F.E.A.R 2, worth it?

Hey, I've played the demo for F.E.A.R 2 and it seems much better than the first. But a demo is a demo. Can anyone tell me the real scoop of the game from a gamers perspective? Like what's the multiplayer like, how addicting is it if at all, etc... Overall, is it worth the $49.99? Thanks.

no one plays the multiplayer???

so a yes, a no, and dakan45 says 8.0.

It's worse in every way possible. Somehow the story is even crappier. The graphics are worse technically (shadows are MIA, the particles are downgraded, the destruction isn't that awesome anymore), and artistically it's very uneven and incoherent. It's like they glued together designs from a bunch of unrelated games. You don't have lean, which was very useful in the first game. The grenades don't explode on contact anymore. The horror is crap. It's very easy. The setpieces are incredibly stupid (especially a turret bit towards the end).

It's a soulless, mediocre game that just works on a basic level, like Terminator: Salvation.

Eurogamer said it best:

"It's a checklist of genre-tropes, well performed. If you're just looking for more well-polished shooting, this will while away the hours pleasantly enough. If you've never played a first-person shooter before, you'll probably be in love - this is as archetypal a corridor-shooter as has ever been made, and there's a reason why it works. But for anyone who's been running down corridors with shotguns for most of their adult life, this is so uninspired that you worry for the spark of Monolith's soul. You guys made No One Lives Forever, remember? You're smart. You're better than this.

FEAR 2 isn't terrible. That's the most terrible thing of all. Is mere competency enough to garner gamers' love? I don't know. But it's the one thing I really do fear."

haha you guys are solidifying my standpoint at the middle of the decision to buy it or not. So lets make a pros and cons list.

Pros:
1. A good shooter (not the best, but good like COD4)
2. Good graphics (at least I thought so)
3. It's fast paced yet still tactical (the ability to flip cover... I love that idea)

Cons (based on your opinions):
1. Storyline and the horror is not scary
2. It's too easy
3. The guns aren't balanced/calibrated as they should be.

Please add to this list. Does anyone have anything to say about the multiplayer aspect of the game??

Thanks for everything so far.

I ignored the reviews until after I played the game..and I'm glad I did. The game was alot of fun. It is much different than the first, but is that a bad thing? The first one seemed like 1 really really long level, where 2 is definately split up and the scenery constantly changes.

Give the game a shot for its single player, its definately worth it. Multiplayer was just a little stale, not many players could be found either.

It's worse than the original.

O.P. this is what demos are for... and it's what forums are for... there's no way that the original game is graphically superior to FEAR 2, as you've seen for yourself from playing the demo.

It wasn't awful... I personally would wait until it hits the $20 price-range before picking it up.

And not scary, WTF?

FEAR 2 has some of the most frightening moments in all of gaming. I was playing at two o'clock in the morning, on a stormy night, and the game just completely freaked me out... to the point where I actually felt a little bit disturbed.

Not scary. I don't often do this, but... facepalm.

Alright it sounds like a 50/50. And from my take from the demo I think I will enjoy it. However, what is the multiplayer like? Two people so far have said there isnt a lot of people playing online. How many people/servers are we talkin here?

if you MUST get your fix of fear its worth it otherwise dont bother or rent it on a console.

I'd say wait a month to see if steam makes a weekend deal for fear2 (just like this weekend's deal: DoW 2 + new update). http://www.gametrailers.com/news/new-f-e-a-r-2-dlc-announced/1197

Btw, I read somewhere that the game is locked at 16:9 a/r, also that shadows are missing form several objects, there are no protection whatsoever that prevents cheating on MP and overall fear 2 is a not so good console port (just go to youtube and see for yourself).

Well ive been researching for the past hour and people are claiming the online aspect of the game is dead. People are saying no SDK which kinda sucks (no cutom maps) and that theres no server files (what are server files??). They make it sound like litterally 4 people are playing FEAR 2's multiplayer, is there any truth in that?? Multiplayer is half of the game and if FEAR 2 cannot deliver the good on multiplayer i dont think i should buy it.

Graphics of the game is not best other then tat it is a petty good game...also i think u will get it at better price then $50 now...

And not scary, WTF?

FEAR 2 has some of the most frightening moments in all of gaming. I was playing at two o'clock in the morning, on a stormy night, and the game just completely freaked me out... to the point where I actually felt a little bit disturbed.

Not scary. I don't often do this, but... facepalm.

Charles_Dickens

OK, scary is subjective. I've played the entire game with a straight face. The "scares" were either pretty cool, but extremely predictable and not scary at all (like the school sequence) or downright annoying (YAY LET'S MAKE THE FLASHLIGHT USELESS AND PUT THE PLAYER IN A CRAPPY DARK MAZE WITH CRAPPY, DOWNGRADED GHOSTS). It's pretentious horror, trying to look smarter and more mature than it is by adding sexual and psychological subtexts. Which fail. I mean, the last chapter [spoiler] is called Climax and Alma rapes you. [/spoiler] Wow, that was so smart! The first game had bad attempts at horror too, but at least they weren't always ruined by level design that screams "here be horror!" or UNEXPECTED SOUNDS and FLICKERING before the stuff happens. In FEAR, the scares just happened, and that's why they were occasionally effective. In FEAR 2, you always know what's going to happen. A door that's the obvious way out of he building/section of the building means you'll have a vision. A long corridor means Alma's gonna pop up. Lots of rooms and no Replica? Ghosts incoming.

