F.E.A.R. fans have always had their pedo fetishes for Alma (Who doesn’t like a pasty-demon-girl?), and with the latest release of F.E.A.R. 2, things have yet to change. Alma is still the evil gal we know and love, but now she just so happened to out grow her clothes.
It’s actually been a while since I’ve played a horror game. With all the action FPS games in the market today F.E.A.R. 2 was a nice change in pace. Though, looking back on it now, most of the horror game of this generation have been more thrills then anything horror. In a sense, F.E.A.R. 2 is no different. Plenty of scare tactics that are used time, and time again; where at first, could make you feel anxious, and confused to what was going on, but after experiencing the same scenarios, in just a different venue.. They simply lose their polish as you progress through the game. Unlike the first F.E.A.R., where the experience immerse you into wanting to figure out why the hell things are going so very wrong. Though, don’t get me wrong, F.E.A.R. 2 give you the drive finish playing, but with the mystery of Alma already revealed and done with. There’s just not much left to carry on it’s momentum.
Though with that said, there’s a few things F.E.A.R. 2 does do right.
F.E.A.R. 2 utilizes some pretty impressive effects, which scheme seamlessly into your game experience, such as sudden environment changes. Though, the graphics may not be as polished as more games recently released (2008-2009), F.E.A.R. 2 is still graphically satisfying (though some would say it’s a little to intense in certain effects *cough* blood *cough*). Though, one major flaw in the game, that is easily noticed, is the film grain (also noted as Noise Effect). Unlike other games that use this effect, such as Left 4 Dead, Mass Effect, and Silent Hill; F.E.A.R. 2 uses a heavy film grain that takes away from it’s graphics. Of course, this is arguably different for different people. Nit picking aside, there’s somethings that F.E.A.R. 2 masters as it’s own. It’s obvious that the guys in Monolith put a nice bit of time/effort into making the sound design second nature to the game itself. Everything meshes together perfectly, whether their moans of passion, or the ambient sounds that hammer themselves under your nails. Aside from the special effects, F.E.A.R. 2 relies heavily on the sound design to keep you immersed, of which, it perfects.
One of the things that F.E.A.R. 2 brings hot to the table, is gameplay. Like the first F.E.A.R., it enables you the ability to slow down time, so you can take a more precise, and efficient choice of action. This allows you to pull off head shots and taking down of multiple enemies easily. Though, this actual makes the game a little to easy (also arguable). Even at the hardest difficulty, some may find the game still to easy to get a sense of tension in combat. Either way, the use of this little effect makes the game not just fun, but satisfying as well. Watching as you strand each bullet into the target’s head, one after the other, never gets old.
With all things said, there’s one major flaw in F.E.A.R. 2 (Other then the film grain ^^). It’s noticeable that the singleplayer was created with quality in mind, but the multiplayer is far from that point. The system is more like old candy then anything else. With a game that relies majorly in it’s slow motion effects, where as the multiplayer utilizes none of it. It just doesn’t translate over. Simple gametypes such as deathmatch/team deathmatch, and other like Conquest variants, and Capture the Flag. None of these really stand out in today’s online games, so playing it feels more like a downgrade, if anything.
In the end, fans of the series, may be disappointed by the lack of storytelling/mystery. But those who are looking for a decent thrill of a singleplayer experience (and don’t have multiplayer primarily in mind), this does the job nicely.
Overall Score: 7/10
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