[8.25/10] A Sequel that works excellent from the gameplay perspective and confusing from Story, overall great game.
-- Story -- 70/100 --
FEAR 2 picks up about 30 minutes before the end of the original and takes place in the same district of Auburn. The premise of FEAR 2 is simple, stop Alma before she destroys everything. Ok, it's not quite that simple and those playing the series for the first time may feel a little out of their depth, but the game does make some effort to fill you in on the who- what-when-where-why, with handy intel drops situated around the game. Miss them and you'll be non-the-wiser but you'll be hard pushed to miss enough to not be able to get some sort of grasp on the plot.
-- Visuals -- 85/100 --
FEAR 2 does look great, everything from the textures right the way down to the lighting. No frame rate issues or anything to speak of. Top job Monolith. Plus the blood looks really good.
-- Audio -- 90/100 --
The audio is absolutely fantastic and everything seems right on the button; the sounds effects, the music, to the chilling background noises that haunt the city. Perfect Balance to creep you out.
-- Gameplay -- 90/100 --
Easily one of the best horror games out. Solid pacing, balance and impressive enemy AI. It's just a shame really that the multiplayer isn't as epic as the single player and is more of your standard "tack on" multiplayer mode. The game despite feeling clunky and sluggish is easy enough to control in combat, especially with the fantastically crafted slow mo feature.
-- Final Verdict -- 8.5/10 --
There's no doubting that FEAR 2 will be setting the standard for horror titles this year and beyond. The title has a great blend of action and horror and they're right on the money with the pacing and balance too. The lighting, the mood, the atmosphere ... everything is spot on. It could be defined as a must experience single player campaign with a less than inspiring multiplayer mode which fails to capitalise on what makes the single player so successful.