As for the graphics - they're more colourful, which would've been good if it weren't for the straight-out-of-Speed Racer neon colours and bloom which totally ruin the atmosphere. And occasionally there are more objects around. But technically? Downgraded, because the consloles had problems running the first game. The textures are about the same, some better and some worse, but the film grain (borrowed from Condemned, along with the spider-like enemies) really fools you. The dynamic shadows are gone, and if you use AA you can't use soft shadows. Why the hell would you remove the shadows in a horror game? The environmental destruction was heavily reduced - after a fight in FEAR the whole room was a mess and there was a lot of dust in air, but here... fail. There were a lot more special effects in the original game.

The biggest difference between FEAR 2's destroyed city and FEAR's decaying buildings towards the end is the colour palette.

Now, the graphics aren't bad. But seriously, there's almost no difference between FEAR, Condemned and Project Origin. They even share the same objects and character models!

And then the guns are worse - no more spread, no more recoil. The AI is worse. The voices are worse. There's no design continuity, especially for the Replica soldiers.

It's good for spending an afternoon if you've got nothing better to do. I've finished it in about 7 hours at a friend. Full price for this game is a rip-off.

If you want FEAR multiplayer, download FEAR Combat.

Depends, if you play it with the idea of it being the sequal to a really good game, then no it is not good. The scares just dont work.

If you however play it as its own semi asian action game with a few cheesy horror elements then it is good.

All depends if you want to associate it with the first one, in which it falls horribly short.

Id give it about an 8.0 it is solid, and nice shooting ^^

Are you in the US dude? If so, it's only $23.99 at Amazon (versus the $49.99 mentioned) for example which may help swing, or make easier, your decision making.

I enjoyed the orginal FEAR quite a bit, however, I tried the FEAR 2 demo and was not very impressed for a number of reasons, and decided to pick it up at a bargain price later. It felt competent, nothing more, but certainly not outstanding. I think Baranga's post with the Eurogamer quote describes it well --- and I'm fairly big fan of games from Monolith so it was disappointing in that regard as well.

However, I only played the demo as mentioned, and there's a patch that provides a film-grain toggle as well as a fix for the letterboxing on aspect ratios other than 16:9. So it might be about time to give this one a try ;)

Are you in the US dude? If so, it's only $23.99 at Amazon (versus the $49.99 mentioned) for example which may help swing, or make easier, your decision making.

I enjoyed the orginal FEAR quite a bit, however, I tried the FEAR 2 demo and was not very impressed for a number of reasons, and decided to pick it up at a bargain price later. It felt competent, nothing more, but certainly not outstanding. I think Baranga's post with the Eurogamer quote describes it well --- and I'm fairly big fan of games from Monolith so it was disappointing in that regard as well.

However, I only played the demo as mentioned, and there's a patch that provides a film-grain toggle as well as a fix for the letterboxing on aspect ratios other than 16:9. So it might be about time to give this one a try ;)

Nitrous2O

Is there anywhere I can download it for that price??

holy **** i just found this snag. MSN has it for 19.99 pounds ($33.00).

http://pcgames.tech.uk.msn.com/pc-games/buy-download-F.E.A.R.-2.html

Should I go for it?

I wouldn't get it unless it was under $20. It's worse than the first games and the multiplayer is dead when there is games like CSS, CoD4, TF2 around. I laughed at my friend for buying it at $50 when it first came out, then I logged on his Steam when he was asleep and beat it.

If you want an fps with a good long story and active multiplayer get The Orange Box as previously mentioned. It's 5 games for $30 you can't go wrong.

And not scary, WTF?

FEAR 2 has some of the most frightening moments in all of gaming. I was playing at two o'clock in the morning, on a stormy night, and the game just completely freaked me out... to the point where I actually felt a little bit disturbed.

Not scary. I don't often do this, but... facepalm.

Charles_Dickens

It wasn't scary at all (if you played the first FEAR games, that weren't scary), it was more like a thriller, it had "not so scarry" things that kept it interesting.

I actually liked it, a lot, compared to FEAR (any of them), it's a horrible horror game, but an ertertaining and fun shooter :) still it's not worth it at 50, maybe if you can find it at 35$ or so.

Honestly TC? Id say get it ^^ Worst think that can happen is that you get disapointed, best thing is that you will really love it ^^

The Wade Elementary Level alone is worth the price of admission.

While playing I would often stop in the hallways and look at the intricate signboards (Welcome back to school!), or just run back down the hallways and look at all the stuff I'd missed... a truly atmospheric level that will take you right back in time to your own elementary school.

Get it.

The Wade Elementary Level alone is worth the price of admission.

While playing I would often stop in the hallways and look at the intricate signboards (Welcome back to school!), or just run back down the hallways and look at all the stuff I'd missed... a truly atmospheric level that will take you right back in time to your own elementary school.

Get it.

Charles_Dickens

The Wade Elementary Level alone is worth the price of admission.

While playing I would often stop in the hallways and look at the intricate signboards (Welcome back to school!), or just run back down the hallways and look at all the stuff I'd missed... a truly atmospheric level that will take you right back in time to your own elementary school.

Get it.

Charles_Dickens

That was the only level that was decent. It did set a mood with detailed finger paintings and macaroni art from children on the wall, epsecially the drawing of the class and their names, then noticing Alma is included. Unfortunately it's the only level to remember and the detailed artwork to be praised becomes recycled and repated quickly.

lost coast was sweet and full of action. I think Half-Life 2 has a lot of moments like that but then they separate them with puzzles or driving parts. I think it is a pretty good balance. Games that are just strictly action tend to get boring faster IMO.dan_plus_o