Review :FEAR 2: Project Origin

The plot of the continuation in emphasis ignores the events of the two "left" add-ons TimeGate and takes its beginning half an hour before the end of the original. As part of the Delta detachment, the new protagonist Michael Beckett is sent on assignment with the order to arrest Genevieve Aristide , the vice president of the corporation "Arkhameme Technology", responsible for the riots of a small Alma. The monstrous explosion in Auburn happens just when we get to the goal: the injured Beckett is taken away by the Aristide people and put on the operating table, after which they create some kind of disgrace in the hero's innards and disappear completely. The result of surgical intervention is a fantastic reaction - so the ordinary operative of the Delta gets the opportunity to slow the course of time. Everything else is rather vague. Probably because of the lack of a Betters coordinator who would chew what is happening on the radio.

While the beast Alma is angry and rampant, the board of directors of "Arkhamem" hires frostbitten Colonel Venek with the purpose of covering up the tracks and eliminating all the strings that somehow connect all this to the poor with the corporation. Our task is to press them all and blame them, save as many breathing employees and Alma as soon as possible. No sudden resurrection, the old heroes in general minimum: herself Alma, Genevieve, some kind of indistinct brother Jankowski and all. History of FEAR 2is not developing before our eyes, the developers went on about the players and just broadened the topic of the cruel project "Source", forgetting about the need to somehow justify everything that is happening. Every now and then we find discs with various secret and not very information, the reading of which in the PDA (no laptops with comments, yes) sheds light on the events from the past, but the newest hero really did not manage to weave into the intrigue - even the character is not completely revealed. Beckett, although able to speak, but a little word, throughout the game, says hardly a few phrases. To identify yourself with the protagonist, it may be for the better, but somehow this time the effect of presence loses, including because the developers mercilessly cut off some structural elements of the unique atmosphere of FEAR- autoresponders are the same. Good sound is still on top.

Mindful of the players' claims to the scarcity of the decoration of the rooms and levels in general, and also about the dissatisfaction with the cloned (in all senses) opponents, Monolith gave their best in order not to seem a little to anyone. Empty rooms? Now everywhere cesspool plenty of junk, ready to scatter around in case of an armed clash. Clones of the same type? Take ghosts, mutants, mercenaries. Boring for your two? An elite stepping attack aircraft is at your disposal! The number of gloomy corridors and "pauses for fear" has noticeably decreased, which is not surprising: almost all the cards have been opened for a long time, the veil of secrecy over the origin of the ghost girl has no place to be. Coming to the conclusion that the hopeless gloom of the first part was still superfluous, the developers diluted the general mood with a little humor and shades brighter than the dark-colored, which somehow did not fit well into the overall picture. The dazzling blood-kissel, the illumination of enemies in the slo-mo, sometimes surrounded by flowers, are all "STRAHH" not to face. On the other hand, now the game is also perceived somewhat differently, and who knows how successful the "same" FEAR would beToday. The gameplay itself has also undergone many changes: three first-aid kits in the pocket instead of ten, the ability to shoot single ones, which the original lacked in the first place, the creation of shelters from improvised elements of the environment (rollover of tables and shelves) and military operations with the support of comrades-in-arms. Entourage now more often succeed each other, and the enclosed spaces alternate with the streets of a ruined city, where it is much more difficult to navigate due to the fact that you never know where to wait for a shot. Plus, virtually every level - a small masterpiece of game design: nothing superfluous with a lot of details.

The notorious artificial intelligence of the local special forces to a new level, contrary to the expectations of the players, did not come out. If in 2005 such tricks of bots as the ability to reasonably divide, go around from the flank and smoke an enemy grenade sincerely impressed, today they look familiar, but nothing new has been prepared for us. Moreover, it became even easier to fight - the console focus shows itself. No cunning maneuvers and takes in the ring, even long-term shootings rarely happen, because most often rivals appear on the orders of the script under our nose, in order to quickly catch the charge of the shot in the "attic" and go to the next world with a traditionally-yelling cry. In other words, in every way to entertain the player, now and then playing enchanting attacks, the enemies are obviously fed up with it - they have fallen out of love with even themselves tipping over the tables to create shelters, so that the degree of spectacle of the battle scenes now depends only on the player at whose disposal all the previous means including hand-to-hand combat. It, however, is anew animated and, paradoxically, worse than the former. Whether the forced widescreen mode interferes, or something else, but before the extremely effective rolls and kicks in the jump here absolutely do not fall into the frame, and are not required - to approach enemies there is neither necessity nor feasible opportunity.

Sensibly, but the range of weapons expanded, and some samples are only available in multiplayer. Flamethrower, laser, a prototype in the notorious BFG style, as well as a wide selection of grenades allow to significantly diversify the numerous battles. Enemies obediently light up from the fire, drop weapons, associates try to extinguish them: a commotion can be arranged with the help of a single incendiary grenade, and in fact there are still electric and explosive. The latter, however, lost their contact shell, thus losing all their former attractiveness, but in the immediate destruction of a group of enemies that suddenly arose their place was taken by mines - the throw and the achievement of the goal in slowing down look more effective than ever.

It is worth immediately accepting that FEAR 2 is another, new game. It could not as a result not affect the fact that most of the time it was an independent project without a cunning abbreviation in the title. The second part is differently felt, behaves differently, in many ways even radically different from its predecessor, but, again, bad games in Monolith do not ever, and FEAR 2 is by no means an exception. A cheerful, entertaining, thoughtful horror shooter with an excellent design and a standard action-component.