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F.E.A.R. 2
Is it just me, or is Alma (the adult version) getting kinda hot?
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It’s rare that I experience synergy with a game’s story. Very often I’m left wondering things like: “Why exactly am I doing this again?”, or “Who is that?”, or “Why did he do that?”. The reason for this is that the writing is often very poor. I know the answers to the questions, but I still have to remind myself from time to time what’s going on. F.E.A.R. 2, I’m happy to say, didn’t require that. At any given moment I knew who I was, what I was doing, and where I was headed next.
I cannot understand the reviews I’ve read that say the game is not an improvement over the first. It is a significant improvement, in my opinion. The one thing I can say that I miss from the first game is the experience of throwing a grenade into a room and watch everything within explode, glass shattering, and guys flying out with flames behind them. The grenades in the sequel didn’t seem to have the same awesome destructive effect as the first. Other than that, though, I think every facet of the game has been improved.
Often while playing the first F.E.A.R., I was left bored and anxiously waiting for the next story/trip sequence. The environments changed, barely, and the combat and opponents were always the same. In the second title, however, not only are there drastic changes in environment from level to level, but there is a much wider range of enemies to fight. You face off against the usual soldiers, complete with their incredible AI, but you also face a series of supernatural opponents. The effects used in fighting these mystical creatures are fantastic, as well, and much like the rest of the F.E.A.R. series it’s just a trip to experience. The AI hasn’t been notably improved, but it didn’t need to be. My favourite aspect of this series has always been, and still is, the fantastic AI of the computer opponents.
The pace of the game has been sped up and that’s a very good thing. I think I got bored for a few minutes somewhere in the first level of the game, but it quickly ended. In the first title I was often astounded at how long a level could be, and how monotonous and repetitive the combat was. The developers have done an amazing job creating an experience this time around that you can’t pull yourself away from. 2 minutes after you put the controller down to do something in RL, you find that you just want to go back and see what happens next. I felt that there was a better mesh of narration and action this time around as well.
It took me until the end of the game to start to perceive the pattern where one was supposed to go, and I often got lost, running around in circles. If it can save you some time, here it is: Head towards the light. Usually the area that you are supposed to be moving towards has some strange form of lighting that distinguishes it from the rest of the room. Now, on my second playthrough, I never get lost as I play with my flashlight off most of the time, a stark contrast to the first time where it was on unless I was trying to stay hidden.
One very cool thing they’ve done is that you can download and play the demo without ruining any of the game. Yes, they reused some of the locations and slow-mo events, but the demo is a completely different character and situation from the main game. Even the trip sequences have been changed just for the demo so it’s a little experience in itself.
I very much like the story in the F.E.A.R. series, and I like what they did in this second game a lot. Something happened halfway through the game, but I wasn’t afraid of Alma anymore. When she would appear, I’d walk towards her instead of away, and I stopped shooting at her. I feel this is a very important separation from the role-play of being Point Man in the first game and being Sgt. Becket in the second. Even before I could have known anything of where the story was going to go, something about the psychology of how Alma was being presented had changed. |
Graphics
I'm going to give this an exceptionally high rating just because of the brilliance in artistic direction. No it didn't have the most mind-blowing textures I've ever seen, but they made some of the coolest imagery I've seen in gaming.
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10.0 |
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Sound
Amazing music in this game. Adds so much to the experience it's insane. The game sounds are fantastic as well and the surround sound was done decently.
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9.0 |
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Gameplay
I very much enjoyed the gameplay in this game. I feel like it rarely got repetitive, and the environments provided unique challenges. The tip over cover system could have been much improved simply by speeding up the time taken to tip an object over. It's so slow you're better off finding traditional cover.
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8.5 |
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Originality
Not much has changed from the first, but it provides a very original story experience. The mechs are a nice inclusion that provided a decent challenge and a lot of fun.
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7.5 |
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Interface
No big complaints here at all. Weapon selection is done very well compared to most console titles, and moving in and out of slow-mo is very natural. I would have liked to have seen a way to reorganize my weapon selection, however, without needing another gun lying on the ground.
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9.5 |
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Fun
The game moved quickly and at a perfect pace. Didn't end too soon or too late, in my opinion, and I felt that the story was very engrossing.
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9.0 |
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Lasting Appeal
I still feel like playing it again. This is one of those series that I'll play through every 6 months or so. The multiplayer isn't too bad, either. Basic games, but a better-than-average interface for it.
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8.0 |
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Overall
Even now, as I write this, I find myself strangely drawn back and I want to play the game again. In an odd way, it’s to see Alma again, to try and perceive more about her character that I may have not seen. The story haunts me even now, but not in a horrific way. Not anymore.
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8.8 |
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