Are the F.E.A.R. expansions worth it?

Hey boyo,

They are very much the same in all aspects: level design (industrial), enemies soldiers still.

Also, I have been told that the graphical detail in these has been toned down. They tried to make more open areas and it just looked ugly.

If I were you I would just wait for Project Origin (aka FEAR 2) which should be out this year.

Have you watched the 18 minute demonstration?

there is an 18 minute demonstration of Project Origin (FEAR 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGX0uQHoa4

Extraction Point: yes

Perseus Mandate: no.

there is an 18 minute demonstration of Project Origin (FEAR 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGX0uQHoa4

biggest_loser

i see that it is still using the same engine. probably an updated version though ...

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"]

there is an 18 minute demonstration of Project Origin (FEAR 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGX0uQHoa4

Shatilov

i see that it is still using the same engine. probably an updated version though ...

Or a very similiar engine at least..surely its not the same one.

Originality notwithstanding, I think Extraction Point is better than F.E.A.R -

Larger environments with multiple routes really show how special the AI is - F.E.A.R was great, but what good is flanking AI in a corridor shooter? Extraction Point makes better use of the AI which, ultimately, improves gunplay.

Extraction Point also throws far more enemies at you during firefights which, coupled with the fact that they come at you from multiple angles (thanks to the abovementioned more open areas), makes the combat far more intense.

Listening to complaints from the first game, Extraction Point has more variety in its locations. Less of the drab office buildings, a little more of the, well, drab urban environments. F.E.A.R is always going to be drab-looking - it reflects the melancholy story. But there is definitely more variety, and the level design, as mentioned above, is more interesting.

Another majoy complaint people had with the original game was the lack of variety in the enemies. EP doesn't take any drastic steps to improve on this, but the learning curve does pick up where F.E.A.R left off, so you're going toe to toe with EVEs inside 45 minutes, and you're battling all of F.E.A.R's enemies pretty much from the get-go, instead of going through the enemy escalation of the original game.

The horror elements, while still pretty bad, are a little better than F.E.A.R's. The major selling point for me is that they weren't focusing on having Alma jump out at you all the time. There's a little more creativity - they're generally hard to predict, and unpredictability is a strong selling point when it comes to... pretty much anything I guess, but definitely to horror.

The new weapons are mostly filler, but the portable sentry gun is a ton of fun, and the chaingun is just a pleasure to use - especially considering how the high end weaponry in F.E.A.R was pretty much either the rocket launcher or the particle weapon. It's nice to have a real manly gun to blast people to bits with.

The story is probably the only genuinely weak part of the game. The story is pretty much: get to the extraction point, the end. There's quite a lot of background on the F.E.A.R mythos I guess, but it's nothing major.

All told, I think it's a better game than the original. Better gunplay, better level design, better horror elements, and I'd recommend it highly. But ultimately, it's always going to be five or six more hours of a game you've already played. I own, but haven't yet played the second expansion. I've heard some terrible things about it - but the first is definitely worth a play if you're hungry for more F.E.A.R.

Thanks. I was just going to wait for Project Origin to come out anyway. I watched the demonstration. I forget where, but I found an HD version of it for DivX. I have a question though. Since Vivendi has the rights to the name F.E.A.R., couldn't they come out with a game called F.E.A.R. 2? I know that's why Monolith couldn't call Project Origin, F.E.A.R. 2.

I hear Extraction Point is great, if you liked the first.

Persus Mandate sucks though - unless you loved FEAR.

Originality notwithstanding, I think Extraction Point is better than F.E.A.R -

Larger environments with multiple routes really show how special the AI is - F.E.A.R was great, but what good is flanking AI in a corridor shooter? Extraction Point makes better use of the AI which, ultimately, improves gunplay.

Extraction Point also throws far more enemies at you during firefights which, coupled with the fact that they come at you from multiple angles (thanks to the abovementioned more open areas), makes the combat far more intense.

Listening to complaints from the first game, Extraction Point has more variety in its locations. Less of the drab office buildings, a little more of the, well, drab urban environments. F.E.A.R is always going to be drab-looking - it reflects the melancholy story. But there is definitely more variety, and the level design, as mentioned above, is more interesting.

