DESIGN REVIEW: F.E.A.R. 2 - Project Origin

Overall, it was a solid shooter. The slow-mo parts were fun as always, the Mech riding was well done and the Alma parts were very well designed like in the first game. F.E.A.R. 2 also takes the cake as having one of the more wilder game endings that hasn't been done before.

LIKED:
- Mech sequences. Particularly the snippets where you get in and out of the Mech - I think Monolith nailed it. It's so realistic, I can believe such a machine actually exists. Everything goes well together from the character animation getting in, to the sound of the mech being activated, to the panels lighting up from inward to outward. The HUD is also spiffy looking - I like how when you zoom in, the reticle translates. Makes me wish for Shogo 2.

- Tram sequence. A nice change of gameplay that feels particularly epic.

- Scares in the school level. There's this one section where the light keeps alternating between on/off and it creates a very eerie and disorienting feeling. Love it! Reminds me of the time when I was a little kid and went into this Halloween haunted house - they had the same effect of a light being turned on/off within a small interval. It made me feel like I was in slow motion or on something.

- Colonel Vanek QTE. A fun little addition that varies the pace.


DISLIKED:
- Melee combat removal. The removal of the melee actions that you could do in the first F.E.A.R. Maybe Monolith thought it was unnecessary? Kicking dudes across rails was always so much fun.
- Level drag. Some of the earlier levels where you play in the destroyed city feel a little dragged out and the color palette looks too dull. Thankfully, it picks up in both areas as you progress through the game.