F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate versus Project Origin - by Digital Nightfall
Bjossi on 27/11/2007 at 23:19
Quote Posted by Malygris
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]
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]
I did see those dark spots in the floor most of the time, but occasionally I wasn't paying attention and got startled when the bastards grabbed my leg.
As for Alma. Maybe she does that because the NCs have the mission of stealing genetic info about her.
Malygris on 28/11/2007 at 01:44
Quote Posted by van HellSing
Happy Alma also featured in the live-action prequel. She dances and skips around the completely mindfucked dr Green in the end scene.
I think it's fair to say that took place a little bit before the whole Origin screwjob.
Quote Posted by Bjossi
As for Alma. Maybe she does that because the NCs have the mission of stealing genetic info about her.
Or maybe it's just lazy, shitty writing.
june gloom on 28/11/2007 at 08:07
I'm about halfway through Interval 5 now and I have to say, the game picks up in both level design, plot, and gameplay pretty much the instant you corner Morrison before Origin blows up.
I see now what people meant by the empty levels thing, though I have to say I disagree. I appreciated the break from the fighting, and the 10 minutes or so before the Replicas reactivate are spooky. There's something so utterly creepy about how the entire city is devoid of civilian life.
Also appreciated the subtle tie-in to Extraction Point (specifically, walking out of the subway under the crashed plane.)
I'm not done yet obviously but the game, while fairly enjoyable throughout Intervals 1, 2 and 3 (especially the fight in the lab I mentioned earlier) but not too terribly impressive (except, again, the aforementioned fight) I'm definitely pleased with the turn the game's taken. I've always said that XP is very noticably different in tone compared with the main game, and while the first part of PM, if the whole game were like that, would probably not impress me too much, the second part is much more like XP which to an extent I enjoyed more than the original game.
in before Malygris says it's shit again.
Bjossi on 28/11/2007 at 18:24
Quote Posted by Malygris
Or maybe it's just lazy, shitty writing.
Then how would you do it?
Jason Moyer on 28/11/2007 at 21:23
Replaying the original Fear immediately after XP, I'm amazed at how much better certain aspects are. The tactical combat parts are more enjoyable, simply because there are so many places where you have to be careful that you don't get shot in the back. The hard cover seemed more intelligently placed, meaning that even if the AI didn't manage to flank you, there was a significant chance that you'd think a room was clear, only to end up stomping past someone and being shot in the back. As completely annoying as the flying turrets are, I was highly amused when I set up a series of proximity mines only to have them fly back outside and come in through another window and shoot me in the back.
I thought the pacing of the horror sequences was better, and that the way the overall story was presented made more sense. The psychic visions that Alma projected into your mind constantly evolved through the game until the end when you went through the entire sequence and had the entirety of her psychosis smacking you in the face. It had less of a "what can we do that's scary!" feeling and seemed a useful tool for tying the story together. The laptop-browsing and phone messages added depth to the storyline, and gave you a real sense that you were in the process of uncovering some seriously fucked up secret shit.
XP was fun, anytime you get to shoot replica soldiers is going to be a good time, but I found it lacking overall. The entire thing was basically repetitive combat, then a totally over-the-top gore scene, then more repetitive combat, then "oh hey, it's that fire thing and Alma". Where the psychic horror sequences in the original were parts of a cohesive whole, in the first expansion it just felt like they wanted to add variety by making random weird shit happen that didn't have any sort of bearing on the story. The best part, really, was Alma's appearance in the subway, and that didn't make any sense at all (sorry I tried to kill you in the last game, now the child version of me is your BFF, k?).
I think the guys doing the expansions could make great games, just not great FEAR games. I'd love to see them do something like Psychonauts the Horror FPS, where they can just pump out tons of random psychedelic scary shit, but they're really not adding anything to the FEAR series as far as I can tell. On the other hand, I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing where Project Origin takes things, since apparently the premise is that you're part of an SFOD unit that's trying to apprehend Aristide, which seems like a fairly reasonable way to start a FEAR sequel.
mothra on 28/11/2007 at 23:27
i love this review.
i like FEAR but that hits the nail on the head when i played the demos for xp and pm. hope proj. origin (=FEAR2) is at least at the level of the original.
and i would like to hear about theWitcher from him.
if he even plays those games. i think he'll hate it though.
Dirty_Brute on 29/11/2007 at 02:33
Right now I am Interval 3 where I need to finish off the ATC guys. I agree, the exterior building textures (particularly during daylight) look really plain and dull. But during nighttime, you tend not to notice it too much. I love the nightsky effects though. Moving clouds and a nice looking moon against a nice backdrop of blinking stars looks pretty good.
So far, it seems to be mostly combat oriented with one of Alma's psychic projections happening every so often. I was hoping to get more of those like in the original Fear. Even though they are few and far-between, at least they are pretty scary ie [SPOILER](Janakowski's corpse appearing behind you and those undead spirits massing up on the bottom of the Core area).[/SPOILER]
Bjossi on 29/11/2007 at 03:19
Quote Posted by mothra
i love this review.
i like FEAR but that hits the nail on the head when i played the demos for xp and pm.
And after listening to his review, I doubt he played the full game himself. And if he can only find bad points in the more-of-the-same gameplay; he should have expected an expansion rather than a brand new game. What I was really surprised about, is that he described the level design as "blocky corridors"; isn't that the interior we see in most man made buildings? As far as I know FEAR takes place in a city.
And by the way, he talks too damn fast. :p
june gloom on 29/11/2007 at 04:18
Quote Posted by Dirty_Brute
[SPOILER](Janakowski's corpse appearing behind you and those undead spirits massing up on the bottom of the Core area).[/SPOILER]
Oh god. Especially that second one, I was seriously going "WTF?!" for a moment there. Something FEAR never quite "got" was the whole mindfuck sequence, by which I mean... okay that's not quite how I want to put it, so I'll just say this. In FEAR, often you would walk down a hall or whatever and have it transform into the hospital hallway; In PM and XP you're dumped into something that
looks like what you've been traversing through but there is something utterly fucking wrong about it. In a way, it reminds me that much more of Silent Hill.
