monolith Productions.
The sequel will continue the original game’s spine-tingling supernatural suspense story of an escalating paranormal crisis that threatens to destroy a major American city. At the center of the calamity is the mysterious Alma, whose rage against those who wronged her triggered a chain of events that have spiraled completely out of control. Now that she has free reign, the consequences will be unimaginable.
Snore. All 3 names were stupid. A combo of the first two, "Dead Signal", could have worked okay in my book, but these just reek of -- hey look, I put these two cool words that I think are cool together and look how cool it came out isn't itcoolomgwtf. Well, except for Project Origin, which is just generic as all fucking get out.
Alma really defined herself as a character in F.E.A.R.Alma means "soul" or "spirit" in Spanish, so that gives it more backing as a title.
And from the interview w/ IGN, it really sounds like F.E.A.R. Sequel will revolve a lot around Alma, again.
Given all that, with The F.E.A.R. Sequel revolving so much around her, "Alma" itself would've probably fit just fine as a title for the F.E.A.R. Sequel.
Alma means "soul" or "spirit" in Spanish, so that gives it more backing as a title.Yep, it does. :)
Whatever they call it I can't wait to see the actual content.Ditto.
-1 for us? :P
First Project Origin Trailer Released
Game Trailers has the first gameplay trailer (taken from SpikeTV's GameHead TV show) from Project Origin (http://download.gametrailers.com/gt_vault/t_projectorigin_debut_slate_h264.wmv), showing off the first public footage from the upcoming first person shooter sequel to 2005's F.E.A.R from developer Monolith and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive.
Haven't even downloaded it yet. Honestly, I don't really care that much.Really? Are you afraid it'll be too much like the original???
I still haven't even played the FEAR expansion yet.Ditto. Hell, I ain't even picked that FEAR: Extraction Point (expansion) by Timegate, yet. I should, though. More FEAR = should be fun.
It seems we’re going to have to because Alma, the last game’s enfant-terrible, is at it again. While not a prequel – its beginning overlaps FEAR’s explosive climax – Origin nonetheless focuses on Alma’s motives, history, and the storm that revolves around her. But you can stop worrying. Whatever you might think of its themes and plot, Monolith’s sequel seems no less incisive a shooter, and one with the resolve to avoid obvious pitfalls like squad-based combat.Okay.
Investigating the carnage of FEAR, Delta operative Michael Becket faces more tactical, open combat than met his anonymous predecessor. Origin fancies itself as less of a cineaste, and is delving fully into its potential as a full-bore, near-future shootout, albeit with the same splendid bullet-time abilities as before. More or less all of the original enemies and villains have been dropped in favor of smarter, more capable ones, the mechs, particularly, powered up to exploit the larger environments. The co-operative powers of allied NPCs have also evolved beyond moving the occasional piece of furniture, but a “go there”, “on my way, sir” experience this is not.I hope the environments are quite varied, too.
The mention of sandbox combat in which AI and player improvise tactics smacks deliciously of Stalker, and the enemies here, ranging from mangled hospital patients to armored soldiers, force you to exploit a greatly enhanced, newly procedural cover system.Sounds like its taking some of the big elements from STALKER and GoW there.
That doesn’t preclude more fanciful weapons, the nail gun – more a galvanized stake gun – once again turning enemies into ornamental wall-hangings.Nice!
Monolith believes its direction with Origin to have shifted thanks to the turmoil of bickering over rights and names, but the game suggests little of the sort. And nothing could be more reassuring. The notion of a FEAR that sticks to its guns while making them smarter and more powerful is tantalizing, to say the least, and its arrival on both console and PC should avoid the first game’s teething troubles, which saw its technical requirements hit levels not seen elsewhere for two years.I wonder how the system requirements will turn out, myself...
Project Origin Delayed [August 22, 2008, 10:46 pm ET] - Viewing Comments
Project Origin is now expected in the first quarter of 2009, a delay from its previously planned release later this year, reports IGN. They learned of the setback during a demo of Monolith's sequel to the horror-themed first-person shooter F.E.A.R., but no reason was supplied.
Wow, that's quite a delay. I bet it misses Q1.I hope it don't miss Q1 2009.