Another majoy complaint people had with the original game was the lack of variety in the enemies. EP doesn't take any drastic steps to improve on this, but the learning curve does pick up where F.E.A.R left off, so you're going toe to toe with EVEs inside 45 minutes, and you're battling all of F.E.A.R's enemies pretty much from the get-go, instead of going through the enemy escalation of the original game.

The horror elements, while still pretty bad, are a little better than F.E.A.R's. The major selling point for me is that they weren't focusing on having Alma jump out at you all the time. There's a little more creativity - they're generally hard to predict, and unpredictability is a strong selling point when it comes to... pretty much anything I guess, but definitely to horror.

The new weapons are mostly filler, but the portable sentry gun is a ton of fun, and the chaingun is just a pleasure to use - especially considering how the high end weaponry in F.E.A.R was pretty much either the rocket launcher or the particle weapon. It's nice to have a real manly gun to blast people to bits with.

The story is probably the only genuinely weak part of the game. The story is pretty much: get to the extraction point, the end. There's quite a lot of background on the F.E.A.R mythos I guess, but it's nothing major.

All told, I think it's a better game than the original. Better gunplay, better level design, better horror elements, and I'd recommend it highly. But ultimately, it's always going to be five or six more hours of a game you've already played. I own, but haven't yet played the second expansion. I've heard some terrible things about it - but the first is definitely worth a play if you're hungry for more F.E.A.R.

mfsa

ok this was a review :P

Some of them are good but some are just meh. If you love FEAR than you should pick it up.

i did not get any of the expansions because i am still playing the original game. i might get project origin. i am not sure. i want to read some reviews and watch some video first.skyyfox1

Check the 18 minute demonstration of Project Origin!

[QUOTE="skyyfox1"]i did not get any of the expansions because i am still playing the original game. i might get project origin. i am not sure. i want to read some reviews and watch some video first.biggest_loser

Check the 18 minute demonstration of Project Origin!

that is AAAAMAZING!!! thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Extraction Point: yes

Perseus Mandate: no.

thusaha

He is right.

[QUOTE="thusaha"]

Extraction Point: yes

Perseus Mandate: no.

gowthamspa

He is right.

Yeah. Extraction Point was great, generally more of the same from the original with some additional content. Perseus Mandate is basically... Well, take FEAR and bastardize everything about it as much as you can - the graphics, the gameplay, the atmosphere, the overall production quality; everything. That's Perseus Mandate. What really gets me is that EP and PM are made by the same dev team, yet you'd hardly think it when comparing the two. I just don't know what could have happened. It's like Timegate laid off all their talented workers that did Extraction Point and hired a bunch of incompetent dumbasses to make Perseus Mandate instead.

I've played all 3 games and I've got to say Perseus Mandate isn't as bad as some people say. There's much more environmental variety than the original and the fights are thrilling. I had fun with it.claytoma

Aren't the expansion packs really short as well?

[QUOTE="claytoma"]I've played all 3 games and I've got to say Perseus Mandate isn't as bad as some people say. There's much more environmental variety than the original and the fights are thrilling. I had fun with it.biggest_loser

Aren't the expansion packs really short as well?

Perseus Mandate is slightly longer than Extraction Point at about 8 hours of play. The length felt just right to me. I paid $20 dollars for it and I definitey felt like I got my moneys worth.

That vid of project orgin looks very good. I'm not sure if I can handle all the scary stuff though. I only got half way through FEAR. :(

I just don't like the feeling whenever I walk anywhere that something is gonna pop out of no where in the dark.

That vid of project orgin looks very good. I'm not sure if I can handle all the scary stuff though. I only got half way through FEAR. :(

I just don't like the feeling whenever I walk anywhere that something is gonna pop out of no where in the dark.

Trilvester

It's honestly not that scary.

[QUOTE="gowthamspa"][QUOTE="thusaha"]

Extraction Point: yes

Perseus Mandate: no.

JP_Russell

He is right.

Yeah. Extraction Point was great, generally more of the same from the original with some additional content. Perseus Mandate is basically... Well, take FEAR and bastardize everything about it as much as you can - the graphics, the gameplay, the atmosphere, the overall production quality; everything. That's Perseus Mandate. What really gets me is that EP and PM are made by the same dev team, yet you'd hardly think it when comparing the two. I just don't know what could have happened. It's like Timegate laid off all their talented workers that did Extraction Point and hired a bunch of incompetent dumbasses to make Perseus Mandate instead.

He is right.