[JemyM]

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
A very traditional shooter and not monoliths best.

Story: Fear Alma?
Forget everything you knew about F.E.A.R, as the protagonist, Paxton Fettel and the young Alma from that game won't return in F.E.A.R. 2. Still F.E.A.R. 2 begins where the first game ended. In F.E.A.R 2 you play another person, this one a Delta Force known as Michael Becket who in the start of the game takes on a routine mission to take in a Doctor Genevieve Aristide. Well, things doesn't go as planned, and after some brief encounters with the spirit of the adult Alma as well as a huge explosion Becket wakes up in a hospital, where it seems everyone is either dead or hostile. Truth to be told, there's not much story in F.E.A.R 2 and not many surprises either. It feels like you are constantly forced to go somewhere, often to meet someone, and on your way you have to shoot down forces from Armacham Technology Corporation (evil company) and replicas (produced by ATC) as well as killing some supernatural creatures aka "experiments". The game is filled with small cutscenes that tries to build mystery but it failed for me. There are also some flavor texts that can be found on datadisks scattered everywhere that add some more information about what's going on, but I still couldn't feel excited about the plot, maybe because if you have played F.E.A.R. 1 you already knew the story and then you knew what to expect.

Engine: Graphics & Sound
Graphics is one of the games strongest point. F.E.A.R. 2 is no Gears of War or Crysis, but the game does everything you would ask from a modern shooter and some effects are extra neat to look at, such as the ghost effects. I also found enemies to be very well animated. The bits where you get to control a powerarmor is also very neat. I found some areas to be really detailed, such as the school, and others not so. The sound does it's job but I couldn't say it stood out.

Gameplay
F.E.A.R had very strong gameplay with it's bullet-time mode and F.E.A.R 2 have the same mechanics, but in general the game plays just like an ordinary First-Person shooter that comes out as an average game in general. You get your traditional "man the turret", "control a vehicle" which can be seen in most modern games. Vehicle yes, there are some very nice levels in which you get to control a powerarmor that is really cool and looks great, but somehow I didn't feel like they belonged in a horror game.

Final Thoughts...
Monolith have in the past produced games like the supercreepy Alien Vs Predator 2 or Condemned: Criminal Origins, and unique classics like No One Lives Forever. F.E.A.R. 1 had some scares to it but I didn't felt it to be as creepy as it's other titles, but at least it was by many considered one of PC's more loved FPS's. The first expansion gave some entertainment for fans of the first game but Perseus Mandate made most people dissappointed. F.E.A.R 2 wont go down in history as a classic, frankly it's a rather forgetable game that can be piled on top of the recent FPS's that simply does what they should but then nothing more. If you haven't yet played AvP2 or Condemned, I suggest you should do so and save F.E.A.R 2 to later.