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Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

Graphics

I can still remember playing the original FEAR demo on a 6800GT at 1024x768+19in CRT, so it still looked good and was the best looking game to date, it also had impressive sound and was a gritty realistic type of FPSer,….and after having played the game, I was impressed by it, but as many people will tell you, it was quite linear and IMO lacked a strong finish.

That said, its superb slow mo and physics made it very enjoyable, in fact, both FEAR and Xpoint still look very good on my 26in LCD, but the gameworld was a bit sparse on objects and detail…..so in 2009, does FEAR2 blitz the much older FEAR…..well, not entirely, the quality of lighting isn’t as good, and the slo mo and physics are a bit different.

The major difference is that this time the gameworld is much bigger, but you have to sacrifice image quality, especially as this game must run on the console shit......but there’s more colour and it’s more visceral in terms of blood flow, lol.

Considering its heritage, it’s a bit tragic that not only doesn’t it significantly improve upon the original, it’s not even a match for Crysis or Stalker CS…..I also don’t think that much of art work or level design….its okay, but not a talking point.

The game is also way too dark at times, and the flashlight sux, so considering all that, I’ll give it a 7/10.

Sound.

Whilst good, I think it’s taken a step back from FEAR, but the use of sound is fairly good, and there’s some rumble action as well….

SQ….8/10
UOS...9/10
Av=8.5

Storyline.

This game takes place after the end of Fear, which then makes me ask where the fuck was Xtraction point in the scheme of things?.....of well, not to worry, but the story isn’t anything special and as I mentioned elsewhere, this is what Persuse fucken Mandate should’ve been……so storyline isn’t one of its strong points, but the game is harmonious so to speak.

7/10.

Subjective appeal.

In case you’re unaware, I’m mainly a FPSer fan……but this will change as graphics eventually improve, as it’ll make the more boring tactical and RPG hybrids more appealing, but generally, I just prefer to go in and kill everything that moves…..consider it my inner Leonidas or sociopath at play, so games like this should be right up my alley, and as it turns out, it’s a pretty good linear FPSer, but you must remember, I particularly like the slo mo, in fact, I played all the way thru Xpoint with it.

IMO, FPSer must always, always have good weapons, ie, type, sound, impact and fire rate….fuck any of that up, and you’ve most likely ruined the game….luckily, Fear2 has good weapons, and all their attributes are fine…..I can’t stand weapons that have been muted and lack impact….that’s so PS1.

Combat is good and can be intense at times, but the slo mo will certainly make life easier, speaking of which, people are complaining that the game is too easy….I guess that’s true to some degree, I’m certainly not being killed that often, but after playing both Stalkers, all games seem easy…..that said, the hand gun is decent this time round, so you want a real challenge, you could try and play thru with that.

The game has improved itself with some glitzy moments such as motion blur, and all sorts of lighting effects here and there depending on what you’re doing, for example, there’s a cool lighting effect when you pick up armour…..probably aimed at the console kiddies, but I don’t mind it.

Oddly enough, one of the originals good idea’s has been almost scrapped in F2, ie, the communication between the soldiers is almost non-existence and I don’t recall them swearing in frustration or defiance, so a step backwards unfortunately.

As I mentioned before, they’ve made part of the game too dark, and have given us a crappy but necessary flashlight, so that part of the game was quite forgettable to me, but it isn’t like that all the way thru.

So I’m liking the game, it allows me to have fun without having to go online and look up walkthru’s, and you can always replay it using different weapon combo’s.

This game would’ve been insane with Stalker CS’s graphics, and I wish they made it that demanding……there won’t be any point replaying this game on your next system, as most of you will either max it or get near enough.

7.5/10.

Objective demerits/bugs.

Don’t really have any major complaints….but I do wonder why they give us slow motion, yet only allow us to carry 4 weapons at a time.
No probs re-mapping the controls and the games splash screens work well.

I would’ve rated this part as 9 or higher, but the all the issues I’ve raised have let it down a bit…..8/10.

So that leaves us with 7.6/10…..which I guess isn’t so far off Gamespot’s score after all, and remember, if you didn’t think much of the first game, then don’t get this one, as this games strength is the raw combat and slow mo action.

mihai_alexandru73 · Banned

I liked the first one. You didn't mention the horror part of the game, though.

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

Like love, it's overated, no different to eating large quantities of chocolate.

mihai_alexandru73 · Banned

I've tried FEAR2 too... the games looks great even on the lowest settings and on the lowest resolution. Does this game have the best graphics ever?

And really Pogma I think you should add to your review system a gameplay section, that's why your FEAR 2 review is so short.

Let me talk about the gameplay myself... you were right that the horror part is overrated... I've played the first 2 missions and the only thing that scared me was at the beginning where you're in the vehicle and the little creepy girl growls at your face in surprise and then the dialogue begins... sorry if I didn't use the correct word with "growl".

But anyway this game is just this... easy difficulty fights + slow motion + horror which is overrated... So this game is basically shooting off hundreds of enemies in a cool manner... if you like that then this game is good for you... but I prefer the realistic combat from Stalker over this.

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

mihai_alexandru73 · Banned

Stalker doesn't look better than FEAR 2... maybe it's because of my PC, but FEAR 2 is mostly indoors so it has an advantage over Stalker which has huge environments...

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

mihai_alexandru73 · Banned

Well then Stalker is better but I can't believe it because being out doors with huge maps, it eats a lot more resources.

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

Combat in Fear2 is about as good as any shooter....granted it's not the same realism as Stalker and GRAW......big game as well.
IMO, if someone played F2 first, there's no way they rate FEAR as better.

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

DAMN....I just loaded up POS Mandate, and the graphics suck compared to FEAR2....as does the gunplay.