F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Review
By Gaetano Prestia
It’s great that Monolith were able to retain the F.E.A.R. name for the sequel to one of 2006’s best shooters. That’s because there is an underlying similarity between the first game and Project Origin. They both follow the same story-telling path and each offer the same FPS experience coupled with dark hallways and unimaginable creatures. Project Origin compliments the F.E.A.R. name because what it offers is an almost identical experience to the original. There are some distinctive differences, no doubt, but at its core, Project Origin is a sequel that throws no new punches on the gameplay front.
F.E.A.R. 2 begins 30 minutes before the ending of F.E.A.R., putting you into the shoes of special-forces soldier Michael Beckett, a man that is haunted by visions of that creepy little girl otherwise known as Alma. Monolith seem to have really studied the horror genre since the original, as the narrative seems to have matured significantly since the original. The game doesn’t fall into the video-game horror trap of cheesy scares and there are some really great atmospheric moments throughout the title. Beckett’s HUD display and torch will sometimes flicker to signify telepathic interference from Alma and he’ll also experience eerie hallucinations. All of these aspects help create a tense and suspense-filled experience.
Thankfully, the improved narrative elements and fantastic atmospheric experiences are complimented by a very solid FPS experience. With Project Origin, you’re going to get many of the great gameplay aspects that you got in the original. The combat can get fairly intense as enemies come at you from several directions.
Project Origin might sometimes feel more like a sci-fi shooter than a horror, but that’s OK because the areas that have a focus on scaring the wits out of you do that without making it feel like over-kill. In the less stressful areas, you’ll have enemy soldiers coming at you from every direction, but then you’ll walk into a dark hallway and you’ll be confronted with Alma as she tries to take control of you. It’s a good balance that reminds us that at its core, Project Origin has a frightening and eerie story, but we’re also going to come across some futuristic environments and enemies that remind us that this is also a FPS.
One of the major praises of the original was the intelligence of the AI. Enemies would use cover and environments to their best abilities and this made the combat fairly intense. That same feeling is generated with Project Origin, as enemies flip over tables and go into cover if they’re severely injured. The AI doesn’t seem to have improved from what was on show in F.E.A.R., but that’s not a bad thing considering how solid it is. If you move into a room with your flashlight, you’ll hear them scream at the sight of the light and they’ll all suddenly move into cover. Also, enemies won’t shoot at you if you’re completely in cover, as they’ll wait for you to stick your head out before they start wasting ammo. Sometimes they’ll even run over to you to get a better shot.
However, besides using cover to their best advantage and holding fire for when you’re in range, the AI doesn’t really offer all that much of a challenge. You’ll sometimes come across several enemy soldiers at a time but you’ll never really feel like you’re in trouble, even if you’re outnumbered 10 to 1. It doesn’t take that much to put them down and once you turn on the slow-motion feature, you’re practically invincible. We originally played through on Normal difficulty but had to increase it to Hard because we were blasting through areas without much hassle.
As a whole, Project Origin just feels like a really easy experience. It might take you a while to get through an area, but that’s because enemies keep coming. Enemies feel like cannon fodder because there are health pick-ups all over the place and ammo is incredibly easy to come by. This is unfortunate, because the prospect of fighting genetically manufactured soldiers makes you think you’re in for a wild ride, when really, you’re in for lengthy battles that almost always end up with you progressing with near-full health.
This is also coupled with the fact that you can carry up to four weapons and four grenades at any time. If you have a grenade launcher, an automatic shotgun, a laser gun and a machine gun, as well as about 16 combined grenades, you’d have to totally suck at games to not progress through even the most challenging of areas. However, your health doesn’t regenerate, so if you’re stuck in an area with heaps of enemies, you’d better hope you’re stacked up and ready to rock n’ roll because once you’re down to that last ounce of health, it’s your last stand.
Still, the ease shouldn’t deter you, because the gameplay is still lots of fun. It’s awesome running into a hallway and seeing enemies quickly bombarding the area, running behind pillars and flipping over tables to take cover. You can then switch to slow-motion mode and move from enemy to enemy with perfect headshots, watching as they explode in a sea of blood and gore.
