threevue

We spent some “alone time” with the new F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin demo. Our thoughts:

Mark:
The first thing I thought when I fired up this demo was, “There is no way in hell I’m going to be able to play through this entire game with that HUD-frame thing on my screen the whole time.” But as I continued to play, my eyes were able to gain focus on more important things, like how amazing the environment looked, and how sharp the animations were. Much of the time, I had the same dead-silent and eerie feeling I felt when playing through the Ravenholm level of Half-Life 2. The only visual I didn’t really like was the arcadish, cartoony look that the enemies’ blood had.

But you know what? None of that is nearly as important as how goddamn scary this demo was. I played it alone at about two in the morning, and there were a few moments where I had to stop, gather my thoughts, tell myself it’s just a game, and then continue slowly. Two things will always be terrifying no matter what the context: abandoned elementary schools, and eight year old little girls. This game takes them both to max-scariness and beyond. We may have a new contender for Scariest Game Ever when this one comes out, as long as it can stay as fun as Dead Space did through the whole thing.

That frame around the HUD still bugs the crap out of me, though.

Russ:
This demo has a lot going for it. I played the first F.E.A.R. but only for a few minutes, and was left feeling generally unimpressed. This demo, on the other hand, has me thinking otherwise. The controls feel tight and snappy, and there are some neat moves you can do (you hurdle over objects instead of just jumping over them, and you can jump-kick!). The demo also showcases a large assortment of weapons, including a surprisingly awesome sniper rifle, and there’s a mech section that makes Lost Planet seem even more unremarkable than it was. Honestly, this demo has the best mech/driving section I’ve played in a good long while. The A.I. is really, really good, but I guess that’s what this series is known for. The graphics are pretty good – not great – but they get the job done. I was annoyed by the H.U.D. and B-button-to-melee controls but hopefully those are adjustable in the retail game.

This demo is so great that it’s just a plain shame that I won’t be playing the full game. You see, I’m scared shitless by ghosts, or anything that pops out at you and you have no control over it at all. I can barely play survival horror games, but that’s because the bad guys are monsters that don’t appear out of thin air. You know in The Ring when the girl is crawling at the guy and then she disappears and then comes back but is closer?!? That scares the hell out of me, and that happens in this demo, so I don’t think I’ll be able to sit through what I figure will be a very solid FPS game.

Tyler:
Apparently I never finished the first installment of the First Encounter Assault Recon game, although I clear remember the ending. Must have Youtubed it. Anyhoo, the sequel reminds me a lot of the second Condemned game; a city-wide cataclysm, creepy locations (doll factory, grade school) and a tendency to use “gotcha” scare tactics. There are points in this game that come off as genuinely chilling though. One such area is where a ghost has incapacitated a team of your enemies and they struggle while pinned against the walls and the ceiling, a broken light strobing in the corner. Unfortunately you then have to fight the ghost. How you ask? Why, by shooting it with bullets of course! Just imagine if these guys made the Ghostbusters movie, they probably would have cast Dolph Lungren as Peter Venkman.

The aiming might keep me from playing F2:PO. It’s not bad, I’m not saying it’s Turning Point: Fall of Liberty or anything. It’s just a little too loosey goosey. It’s basically the Resident Evil 5 of FPSs right now. Also, you have to admit that it’s a pretty stock game. I mean, I could pick it up and struggle with it and be annoyed by the imprecision of the aiming and the frustrating bits of Mech-boss battles all in the name of playing another ho-hum FPS – or – I could go back and play the best games that I never got to check out on my PS2. In the end, I think I’ll be going for something a little more unique.