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

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.

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