Players enter the game as Michael Becket, a Special Forces soldier on a mission to take one Genevieve Aristide into protective custody. Aristide claims she can help you and your team eliminate Alma. To complicate things, black-ops forces have been sent in by Armacham Technologies to assassinate Aristide.
Soon after finding Aristide, Becket begins having visions of Alma, and is drawn to the window of Aristide’s penthouse apartment. In the distance, a nuclear bomb is set off (incidentally by F.E.A.R.’s lead protagonist) levelling the city.
Becket is knocked unconscious and wakes up in a medical facility. With the help of a mysterious man known only as Snake Fist, Becket must escape the facility. Snake Fist explains that Alma is now drawn to Becket, and if no action is taken, Becket will ultimately be consumed by her.
Snake Fist also claims that Aristide is not what she appears and only with his help can Becket defeat Alma. The rest of the game plays out with Becket trying to figure out what Aristide did to him, why Snake-Fist wants to help, and how to take down Alma.
Although the story is not as gripping as that told in the original, it should manage to hold the majority of gamers’ attention. As scary as it is, F.E.A.R 2 does get a bit repetitive towards the end. The story plays out well enough, and for the most part the levels flow with fluidity and consistency.
As is to be expected in a sequel, F.E.A.R 2’s visuals have been beefed up significantly, giving way to a far more realistic and terrifying experience than was seen in the original. Weapons, enemies and even the HUD have been optimized to create a more sci-fi look that fits in well with the style of the game. The player’s HUD is now a pair of glasses that display various tactical information, as well as identify pickups within a close radius. This helps out a great deal with locating pieces of intel across the maps.
F.E.A.R 2 maintains many of the elements that made the original so popular; including the creepy locations and well thought out level plans. Unfortunately, the success is not carried through to the new larger outdoor set pieces. The open areas do make a nice change from the claustrophobic indoor confrontations; but we cannot help but feel that the new direction was just not consistent with the general standard maintained throughout the rest of the game.
Another new game feature added by Monolith is the player’s ability to now enter the powered armour and roam the streets destroying everything in their path. Once again, although it mixes the gameplay up a little, it ultimately feels at odds with the rest of the game.
Players will encounter loads of old and new enemies, ranging from Black Ops, ATC soldiers, Replica soldiers, Ghosts and mutant-like creatures. Alma also pops around often enough to meet her “scare-the-player-pantless” quota. Monolith has undoubtedly mastered the horror genre as far as gaming goes, and once again wins the scare award.
Multiplayer is very similar to the original, but with the addition of new locations and weapons. Although melee combat is still present, it is now much harder to actually hit people for some unknown reason.
Overall, F.E.A.R 2 is a solid sequel that tries very hard to implement new game-play mechanics. In some cases these attempts are successful, while in others they fail horribly. The story, gameplay and characters are well set, and the game functions well as a whole. Like its predecessor, F.E.A.R 2 is firmly rooted in a solid foundation of close combat, a terrifying atmosphere, intense gun-fights and potent weaponry. A very enjoyable experience for gamers new and old.
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