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F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin box art: Alma's pale face above the logo and a soldier with a rifle in a burning city, under an Xbox 360 banner

Horror shooters and action horror

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

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Alma's power is loose and the city is in ruins. Fight your way through.

Platforms
PC, Xbox
Stores
Steam, GOG
Price
Paid
Rated
Very Positive on Steam (85% of 9,559 reviews); Metacritic 79 (PC, 49 critics); 4/5 on GOG (229 reviews)
Length
About 7 hours for the main story
Players
1 (campaign); multiplayer over LAN only
Made by
Monolith
Released
2009

On GOG: one of the GOG horror games.

Get it on Steam Xbox (Xbox 360 version, backward compatible)GOG (with the Reborn add-on)

What frightens As Sergeant Michael Becket, sent in minutes before the blast that ends the first game, you fight through a ruined city as Alma Wade, a vengeful force growing ever more powerful, surges out of control. Between the gunfights, blood-soaked, mutated creatures lunge out of dark hospital rooms and your vision blurs and warps, and the game promises to test your nerves with a terrifying mystery.

Content: gore, violence, jumpscares, strong language, sexual themes, partial nudity.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is Monolith's 2009 sequel to F.E.A.R., a first-person horror shooter. As Special Forces Sgt. Michael Becket, deployed just before the blast that ends the first game, you fight soldiers and worse through an apocalyptic city while the ghost girl Alma Wade's terrifying power surges out of control.

About F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is the second F.E.A.R. game, made by Monolith and published by Warner Bros. It came out in February 2009 on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Today it is sold on Steam, on GOG together with the Reborn add-on, and on the Xbox store, where the Xbox 360 version plays on current consoles. You play Special Forces Sgt. Michael Becket, deployed minutes before the blast triggered by the original F.E.A.R. team. A routine mission to locate a corrupt executive turns into a fight to survive the wrath of Alma Wade, and your squad has to cross an apocalyptic landscape looking for a way to destroy her.

It plays as a fast first-person shooter. Enemies use cover and tactics, you can push objects around to make instant cover of your own, and your enhanced reflexes let you slow time to line up shots. Fights move through ruined streets, a subway, industrial corridors, a hospital and an elementary school, against soldiers, heavily armoured troops and mech suits, and at times you climb into powered armour yourself.

The horror is worked into and between the fights. Alma's power grows as you go, your vision blurs and warps, and some rooms hold blood-soaked, mutated creatures that lunge at you out of the dark. The store page promises a test of your nerves and a terrifying mystery, and the Steam content notes warn of frequent violence and gore. The game is rated M by the ESRB and 18 by PEGI.

Compared with the first F.E.A.R., which keeps you mostly in dark offices and corridors, the sequel opens out into a wrecked city with bigger set pieces. It suits players who want a shooter first, with ghost-story scares worked into it. The main story takes about 7 hours, according to the HowLongToBeat figures shown on GOG. The multiplayer modes can now only be played over LAN, as GOG notes that online play is no longer available.

How to play F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

  1. Buy F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin on Steam or GOG for Windows, or on Xbox for the backward-compatible Xbox 360 version.
  2. Start the campaign as Sgt. Michael Becket and follow your squad's objectives.
  3. Fight with the weapons you find, using cover and pushing objects to make new cover.
  4. Use reflex time to slow the action when a fight turns against you.
  5. Push on through the ruined city and its hospital as Alma's power grows.

Screenshots

A dark, blurred laboratory with the silhouette of a small girl standing in a bright doorway
A blood-covered, mutated creature lunges at the camera with its mouth open in a dark hospital room
A blood-soaked figure stands among wrecked, smoking ruins under a red haze as debris flies past
A soldier in a hazmat suit and gas mask fires at close range in a hospital room with a blood-stained floor
The player in a powered armour suit fires twin cannons at an enemy mech in a smoky street
A mutant with a gaping mouth rushes forward in a ruined street crossed by orange laser sights
An orange-tinted close-up of a burned, grinning face held in a gloved hand

Tips

  • Save slow motion for rooms with several enemies or armoured troops rather than using it on every fight.
  • Push furniture and other objects into cover when you are caught in the open.
  • Enemies flank and use the environment against you, so do not stay in one spot too long.
  • When your vision starts to blur and warp, stay alert; something is close.

Questions

Do I need to play F.E.A.R. first?

It helps: the sequel begins just before the blast at the end of the first game and continues Alma's story. You can still follow it on its own.

Is F.E.A.R. 2 scary?

It is a shooter first, with Alma's haunting presence, warping visions and gruesome creatures between the firefights. Steam warns of frequent violence and gore.

Can I play F.E.A.R. 2 on Xbox?

Yes. The Xbox 360 version is sold on the Xbox store and plays on current Xbox consoles through backward compatibility.

Is F.E.A.R. 2 on PlayStation?

It came out on PlayStation 3 in 2009, but we found no page where it can be bought on the PlayStation Store today. On consoles it is sold on Xbox.

How long is F.E.A.R. 2?

About 7 hours for the main story, 8.5 hours with side content and 10.5 hours to complete everything, according to the HowLongToBeat figures shown on GOG.

Does F.E.A.R. 2 multiplayer still work?

Not online. GOG states that online multiplayer is no longer available and that multiplayer can only be played over a LAN connection. The single-player campaign is unaffected.

What is F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn?

A paid add-on with four new single-player levels, played as Replica Soldier 813. GOG sells it together with the main game, and it is also an add-on on the Xbox store.

  • first person
  • shooter
  • slow motion
  • paranormal
  • ghost girl
  • sequel
  • military
  • hospital
  • ruined city
  • gore

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F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is played on store.steampowered.com and its makers' stores; this page links to them and is not part of it. Pictures are from the game's own pages and remain its owner's. Terms and pictures.

Sources: store.steampowered.com, store.steampowered.com, xbox.com, gog.com, metacritic.com, gamespot.com