Project Origin Renamed - F.E.A.R.2: Project Origin
Monolith Productions Inc. and WB Games Inc. are pleased to announce that we have purchased the F.E.A.R. name from Activision/Blizzard. Monolith Productions, the creators of F.E.A.R., have been developing the true sequel to F.E.A.R. over the last two years under the community selected title, “Project Origin.” With the name being returned home, the game will now be titled F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
So what happens to Perseus Mandate?
Oh. I didn't even know it was released. :PIt's been out for a while. It is standalone but frankly it sucked. The gameplay was monotonous (even more than the original FEAR), story was irrelavant and shallow, and somewhere along the line of development they lost the DirectX 9 shaders so now it looks crap too (there was no patch either).
It's been out for a while. It is standalone but frankly it sucked. The gameplay was monotonous (even more than the original FEAR), story was irrelavant and shallow, and somewhere along the line of development they lost the DirectX 9 shaders so now it looks crap too (there was no patch either).That was the odd part -- was that it lost the DX 9.0 shaders that helped make the game. Eh, Perseus was really nothing great by any means.
By contrast, Extraction Point was a decent expansion.I thought Extraction was good.
Ports and expansions "killed off a few" F.E.A.R. fans
Saturday 27-Dec-2008 7:30 AM Monolith says console versions of F.E.A.R. and expansions may have negatively impacted the brand
Monolith's Dave Matthews, primary art lead on F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, has told CVG that F.E.A.R. expansions and console ports have likely cost the series some fans.
TimeGate Studios' F.E.A.R. expansions Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate received lukewarm critical receptions, while Day 1 Studios' PS3 and 360 ports of F.E.A.R. didn't quite match up to Monolith's original PC version.
In a recent interview we put it to Matthews that the non-Monolith developed F.E.A.R. products likely introduced a number of new people to the brand.
"And killed off a few," was his response, suggesting Monolith has a bit of work to do in attracting some punters back to the series.
"[TimeGate] took the story in a direction that we didn't intend," he added. "We look at Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate as an alternate universe, a 'what could have been', and because of that it doesn't necessarily diminish the story that we were trying to tell. F.E.A.R. was about Alma, F.E.A.R. 2 is about Alma, and we wanted to continue the story the way we originally intended."
Matthews also promised that the 360 and PS3 versions of Project Origin will be much closer to their PC counterpart than was the case with the original F.E.A.R..
"Now we're handling all three versions, we've changed our development structure to develop all three SKUs simultaneously and there's no lead platform," he said. "While there will be some slight variations between the different versions, so if you're on PC you can push some things further, our main goal is to make sure the experience is synonymous across all three platforms."
Publisher Warner Bros. yesterday released 35 new screens from the game, which is due for release on February 13, 2009.
Keep an eye out for more from our interview with Matthews over the coming weeks. While you wait for that though, have a read of PC Gamer's latest preview here.
‘F.E.A.R. 2′ PC System Requirements Unveiled
Wed, Jan 14, 2009
I really loved the original “F.E.A.R” game, aside from the nasty ending areas with the annoyingly repetitive ghost corridor shooting, and I’ve been closely following the production of its sequel, “F.E.A.R. 2,” since the days when it was known simply as “Project Origin.”
Anyway, the system requirements for the PC version were recently unveiled, and they seem quite modest for a modern FPS of its caliber. I imagine that most every gaming PC out there exceeds most of the minimum requirements at this point.
Min spec
CPU: P4 2.8GHz (3.2GHz Vista)/Athlon 64 3000+ (3200+ Vista)
GPU: Fully DX9-compliant graphics card with 256MB (SM 2.0b). NVidia 6800 or ATI X700.
Memory: 1GB (1.5GB Vista)
HDD: 12GB
OS: Windows XP SP2/Vista SP1
DirectX: 9.0c
Sound: DX9.0c compliant
Optical drive: DVD (boxed only)
Internet: Broadband
Recommended Spec
CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz processor family/Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (required for MP host)
GPU: Fully DX9-compliant graphics card with 512MB (SM 3.0). NVidia 8600 GTS or ATI HD 2900 XT.
Memory: 1.5GB
HDD: 12GB
OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1
DirectX: 9.0c
Sound: DX9.0c compliant
Optical drive: DVD (boxed only)
Internet: Broadband (768kbit/sec upstream required to host 16 players)
What do you think? Is your PC up to the task of running this sufficiently, or will you go for the PS3 or Xbox 360 version of the game instead?
