Alma's Back

Published February 16, 2009

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin™ from Monolith and Warner Bros. takes the frenetic gunplay, heightened reflexes, and bowel-stirring scares of the first game, and runs full-tilt with them in this white-knuckle sequel.

That's just wrong.

Parallel Story
Project Origin begins even before its predecessor ends, as our new protagonist Michael Becket embarks on a routine Delta Force snatch and grab mission. While the mission spirals into violence after encountering a mysterious, well-armed enemy force, Becket's life descends further into chaos when the cataclysmic psychic fury of young Alma that brought the first F.E.A.R. to a shattering close erupts during the final stage of his mission.

The game's brooding visuals and spine-tingling soundtrack go a long way toward setting your nerves permanently on edge for the duration of the game.

Becket awakes in a mysterious hospital, only to hear a strange woman barking orders at a team of surgeons wrist deep in his innards, carrying out an invasive, life-altering surgery.

Such is the setup for Project Origin. For those unfamiliar with the original game, Alma is a psychic phenomenon, whose mistreatment at the hands of her overzealous father and others in the name of military progress has corrupted her, and fueled an inconsolable rage capable of physical manifestation even beyond the veil of death.

Project Origin is her story, and uncovering precisely why and for what purpose Alma's humanity was ruined, and how her tragedy intertwines with Becket's is better left experienced in-game, rather than explained here.

Alma's presence will be known.

Tactical Horror
While Monolith's other horror franchise, Condemned, creeps along slowly, building tension with each shuffling footstep, Project Origin hurtles headfirst into terror at an unforgiving pace.

If you're not looking aghast at the screen as Becket suffers a horrifying psychotic break, you're facing off against humans and monsters that move with alarming swiftness. The enemies here have a remarkably life-like artificial intelligence. You'll rarely, if ever, see enemies leaving themselves open to easy attack when they're alerted to your presence.

Enemies use cover, and even knock down or move objects to create dynamic cover on the fly. They'll also move smartly behind that cover, taking advantage of an ally's suppressing fire to move to a more advantageous position. Enemy soldiers work in perfect harmony with their comrades to outflank and pin you down. Firefights in Project Origin are fierce, nail-biting affairs requiring instant action, sure reflexes, and a steady nerve. If the Condemned games are survival-horror, Project Origin is twitch-horror.

Reflexes and Arsenal
For all the perils you'll face in F.E.A.R. 2, the necessary tools are provided to overcome them. While submachine guns, assault rifles, combat shotguns, napalm cannons, lasers, grenades, and other deadly implements ensure you're never short on weapons, the most powerful tools at your disposal are your supernatural reflexes.

Out in the open? Bad idea.

Michael Becket is no ordinary soldier. His physical, intellectual, and "telesthetic" powers all rank off the charts, and so, after the aforementioned surgery, he's able to focus his unique abilities to gain access to superhuman reflexes in short bursts.

This takes the form of slow-motion, which can turn the once terrifyingly fast enemies into almost static targets, and even highlights bullets mid-flight, allowing the alert player to dodge incoming fire.

Fans of the original game may remember that while enemies could knock over objects to create cover, the player couldn't. Not so in Project Origin, where couches, tables, cabinets, and more can be turned around and knocked over to create an instantly defensible position.

This is a must when picking your way slowly through an intense firefight, where constantly moving from natural cover to impromptu cover makes the difference between being surrounded or not.

White-Knuckle, Slow Burn
The game's brooding visuals and spine-tingling soundtrack go a long way toward setting your nerves permanently on edge for the duration of the game, and so too does its pacing, interspersing moments of extended horror between white-knuckle action sequences. Sometimes these moments are filled with psychotic breaks, as Becket's close proximity to Alma's telepathic power overwhelms him with visions disturbing and illuminating.

At other times, you partake in eerie exploration with an unsettling opportunity to examine the carnage wrought by Alma, Replica soldiers, and other equally bone-chilling monstrosities.

Get off me!

Keep an eye out for the collectible Intel items, as they help to embellish these more exploratory moments and add context to the mysterious events. There are dozens of these scattered about the game, and whether they're e-mails, memos, or IM conversations, they all help to flesh out the motives and fates of the characters involved.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin continues Alma's tragic saga, embroiling the player ever deeper into the betrayal, insanity, greed, and corruption that turned a little girl with a startling gift into an outlet for cataclysmic rage. The game builds naturally on the outstanding mix of horror and first-person shooter gameplay made famous in the original title. Ready your trigger finger and steel your nerves, Project Origin awaits.

Article by Ryan Treit