Intro
Let me say that I loved the original F.E.A.R. It's pace, atmosphere, visual flair, immense tension, action, use of slo-mo, complexity and air of quality completely drew me in (and scared the shit out of me). While the expansions did add to the story a bit and certainly gave me more gore, ass kicking and goosebumps, they could never capture the immersion of the original game in the 4-6hours. A sequel was a much needed and welcome installment and obviously, it had a lot to live up to.
Atmosphere
Let me say that I loved the original F.E.A.R. It's pace, atmosphere, visual flair, immense tension, action, use of slo-mo, complexity and air of quality completely drew me in (and scared the shit out of me). While the expansions did add to the story a bit and certainly gave me more gore, ass kicking and goosebumps, they could never capture the immersion of the original game in the 4-6hours. A sequel was a much needed and welcome installment and obviously, it had a lot to live up to.
Atmosphere
As with the original, F.E.A.R. 2 retains the overall feeling of a dark, gloomy, broken world with massive super human activity going on. Frequent encounters with supernatural forces are presented in both a way that flows with the story, but often times completely spontaneous to keep a certain amount of paranoia in the back of your mind. Horror games and movies are very much alike in the way they create the tension and thrill of fear in them, but some simply do it better than others. F.E.A.R. is one of those. Creating an amazing, collectively engaging atmosphere, Monolith used a combination of smooth visuals, impressive audio and events to maintain that level of immersion you simply do not find
very much anymore. Every time I played the game, I was glued to the screen.
very much anymore. Every time I played the game, I was glued to the screen.There are many little things, as well, that really put you in the game rather than leave you feeling like you're just sitting at your desk pushing buttons. Stuff like being able to see your feet clear the railing as you jump over, the first-person view moving uncontrollably as a grenade explodes next to you, or the surprisingly smooth transitions to cut scenes. It's certainly one of those games that you prepare to play. Turn off all lights except your desk lamp, get comfortable, close your IM clients, get rid of any distractions, fire up F.E.A.R. 2.
Audio & Visuals
There's no better way of saying that this game simply looks amazing. It may not push the envelope like Crysis did (keep in mind the graphics engine was based off the original Fear), but I was honestly impressed with how it looked. The world's level of detail was exceptional throughout from start to finish which was further complimented by crisp textures. The lighting was another aspect that stood out to me. Chiaroscuro lighting is used quite a bit in the game to add depth and emotion to the scenery. It's all nice and dandy having mind-blowing graphics, but they're worthless if a majority of the people buying the game, can't enjoy it due to low frame rates. My machine specs include a AMD 3800+ X2 S939, DFI Lanparty nForce 4 ultra, eVGA 8800GTS 640mb, and 2gb of G.Skill ram,
so certainly not the latest and greatest. I was expecting some pretty poor FPS during graphicheavy scenes, the game rarely dipped below 35 fps....at max settings with 4x AA!! I was very relieved that the old age of my computer didn't stop me from enjoying a game I've been very much looking forward to. It's safe to say this game has been VERY well optimized and will run great on most hardware out there. I experienced no glitches or hangs when playing.
Along with the stunning graphics, some very impressive audio was put in. As I mentioned earlier, you get a sense that Monolith really put its focus into creating a captivating atmosphereto keep you welded to the game; and the audio further represents this. First of all, there is almost always a sonic backdrop of ambient noise depending on which environment
you're currently in and gives the game a very movie-like feel, as opposed to a game like Half-Life 2 that goes for a more real and isolated atmosphere instead of dramatic, always-being-watched feeling. The gun and assorted sounds were very high quality and well done. I noticed a considerable variety of footsteps as you crunch, crackle or break whatever is underneath you. Music was also top-notch and actually playing a good portion of the game. Not only was there a substantial amount of music, it was also very well timed to flow with the action or suspenseful moments. All of these work together to create a marvelous sensory feast to compliment the shear excitement, uncertainty and mood the story itself supplies.
I did have a few minor complaints about the visuals. One of which would be the slo-mo. This could be personal preference, but in the original FEAR during slo-mo, the center of the screen sharpened, bullet sparks were exaggerated, tons of smoke and blood, bullet trails tracked through the air, and lots of peripheral blurring. In FEAR 2 however, it didn't seem to bring as much joy in pushing the slo-mo button other than making tough times a bit easier. Also, I think they could have made the environments a bit more destructible with a greater number of reactive objects. My only complaint about the audio was that some of the cut scenes seemed to unnecessarily jack up the volume at times.
AI
While the graphics and atmosphere were exceptional, the AI was pretty standard in regards to tactics, but rightfully so. In a game like FEAR 2, you want to be able to round-house kick
enemies in the face, shoot two more with the shotgun and finish off with a slo-mo kill to the head. Everyone loves feeling like a bad ass in a game, and you certainly can in this one thanks to the basic AI. In the game, you can to turn larger objects (desks, vending machines, etc...) into cover by flipping or moving it. The AI also possess this ability and use it quite well. 
They also will aggressively try to flank you, as well as hide behind walls and structures. They will rarely stay together which often makes it tough to keep track of 2 or more in a object-filled room. I was playing on normal difficulty and it was a bit easy at the beginning, but struck a good balance between being challenging while letting me enjoy the game after about a 3rd of the way through.Overall Impressions
I can't think of many fictional FPS games beyond the F.E.A.R. series and the Half-Life series that offer up such a deep sense of story and atmosphere, but comparing those two would almost be ridiculous, because they both take a vastly different approach to what the gamer will experience as the game progresses in front of them. While HL projects a very raw, connected, and straight-forward story and world, F.E.A.R. 2 simply leaves you knowing that there is so much more going on beyond what you are witnessing, so you're always slightly confused. Every bit of the game helps bring out that dramatic, high tension feeling that we all loved from the original F.E.A.R.Steam clocked about 8.5 hours of gameplay which doesn't sound like a lot, but didn't feel like it really needed more. I can happily say that this is a sequel that doesn't drop the ball and ruin a great franchise. Any problems or complaints I had while playing the game were minor and hardly affected the gameplay, if at all. The graphics were fantastic, the audio complimented everything beautifully, the story was captivating, and the atmosphere simply locked you into the game. I loved it.
P.S. Go easy on me....this is my first full game review :P Please Comment below though!!
