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

I bought the game expecting something similar to Fear1 and asked for a refund a few hours laters. It is bad, honestly. I can't believe Monolith developed this game. All the things that made the first game fun and interesting are gone: - The IA is not bad but enemies are dumber than before, they don't act like a team anymore. They just keep spawning endlessly and then going after you. - Level design is horrible. Neither the enemies nor the player can make any interesing move or strategy, it is boring af. - While the game graphics are better than the first game, this sequel is actually uglier: the illumination is worse, and the post process efects are terrible. The first game has a very simple graphic design but the lights were impressive, even today are pretty good and make the original a nice looking experience. - The story is the same than Fear1 but dumber: Alma is horny and you have a problem. That's all, really. - Gameplay is completely different: this is Call of Duty with scarejumps, nothing similar to Fear1. If you have played the first game, yoo should know how impressive the combat can be: the environments getting destroyed, the dust floating into the air, the weapons' sounds... everything is gone in Fear2. Fear1 was not perfect but gameplay-wise was impressive (at least as and action game; if you expect a horror game it was a little hit-or-miss); Fear2 on the other side is one of the most underwhelming games I have played and one of the worst sequels I have seen.

i will say the jump scares i think are better in fear 2 vs the original fear but thats where the praise stops. so if you want a game that is creepier than the 1st fear than i would say it's worth it. other than that, the overall gunplay is lacking, the visuals were better in the first game, they removed the lean mechanic, which now made the gameplay feel extremely generic and by interval 4 i was completely bored and felt like i had seen everything the game had to offer. definitely not the worst game i've played, its just not a fun shooter; it lost its identity and tried to copy every other shooter from that era.

Great sequel to the first part, with much more variety in terms of levels and the graphics still look great today on high resolutions and max graphics settings. Only the atmosphere was a little better in the first F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R. 2 makes two critical mistakes: - Prioritizing action over atmosphere. - Centering the story entirely around Alma instead of introducing a fresh F.E.A.R. file. The only arguable improvement over the original is level design—but even that is debatable. Gone is the weighty, mechanical gunplay that made the first game so satisfying. The dual pistols, the devastatingly meaty shotgun, and the punchy, impactful weapons have been replaced with bland, bullet-sponge firearms that lack any real feedback. The gameplay loop is dull, and the environments, while claustrophobic, feel noticeably less interactive, with far fewer destructible elements than the original. The story? Completely uninteresting. The characters are forgettable, and the UI—especially the PDA system—is frustratingly clunky to navigate. The eerie, tension-building music from the first game is absent, leaving you wandering through blood-soaked asylums without your heartbeat ever spiking. Which brings me to my biggest gripe: the over-reliance on jumpscares. F.E.A.R. 2 abuses them to the point of comedy. You might encounter 10–20 jumpscares in a single level, and after a while, they lose all impact. The horror elements become a joke, and instead of feeling vulnerable, you play as an indestructible bullet sponge that Alma is obsessed with. In the end, F.E.A.R. 2 is little more than an action-heavy walking simulator masquerading as a horror game. A real waste of a one-time great series by Monolith.

TLDR: My experience was that game play and atmosphere for the most part is very solid and worth a run through. However, the story line is pretty hacked. I recommend this game if you enjoy good First Person Shooting game play. Not recommended if you're looking for mind blowingly amazing story and don't much care for the game play of a solid FPS. Now for the verbose bit: For the most part I agree with amrit9037. If you played the first game (and I definitely recommend that you do if you haven't, and are a bit older. The themes in these games are really warped and not for the soft and squishy hearts among you.) you'll very much feel that this game is a step down as far as story goes. I suspect that the writers had some fun ideas with the original silent protagonist but because of licensing junk couldn't get their hands on him (R.I.P. Monolith). So it feels like they tried to crowbar some story elements into this game around the story line of the first game. I did actually appreciate some of the "What the .... O_o " ending of the story though. Ending is very memorable. But then I'm weird. I think most people would not appreciate it after the mind altering insanity of the first game, that was amazing. On the other hand the gun play and game play mechanics are very solid. I really like the sniper rifle, and it's probably a good thing that ammo is fairly scarce for it. The school section is quite memorable and enjoyable. There's a boss battle that's rather rewarding to win part way through the school levels. It's something of a bugger, but you feel like you earned the win and you can pat yourself on the back once you get past it. I pick it up every once in a while purely for these things. Small bit of back story on me: I loved the first game and was super jazzed to get this game when it was announced. Purchased it fairly soon after release.