What the heck is with the XP service pack recommendations? SP2 required, SP3 recommended? Why? Is there a real reason for that?I've alwyas thought that was wierd.
HL2 was a more expansive game that had more ideas. In that sense it's really a far superior game. I absolutely hate the way they paced it, running each successive gimmick or gameplay type into the ground before moving on, but there was actually a lot of variety there, and the game was pretty robust if you look at it in total.I thought HL2's game structure was fine.
FEAR, by contrast, did one thing and did it well, and that was about it, and it also lacked the variety of locales that HL2 boasted. Most hated that, though I actually liked how real it felt. That lent it some weight, in my mind.I do wish FEAR had more location types; that's probably my only gripe with FEAR.
But where HL2 really failed, pacing aside, was story. The story was lame enough by itself, if you can even call it story (I've gone over that a billion times), but the presentation just wasn't believable. Others will of course disagree, but I thought FEAR did the silent protagonist thing much more convincingly. For a game that technically had less story and wasn't really even striving for story excellence, I cared much more about the people there than I ever did about anyone in HL2, including Gordon and Alyx.I cared about the characters in HL2 quite a bit...
That had everything to do with believability. HL2 had no believable threads whatsoever. People treated Gordon like a god for no reason, and the interactions didn't make sense without two-sided contact. FEAR, even with a premise equally outlandish, made sure to keep it grounded. That's where they really succeeded.Valve are the masters at NOT explaining things -- such as to why Freeman is treated as such.
FEAR deserves to be recognized more so than Half-Life 2.
As great as both are, HL2 is no FEAR.
I'm not the biggest HL2 fan out there, but I think this might be the most incorrect thing I've ever seen posted on the internet.
God shut up.
I was going to respond about how i disagreed.That's what I *was* hoping for.
Elements of the kinetic combat have been removed, oddly. The close-combat flying kicks have been excised, reduced to the standard weapon-bash.Oh, man -- I loved using the flying kicks that FEAR 1 had! :(
You are able to flip furniture and take cover behind it- which your opposition will do too, showing the generally robust AI.Cool.
What else helps is the sense that Monolith really does care about this little world. As well as in-game cut-scenes and visions, there are logs all over the area for you to collect. These short bursts of information add a lot of colour to the proceedings, and in a BioShock-esque way add light and shade to what at its heart is a Resident-Evil-by-way-of-Akira ooh-those-corporations-they're-bad'uns plot. In fact, the most chilling moment in the game is delivered off-hand in one of these.That sounds pretty damn good to me.
Monolith really has developed a setting, even if it's not that interested in explaining it. Take the monstrous creatures you fight - the fairly standard fast-gooey-teary-things, ghosty-telekenetic things and puppet-master-zombie-controller things. Bar the former, I got no sense of what they were there for. I actually knew the story behind them, because a developer explained their background during an interview I did, but it's not made clear in actual play. While I understand the idea that the strange and unknown is fearful, it's not how the monsters come across in the game. Generally speaking, they just come across as something novel to shoot.Half-Life 2 was known for not explaining stuff -- yet he doesn't really slam HL2 for that...
And Half-Life 2's levels made more sense conceptually too. It's rarely obvious why you're going the way you're going. I moved by instinct, knowing that heading in a certain way was what the game wanted me to do - but also knowing it didn't make much sense. FEAR 2 is a game that works off an engine of atmosphere, and the unreality underpinning it all just undercuts that immersion.FEAR 2 is fantasy -- as in, you've got ghosts and other supernatural elements, so when the hell is the reality necessary here? :o
In other words, I found the experience of playing the game to be simultaneously exhilarating and depressing. The smallest fundamental parts - such as the combat - work. But on a higher level, alienation grows as the game becomes a chain of well-worn genre standards. I found myself thinking the back-handed compliment, "Well, at least I haven't done a gun-turret bit yet." Then, predictably, one turned up. Every time I started a new level I ended up wondering whether this one would be the moving-platform-train-bit. Surely it would arrive eventually? And it did.
