F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate versus Project Origin - by Digital Nightfall
june gloom on 27/11/2007 at 07:34
I did think one of the early street sections (when you first climb out of the sewer) was a bit overly clean and bright for a back alley, but i haven't had a problem with the exteriors as a whole.
Matthew on 27/11/2007 at 11:05
Quote Posted by dethtoll
That's because the "LOL U HAET EECH UTHER GET A RUME" joke isn't all that witty or original.
Aww, poor buttons.
Bjossi on 27/11/2007 at 13:09
Quote Posted by dethtoll
Level design is actually, as far as I'm concerned, up to par as far as FEAR is concerned. It's better than XP anyway, XP seemed to be missing a few things that could've made it way better.
PM is indeed in par with FEAR when it comes to level design, excluding the outside areas. I agree that they were bland as hell, not just the architecture but the lighting as well. When outside running on the streets I got a Quake 2 flashback. :o
Malleus on 27/11/2007 at 13:51
You guys DID adjust the brightness properly right?
Malygris on 27/11/2007 at 15:27
Okay, to partake in serious discussion for a moment, didn't anyone think some of the levels, particularly in the second half of the game, were a bit short on things to shoot? The "empty level" technique can be an effective tension-raiser when used effectively (Shalebridge being the obvious example) but when it goes on (and on, and on) with only short bursts of combat to break the monotony the only thing that ends up raised is the boredom factor.
I also don't follow the suggestion that the horror elements are equal to or improved over the original game. FEAR spooked the hell out of me on more than a few occasions (even on my third playthrough there were bits that creeped me out) but aside from one moment early on (that was really startling rather than being at all spooky) the horror bits ranged from dull to borderline goofy.
The fact that individual levels showed no improvement over the original release didn't bother me, but the levels seemed very disjointed overall. It didn't feel to me like I was in an office building, or a high-tech lab, or a massive underground complex; instead, it was just a series of rooms created to fit one particular environment or another, strung together with no real purpose. There was no sense that I was moving through an Armacham facility. I was just playing through levels in a videogame.
Bjossi on 27/11/2007 at 19:34
Quote Posted by Malygris
I also don't follow the suggestion that the horror elements are equal to or improved over the original game. FEAR spooked the hell out of me on more than a few occasions (even on my third playthrough there were bits that creeped me out) but aside from one moment early on (that was really startling rather than being at all spooky) the horror bits ranged from dull to borderline goofy.
What about the underground levels right after the huge explosion? I was playing that segment of the game during a Saturday night, and I had never been so scared in a FEAR game before. My view was everywhere to make sure nothing was about to attack me. Even my heartbeat was quick, and I got startled almost every time I saw those red eyes coming towards me.
That is something I would love to feel more often in games trying to be scary. Startles are all fine and dandy, but keeping me on the edge of my seat AND make me startle many times is fucking great. My bad eyesight helps in such situations because I don't spot those red eyes as soon as others, so sometimes they're almost in my face when I do see them. :p
driver on 27/11/2007 at 19:40
Quote Posted by Bjossi
PM is indeed in par with FEAR when it comes to level design, excluding the outside areas. I agree that they were bland as hell, not just the architecture but the lighting as well. When outside running on the streets I got a Quake 2 flashback. :o
Yeah, the streets were really dire and some of the courtyards at Armacham were just plain poor. For me, F.E.A.R. was about spooky, clostrophobic, dimly lit corridors and industrail sites. Putting you outside in the (Sometimes) bright sunshine just didn't work.
:edit:
Yeah the underground bit was quite spooky,
the BOO scene (Which I really should have seen coming since the setup was the same as used before in the other F.E.A.R. games), had me on the edge of my seat for the rest of the level.Malygris on 27/11/2007 at 22:01
The best moment in the old tunnels was when [SPOILER]that demon-spirit-whatever-thing in the ground that killed Chen got ahold of me. And after the first one, what did they really bring to the party? As long as you're paying attention to where you were going, it's an easy matter to see them well in advance and either avoid or kill them. No offense if your eyesight doesn't allow for that, but that's something of a unique situation. [/SPOILER]But other than that, I thought the whole affair was rather dull, especially when it became clear that those see-through guys were the only real opposition in the place. Not only were they not a real threat, but there also wasn't much to distinguish them from the cloaked Replica ninjas.
And what's the deal with happy Alma? [SPOILER]When she wastes the three Nightcrawlers in the surgical theatre and then laughs and skips away, I was very wtf. [/SPOILER]To me it screams of someone who really doesn't have a grasp on the source material or how to properly put it to use.
june gloom on 27/11/2007 at 23:04
On the one hand, while I agree that the courtyards were on the whole rather meh, they weren't terrible. Probably my biggest problem was the rather ugly texturing around the upper windows.
Timegate are competent mappers, but they're not great. They do have some brilliant ideas, though. I had to laugh when some ATC guys are like "we've got you now!" when I had just spent 5 minutes fighting the fucking robot equivalent of Godzilla AND WON.
van HellSing on 27/11/2007 at 23:18
Happy Alma also featured in the live-action prequel. She dances and skips around the completely mindfucked dr Green in the end scene.
