F.E.A.R. 2: More Guns, More Scares, More Alma

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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F.E.A.R. 2: More Guns, More Scares, More Alma


Monolith is cranking things up for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin [http://www.projectorigingame.com/], promising a more intense and visceral FPS experience while also expanding on the game's horror elements.

In an interview with CVG, F.E.A.R. 2 Associate Producer Eric Studer and Primary Art Lead Dave Matthews said that even though the game will give players access to an expanded and even more powerful arsenal than the original, the horror aspect "is still very much our focal point," and that despite the player's destructive capabilities the development team has used all its "tricks in the bag" to ensure things stay spooky.

"A great way to scare people is to build their anticipation for a long time, and then scare the crap out of them a moment after they expect it," they explained. "One of my favorite scares in the first game had to be where after all of the trademark warnings that F.E.A.R. would give you Alma appeared out of nowhere. It was scary, but you thought it was over. You then descended a ladder and turned around and Paxton Fettel was standing right there ready to scare you once again. So many components go into making that happen, not the least of which is lighting and level design. What you see and what it looks like is so important for putting people in the right mood to be scared."

It's common knowledge that Project Origin will ignore the events detailed in the first two F.E.A.R. add-ons, Perseus Mandate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEAR_Extraction_Point], a decision apparently made simply because the direction taken by those expansions wasn't where Monolith wanted to go with the story. "We wanted to remain focused on telling the story of Alma and what happens to her at the end of F.E.A.R.," they said. "With this game we're continuing the story exactly the way we feel it should be. Remember, Project Origin is the true sequel to F.E.A.R."

While the horror elements of the first game will be a major part of the sequel, Monolith is apparently taking a different approach to the scares this time around, leveraging Alma's newfound freedom from the clutches of Armacham. "The inspirations for the first game came largely from Japanese horror which have very specific ways of scaring you," they explained. "We wondered how we enhance that and build upon that this time out. Our belief is that scary little girls alone just wouldn't get the same visceral effect from the audience we got with the first game. We had to do more."

"The inspiration came from the story itself. Alma is out now, and she wants revenge," they continued. "She's not the same tortured little girl from the first game. She's an adult, with different needs. She's going to interact with you more, she's going to... touch you more and we've learned than anytime Alma comes in contact with you it's never a good thing. The whole experience will be a lot more personal, and we think a lot creepier."

CVG [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEAR_Extraction_Point].


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ElArabDeMagnifico

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Dec 20, 2007
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I'm glad they are aware that "scaring" is not "Make it really quiet, then play a loud noise and throw something at the screen - THAT'S HORROR!"

Though it still had a lot of those, but my favorites were always when I turn around and see Alma standing outside a window with a small grin just staring, no loud noise, no window banging and yelling. Just Tension.
 

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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I absolutely loved FEAR, and Project Origin is very near the top of my Gotta Have List. I also remember with painful clarity the exact moment they were talking about on that damned ladder, that was probably the best one-two scare I've ever had. My only complaint about the game is that it takes up with a new character rather than following the original Point Man, but I'm willing to let that slide as long as it's totally awesome in every possible way.

I'm also pleased they're ditching EP and PM for the "real" continuity. I didn't particularly care for them or what they added to the story. (Which in the case of PM was practically nothing anyway.)
 

fix-the-spade

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I don't know, how are they going to keep the whole mother trying to get back her Baby(s) theme without our faceless friend the Operative?
 

Captin Planet

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Aug 28, 2008
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Really looking forward to this release. Would like a few more scares than the first 1 i all ways felt they were to infrequent in the first but some of the battles were intense. Also interested to see how the online side of things will go, seeing as though this game has a very strong online following.
 

stompy

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Malygris post=7.72156.749880 said:
She's an adult, with different needs. She's going to interact with you more, she's going to... touch you more
... I think someone might need to call DOCS [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Families,_Housing,_Community_Services_and_Indigenous_Affairs_(Australia)] for the Point Man.

On a more serious note, this is exactly what is going to happen to me, exactly what happened to me when I played the original F.E.A.R: I install the game, enjoy the excellent gameplay, and then turn around a corner.. and BAM!, the game gets uninstalled. Alma gives me nightmares...
 

meatloaf231

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Feb 13, 2008
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As long as the shooty bits are as good as the first one, I'm in. The scary bits are just a bonus for me. The AI was so good, the gunplay so fun, and the arenas so well built, that I still hold it as the pinnacle of shooters.

Plus, the scary was pretty much just 1 of 2 things: "Large Amounts of Blood In A Room" or "Holy Crap Something's There Oh Wait No It Isn't Jeez Stupid Shadows." Those were basically the formula for FEAR's scaryness. By the end of the game they just weren't scary anymore.

Except for the occasional hallucination with blood and hospitals. Those were cool.
 

maxusy3k

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May 17, 2008
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Sort of agree with Meatloaf... the combat mechanics in FEAR were fantastic and that's the thing that kept me playing. Yahtzee panned PM for it's repetitive environments but the 'realistic' environments of offices, factories and such is what I liked in the first place.

The scares added up to something unforgettable, though. While many of them were predictable - "Oh, I have to crawl through a narrow tunnel. I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN HERE." - a lot of the less intrusive ones were the more terrifying.

Like the bit you ride a lift upwards and as it reaches it's destination, the lights flicker, and just before they go out you see little Alma stood in the corner of the lift with you. The lift stops, it goes dark, but the doors are open. I think I stood there for a solid five minutes praying for the lights to come back up, not wanting to move.

I'm glad Monolith seem to understand the formula and I'm looking forward to what they come up with.
 

nikomas1

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Jul 3, 2008
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maxusy3k post=7.72156.751814 said:
Sort of agree with Meatloaf... the combat mechanics in FEAR were fantastic and that's the thing that kept me playing. Yahtzee panned PM for it's repetitive environments but the 'realistic' environments of offices, factories and such is what I liked in the first place.

The scares added up to something unforgettable, though. While many of them were predictable - "Oh, I have to crawl through a narrow tunnel. I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN HERE." - a lot of the less intrusive ones were the more terrifying.

Like the bit you ride a lift upwards and as it reaches it's destination, the lights flicker, and just before they go out you see little Alma stood in the corner of the lift with you. The lift stops, it goes dark, but the doors are open. I think I stood there for a solid five minutes praying for the lights to come back up, not wanting to move.

I'm glad Monolith seem to understand the formula and I'm looking forward to what they come up with.
I never made it past that one... That game scared the shit out of me.
 

Blayze

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Dec 19, 2007
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Ah, FEAR. The only time I felt anything was when I realised I'd just hit the "lol lose all your best guns" point, and even then it was just annoyance.
 

Aconite333

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May 1, 2008
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For some reason the positioning of that guy(?) you got up there reminds me of this guy:

http://i36.tinypic.com/34zexz6.jpg

That's all I have to add to this.