It's a checklist of genre-tropes, well performed. If you're just looking for more well-polished shooting, this will while away the hours pleasantly enough. If you've never played a first-person shooter before, you'll probably be in love - this is as archetypal a corridor-shooter as has ever been made, and there's a reason why it works. But for anyone who's been running down corridors with shotguns for most of their adult life, this is so uninspired that you worry for the spark of Monolith's soul. You guys made No One Lives Forever, remember? You're smart. You're better than this.
FEAR 2 isn't terrible. That's the most terrible thing of all. Is mere competency enough to garner gamers' love? I don't know. But it's the one thing I really do fear.
It's Eurogamer. They're inconsistent and hypercritical pretty much all the time.Good point.
The flying kick is not cut out. At least not in the demo. I played the demo and I was fly-kicking my through the CQB bits. However I think the slide-kick was removed, or maybe I just couldn't do it on a PS3 pad. The good news is the melee is not an instant kill unless the enemy is unaware of you.Agreed. Valve gets away with that ALL the time.
Based on the Euro-gamers review it sounds like the reviewer actually giving the game an 8/10 but his only real quarrel is with the supposedly unexplained monsters and story elements, so he docked around 3 points for that?? Really? That review is very inconsistent.
Btw, they posted this (http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/4/0/9/6/2/4/2.jpg.jpg) screenshot with a character wearing what seems to be a "Shogo 2" t-shirt under a lab coat. A hint at Monolith's next game perhaps?
Meh... the first one wasn't a bad game, but it was pretty forgetable. As a result, I'm not too interested in this one.Aww... that's a shame. I thought the original was fantastic. Great gunplay along with a sufficient horror environment.
F.E.A.R. 2's multiplayer component also feels like filler, and though we've come to expect online play from most of our shooters, there's nothing special about this suite of lackluster options. For fans of the original, the most notable omission is that of the slow-motion modes, which brought reflex time into an online arena and made for some clever and enjoyable showdowns. Without these modes, F.E.A.R. 2 feels a bit hollow online, serving up helpings of Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, a couple of Conquest variants, Capture the Flag, and a mode called Failsafe that owes a large debt to Counter-Strike.Why did they remove Slow-Motion Multiplayer modes? That was one of the great enjoyments I had out of FEAR 1's MP. :o
The best of these is Armored Front, in which a player on each team can hop into one of those robotic exoskeletons while his or her teammates capture control points.That just sounds freakin' awesome.
I don't know why Slomo DM was knocked off.. Weird.Same here.
Xessive, did you pick it up for PC? I'm curious if the hanging issue is present in the retail verson of the game also, or just the demo.I only played the demo so far. I will be picking it up soon though, when it arrives here.
My first surprise: Son of a whore it's on Steam.
I just picked it up and now installing. My first surprise: Son of a whore it's on Steam.Is the SSA on the box?
It uses Steam for some odd reason. Exclusively. It's not an option or anything.Wow, I didn't know that...
Thanks for informing me about this, Xessive. I wish I knew further ahead of time so people knew of this Steam requirement -- it's very odd that I heard nothing about it requiring Steam until you mentioned this, finding out the hard way that it requires Steam AND after the game's already been available for a bit of time.
From what I understand, the game feels a bit consolized, at least in terms of menu and interface. You get that vibe at all?
From what I understand, the game feels a bit consolized, at least in terms of menu and interface. You get that vibe at all?
The only bad thing I have to say about it really is you can tell it's a "console FPS." It's difficult to put into words, but a dedicated PC gamer can tell, can just sense when a game was developed with a console in mind. It just feels different to play it, like it's on a leash. This feeling is also sharpened by other game devices - the game saves exclusively on a checkpoint system completely removing the player's ability to save (which also has the side effect of ratcheting up the tension, but I still don't like this dynamic), there's more weapons and armor lying around than in the inside of most military armories as well as enough first aid to heal you 5 times over what is necessary, and the game relies too much on fast-clicking quicktime events. It made me think of the "test your might" interstitial minigames from Mortal Kombat.
I too will buy it, though will wait for a price drop.Same.
From what I understand, it is a good sequel, though essentially follows the same formula. Having played the first two expansions, I guess I am in no hurry.Same.
Really? I heard it mentioned on a couple of podcasts. Terrible that it isn't mentioned on the box though.Yeah, it should be mentioned on the box.