Speaking of which, Project Origin is incredibly gory. From the moment the game starts up, you’ll see decaying head-less bodies on the floor with blood splattered all over the walls. Throw a grenade into a group of enemies and see them literally explode everywhere. It’s incredibly cool.
So, the difficulty is a bit low and the core gameplay is practically identical to what was on offer in F.E.A.R., but don’t let those deter you. Project Origin is an incredibly enjoyable shooter. Even though it might only take you 10 or so hours to complete, you’ll most likely want to play through it again, if not to go through on a more challenging difficulty, than to piece together the intriguing story and figure out the “wtf” ending. It’s also great that this title has a really solid balance between horror and straight-up hardcore shooting action. It might be an inconsistency, but it doesn’t affect the overall experience, rather enhancing it.
Also, Monolith have a done a great job of improving internal environments and creating interesting and thrilling external areas. One of the major gripes of F.E.A.R. was the lack of originality in the environments and blandness of the areas you’d move through. With Project Origin, the story moves from area to area, taking us from an elementary school to a deserted subway system to ground zero of a nuclear explosion. All of the areas have improved detail and each add that little bit extra to the suspense and horror of the title. Also, the environments feel a lot more open. While the game has a distinctive linear path, you’re not pushed in specific direction. You have to eventually reach a certain area, but you can move through a number of different rooms or paths to get there. Enemies also take advantage of this, flanking you from different rooms and surprising you at every opportunity.
Project Origin progresses in chapters rather than levels, so there’s a more distinctive narrative feeling about, which really makes it feel like a horror sci-fi movie. It really enhances the experience because it doesn’t feel like a basic game with basic levels. It moves from area to area as the story is told. You can see the upcoming area in the distance and once you reach it, the new chapter begins.
Project Origin also offers an extremely solid multiplayer experience. The expected modes are all there, from capture the flag to team deathmatch and deathmatch. Most of the weapons from the single-player experience are included, but they’ve been balanced out to offer a better multiplayer experience. Don’t expect to knock down a human opponent with as few bullets as it takes to kill a grunt in the solo campaign.
But the multiplayer really shines through in Armoured Front, a mode that pits you against other opponents in the armoured mech suits. You basically have to capture five objectives and each time we played this mode, it ended in an all-out brawl in the middle of the map. Try and imagine eight of the armoured mech suits all against each other in an all-out brawl. It’s absolutely unreal! Bullets are flying everywhere, explosions are going off all over the place – it’s brilliant!
Project Origin probably won’t top multiplayer lists, but it’s still an experience worth checking out, especially if you’ve finished the solo campaign a few times and mastered the gameplay.
The Final Verdict
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is a worthy sequel to one of the best shooters of the past few years. While it doesn’t offer much originality on the gameplay front, it’s still incredibly enjoyable to play through. The AI is still good but not the most challenging and the experience as a whole is probably a little too easy for our liking. The narrative is strong enough and the environments balanced enough to tell an eerie story and ensure that this is a FPS horror experience that everyone should give a try. Multiplayer is also a lot of fun and Armoured Front justifies a purchase on its own.
Gameplay
8.6/10
What we get is a very solid, straight-up shooter experience. There are plenty of weapons and heaps of enemies to get through, but we’ve done it all before. Still, it’s good enough to experience again and it’s really enjoyable.
Graphics
8.4/10
Monolith have moved-on from the office blocks to offer something a little more engaging. The lighting effects are great and the attention to detail is top notch, but it still has an overly generic feeling about it.
Sound
8.1/10
Great weapon and atmospheric effects. Ultimately, the lame voice-acting brings the audio presentation down a notch.
Value
8.8/10
You’ll probably finish the solo campaign in 10-12 hours, but then you might want to play through it again on a higher difficulty and because it’s so much fun. You also have multiplayer, which is solid, and the amazing Armoured Front.
Overall
8.5/10