FEAR 2

Up front let it be known that I was disappointed. And no, F.E.A.R. 2 is not a bad game. Quite the contrary; it's better than the average FPS and boasts really nice graphics and a perhaps even more of the the atmospheric eeriness that made the first game so unique. But for me the kill-joy was the actual combat experience. The original game had this very gritty, ultra realistic combat and weapon system that enthralled gamers. As a result, fire fights were a frantic, visceral affair. The feel of a weapon recoiling, the thud of the bullets against enemy's body armour, and even satisfying thwack of a well delivered gun butt were all elements that kept the realism going. If anything, F.E.A.R. 2 has lost that visceral in-combat feel. Yes, guns still recoil, as do the baddies when they're hit, but the visible impact and the recoil system has been toned down a lot - the word neutered pops up in my mind for no apparent reason. Another component of game-play that contributes to the lack-luster combat system is the audio component. Bullets just do not sound like bullets anymore. At first I wondered if all this was international, to keep the appearance of violence to a minimum. But it's hard to clamp down on violence and gore levels when there is a vengeance seeking psychopath with psychic powers on the rampage and the franchise was never meant to be docile.

Alma is back and this time she'll pop up even more frequently (an unexpectedly). In fact this is one of the areas where the game has improved, and will unnerve you at times. The ambient sound system coupled with your rather incapable flashlight means that tackling dark corridors are always going to be a scarry proposition. Any bump in the dark will make your heart jump and those heart-stopping moments when you suddenly come across Alma scuttling across a dimly-lit room will send shivers down your spine. One of the additions to the game is the use of HDR (High Dynamic-Range) lighting techniques (this term is used differently in the game industry from the way photographers would understand it). At times this is useful because it allows for complex-lit scenes. A certain room can be very brightly lit in the center while a corner of the room could be totally dark. However, the bloom effects have been overdone in many places and it's obvious that developers still love to take liberties. In certain places the use of HDR seems annoyingly overdone and totally uncalled for. Imagine shotgun fire lighting up a dim corridor like a 100-watt bulb- what's up the that? There's a booboo in the slow-motion system too. In F.E.A.R. the slow motion system looked the part with bullets causing Matrix-style air ripples. All that has been changed, and the atmosphere takes on a weirdly blue-tinged look when you go into bullet time. Enemies also look like fluorescent figures. The effects are not as realistic as before, although there is more gore and dismemberment. Overall, this game doesn't feel as realistic as earlier one.

So, should you play it and (more importantly) buy it? It would seem from this review that it isn't worth the time or the money since all I've done is nitpick. Well, that's my job. I try not to be too butt-retentive and judgmental when reviewing games, but to me, F.E.A.R. 2 could have been so much more, if only the developers had kept the worthy parts of it's predecessor around. Comparisons to its gene tree aside, however, it's a good game -imersive, atmospheric and fast paces.