It goes without saying that my preference is the PC for the sole reason that I can use a mouse to aim, as God intended. While FEAR2 does feel optimized for consoles it retains the same basic controls as the original FEAR. It is visually more impressive than its predecessor but it's not groundbreaking. It doesn't look or feel dated but we've seen these sorts of graphics (and better) in 2007. It's not winning any graphics achievement awards. I did notice some bugs with shadows though. They seem to be inconsistent throughout the game. Somethings cast shadows while other right beside them don't etc.To be fair, there are plenty of objects in Doom III that don't cast shadows either.
One more thing that adds to the consolized feel is the fact that it only displays in 16:9 ratio. I have it on 1680x1050 and it's letterboxed. You see the black strips across the top and bottom. Just as in Assassin's Creed. It's not a big issue but you'd think it would have been covered for the PC version at least. My monitor's bevel is black so it doesn't really show, and I can easily ignore it. Speaking of which, I was actually thinking of buying a 16:9 ratio 22" LG monitor which can hit up to 1920x1080. I'm still thinking about it though.
To be fair, there are plenty of objects in Doom III that don't cast shadows either.Yeah but how long ago was that?
I'm still curious. Saw some nice clips on TV last night, looked pretty cool. Unfortunately, I just can't afford the expenditure.Yeah, wait for it drop in price. It's an alright game but probably more worthwhile on a discount or from a bargain bin.
Hardly exclusive to Monolith. Nearly every 360 game I own forces letterbox on non-widescreen displays. Lot of lazy developers out there.Yeah, I know, but you expect more from Monolith.
F.E.A.R. 2 DLC coming in April
Monolith just announced the first downloadable content for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. In April the company plans to release a Toy Soldiers map pack that will "allow players to experience multiplayer from a new perspective".
The DLC will also include a new pictures pack and theme for F.E.A.R. 2.
F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin Update Released
March 13, 2009, 4:09 pm - Valve - Product Update
Updates to F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:
F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin
* Difficulty of Hard mode has been increased
* Implemented a toggle for switching between widescreen (16:9) and full screen (4:3) in the Options|Performance|Advanced Settings menu
* Implemented a toggle for head bob in Options|Game Settings
* Implemented a toggle for film grain in the Options|Performance|Advanced Settings menu
* Leaving a multiplayer lobby now returns the player to the associated multiplayer menu instead of the front end main menu
* Applied fix for energy weapon audio causing lag
* Applied fix for team balancing host options not being applied properly
* Changing team swap during selection and grace periods to swap at the next spawn
* Applied fix for team name showing as "undefined" after swapping teams
I generally like them, but they've definitely turned into a console-focused developer. Which is a bummer. Condemned II didn't even get a PC release.Yeah, it was disappointing that it never mdae it to the PC, especially since most people thought it was better than the first one.
I generally like them, but they've definitely turned into a console-focused developer. Which is a bummer. Condemned II didn't even get a PC release.
I've been a fan of Monolith since Blood. I just really hope if NOLF3 or Shogo 2 are in the works that we will see a strong support for the PC editions.I'd love to see GOG pick up Blood series. That'd be awesome, since I only have Blood Shareware, oddly enough.
F.E.A.R. 2 'Toy Soldiers' DLC Hits Consoles Next Week, Two Other DLC Packs Announced
by Chris Faylor Apr 07, 2009 12:00pm CST tags: F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Trailer
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
Firming up that vague mid-April estimate, publisher Warner Bros. today announced that the free "Toy Solider" multiplayer maps for F.E.A.R. 2 will hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 16, and also revealed details on two other forthcoming downloadable add-ons.
The second pack will bring more Elite Powered Armor multiplayer maps to Monolith's spooky shooter in May, with additional single-player levels and multiplayer maps due later in the summer. Pricing for these two downloadable packs was not provided.
Details on the PC release of the downloadable content were likewise not provided, though DLC for the PC edition of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is definitely on the way.
To be fair I like the overall visual appeal of the game. Lith did a good job of maintaining the atmosphere of the original and keeping with its creative direction. They didn't stray too far. To me it looks like what I expected the original FEAR to look. The environments are a bit more 'organic' than the original but it still adheres to the 90's traditions of level design. Actually it makes Duke Nukem 3D seem open-world. Nontheless, visually I'm not disappointed with FEAR2. They really did do a good job with the production value.I absolutely love the look and feel of the FEAR 2 game and its atmospheric environments -- Single Player Portion. In many regards, FEAR 2 is an improvement on the original FEAR -- more varied environments and enemies. Also, all the levels that looked ruined and destroyed -- fantastic. In other regards, FEAR 2 is not an improvement over the original -- namely the consolization of the game (checkpoint save system -- though, they are often quite frequent), removable of the Akimbos, and of course (on the MP side) the removal of Slo Mo DM. WTF is Slo Mo DM gone? That was one of my favorite modes in the original -- you'd think they'd keep that, on the MP side of things.
The specific changes include:
* Added two new 'Armored Front' multiplayer maps
* Unlocked Collector's Edition multiplayer heads for all players
* Fixed bug with music cross fades when switching between two tracks
I don't know man, I'm not enjoying it at all when I actually get a chance to play. It's very repetitive and uninspired. The mech is cool but only one player can hop on and only another mech can challenge it at all. Basically if you're on-foot you're dead.
Beginning September 3, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin fans will be able to download four all-new single-player levels in the exclusive F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn DLC campaign from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Studios, for a brand new gameplay experience on the PlayStation®Network for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows™ PC. F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn lets players experience four new single-player missions that coincide with the events in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, and a simultaneous automatic title-update provides a free Slow-Mo Deathmatch multiplayer mode for use with F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin multiplayer content. A robust game demo of F.E.A.R. 2 Reborn will be released on August 27.
· Four All New Levels: Face the chaos of Alma’s aftermath from an entirely new point of view: that of Replica Soldier Foxtrot813. As gamers begin the mission as part of an orbital Powered Armor drop to reinforce their squad, the ruined city of Auburn emanates supernatural events and familiar voices, beckoning Foxtrot813 to go against orders from Replica command. Be careful, not everything is as it seems…
· Slow-Mo Deathmatch: Through a free title update, gamers obtain a slow-mo powerup to slow down enemies in multiplayer deathmatch, thus gaining a distinct short-term advantage. The longer players hold onto the slow-mo powerup, the more objective points are accumulated, contributing to the overall score. Watch out though, whoever has slow-mo ability becomes a bigger target to everyone else!
Additionally, launching on August 13 is a brand new F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin premium theme for 240 Microsoft Points and picture pack for 80 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360®, as well as a new theme for PLAYSTATION®3 for $1.99. F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn is the third robust DLC pack available for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, and will become available for Windows ™ PC at a later date. The “Toy Soldiers” map pack launched April 16, with the “Armored Front” map pack following soon after on May 21.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Update Released
September 3, 2009, 12:45 pm - Valve - Product Update
Updates to F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
* Added Slow Mo Death Match multiplayer game mode
* Added DLC3 support
* Fixed a bug in which some audio stopped playing when exiting the EPA
* Fixed a bug in which the user could get stuck at an encounter with Alma in an elevator in the Nurse’s Office mission. This not only prevents the bug from occurring on first play through, but also allows players stuck by this bug to continue successfully
* Fixed a crash that occurred if a save was conducted while entering the EPA
* Fixed a bug in which missiles that flew for too long were incorrectly slowing down
* Fixed an issue in which pressing start on the Edit Loadout screen prevented loadouts from being edited again
* Adjusted balance between 2d and 3d sounds
So I bought this on the Steam for sale, for what I remember was $9, and am regretting it now. It was the first day of the Steam sale, and I probably should have saved for another purchase rather than get so excited.
The game is a disappointment, which is a shame. The first F.E.A.R. was awesome because of the fantastic A.I., and the really sweet feel of the weapons. They felt heavy and had impact.
Everything feels floaty in F.E.A.R. 2 and the A.I. is actually quite terrible. There are other aspects that feel like they are from an older generation of shooters, and certain modern shooter staples are just missing.
I almost want to reinstall the first F.E.A.R.
There are some good frights, but those heart attacks aren't worth the mediocre game in between.
edit:
I just read Pyro's post earlier in the this thread, and yea, some of the gore is definitely over the top. The fact that they put their weight behind that, and not the AI and the combat, makes the game feel a bit cheap and gimmicky.
edit 2:
Reading some of my older posts in this thread... I don't really remember writing them haha! Funny that.