Customer Reviews

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Lately, the are a number of novels sporting ROBERT LUDLUM's name up front - yet they are ghostwritten by in-stable-writers of his publisher. A good effort in their part, yet, of course, they feel nothing like a LUDLUM's novel.

SIERRA, the legal owner of the FEAR franchise, is putting out this official (stand alone) expansion - whilst, MONOLITH, the original team that actually created FEAR, has announced its own upcoming expansion named PROJECT ORIGIN.
As with ghostwritten books, the in-house elves do not feel confident to create anything new and instead take baby-steps around the original story. Thus, the PERSEUS MANDATE is actually the same story as the original FEAR - seen from the perspective of a different F.E.A.R. agent on a timeline that runs parallel to the original.

To make this idea more palatable, a new set of weapons and gadgets are available (you will love the UV scope that helps targeting in foggy rooms) and the set of enemies is refreshed with some new additions. Paxton Fettel, the original villain gets replaced by, well, Perseus (whose Mandate we are concerned with), Alma (the scary little grungy girl) only makes fleeing appearances - and Shade fits the shoes of the scariest spectral beast around.

The graphics, although somewhat improved, do not veer far from the original - which may not be a bad thing, since they were quite good, yet somewhat dated today. What has clearly improved is the sound: PERSEUS MANDATE may not be as visually scary as the original but it sure is aurally scary!

All in all, a slightly improved game with a clearly weaker story.
The cookie-cutter at work...

As usual, the "professional" reviewers got it wrong. This is an excellent addition to the FEAR franchise. If you enjoy FEAR, you will love this episode. I enjoyed this a bit more than Extraction point, I found the action much sharper, the few new weapons fun (the grenade launcher is a little lame though) and the storyline decent.

It starts out sort of the usual FEAR pace and you might not get pulled in, but by a third of the way in, the pace picks up BIG time! Then it starts to get really really good. There are a couple of new spooky things, and a really awesome abandoned underground city/subway area. The last third is really excellent, with massive firefights, and fierce action compared to the original FEAR game.

Its too bad that so many people review games without ever playing them. Thats pretty pathetic in my humble opinion. And too many are done by 14 year old adolescents who just parrot others.

All in all, if you liked FEAR, this is a terrific addition. I hope they keep going and make more.

If you loved FEAR, this is a great addition. Jump right in and blast away, with a few soldier buddies by your side. Very cool. A must-have if you enjoyed the first FEAR!

I'll preface this by saying I'm a big fan of F.E.A.R as well as the prior expansion, Extraction Point, and as a fan of those games I found Perseus Mandate to be pretty solid.

In short, this game is more of the same, which is good or bad depending on your liking of the previous installments. Not much has changed in the graphics or gameplay department, but that's not to say this game isn't fun or enjoyable. The game seems very similar at the beginning, but really picks up toward the end. The entire last interval is amazing as well as the bonus missions you unlock after completing the title.

The new weapons, enemies and a beefed up A.I. from the original F.E.A.R put some nice touches on an already good formula. While the firefights are still intense (especially with the new enemies), the plot and horror elements are not nearly as good as the previous two games. Still, even though Perseus Mandate serves to only give us new levels (about 8-10 hours in total), they are very enjoyable and will more than tide you over before the official sequel, Project Origin, is released by the original developers of F.E.A.R (EP and PM are made by another company).

Also, one thing to note is that if you've never played F.E.A.R I strongly suggest starting with the original instead of this game. Perseus Mandate makes many references to the prior games and you may feel lost not having played the original and Extraction Point.

This latest installment of F.E.A.R. is enough to get us by until the real sequel (or prequel as it were), entitled "Project Origin" makes it's appearance. The story is much weaker here than in the original, what story there is. It's jumbled and hard to follow, with no real focus. The developers assume you know the drill about Paxton, Armacham and Alma, they mix in some new weapons and push you off the diving board to sink or swim you navigate these warmed over, but recognizible waters. Let's face it, for the developers this game has a built in fanbase, so they make a little money and keep the F.E.A.R name out there until the release of "Origin". The only notable difference in gameplay here are that many battles take place in open spaces instead of the tightly confined areas of the original. If you are a fan of the F.E.A.R games then go for it, it's worth $20. If are not yet a fan, try the original first so you will be properly steeped in FEAR knowledge before you pursue Perseus.

If you played and enjoyed FEAR and FEAR Extraction Point, then you will love this!

Not too much to type here. This is the same FEAR game we all know and LOVE!!! The graphics are the same - which is just fine but definitely will need updating for anything beyond mid 2008.

The weapons are the same and some new ones have been added. VERY NICE!

The enemies are the same and some new guys have come to play with you. Basically, they are very fast, very quiet and dodge bullets really well!!

This new expansion pack adds enough spice to keep things fresh without changing too much. Also, for $25 on Amazon, you get a lot of bang for the buck! I would say it offers about 12 to 14 hours of game play.

I hope there will be a complete overhaul and a totally new game engine created for PROJECT ORIGIN (which cannot be called FEAR 2 because of licensing ownership issues).

Until it is released, this is a nice, tasty snack to get you by until dinner time!

Definitely worth buying and there are extra bonus missions unlocked once you complete the game. Pretty cool.

The original fear suffered from repetition of environments and gameplay but was well crafted enough to stay engaging and challenging. Thanks to bland textures and level design, this looks worse than the already aging original and sometimes reminds me of the cityscapes featured in Duke3d. Despite playing on the hardest difficulty, I feel less challenge and less need for strategy than the first. There are a few small jumps but for the most part this is so devoid of polish it just feels like a trawl to the end.

Wait for this to hit 10 dollars and blow through it on a rainy afternoon. Not that there aren't better ways to spend that

Man this game is scary and a lot of fun too. If you loved the other F.E.A.R. titles then you must get this one for your collection!

This is an excellent FPS game! The shadowing is cutting edge; gameplay is

exciting and very well done. Enemy AI is quite intelligent and the night

crawlers are elusive and very hard to kill.

It's difficult to find fault with this game. Enemy AI radio calls

are somewhat repetitive, but this is a minor knock.

Overall, highly recommended and well worth the money!

F.E.A.R. was very good. Spooky, intense, fun. F.E.A.R. Extraction Point was a decent expansion, though lacking in some respects (shorter, uneven spooky moments, but with many more environments to explore).

This is about equal to "Extraction Point" - it's longer than "XP", there are new enemies and weapons, but the horror element is very uneven. The graphics and sound are just as good (slightly better, actually), but the plot is minimal - not that FPS games really need a plot. The original had spots that would make you jump the first time you came across them, and this does as well, though overall the tone is uneven - parts of Perseus are straight ahead killing, while others pour on the creepiness. You play a different character than the original, but you still have the SloMo ability, which doesn't make sense as far as the storyline goes.

A few new weapons in this one, such as the Grenade Launcher, the VES Advanced Rifle and the Lightning Arc Gun - of the three, the VES is a great addition, and there's plenty of ammo for it. The Grenade Launcher is nice, and sometimes very handy, but there's very little ammo for it.

A few new enemies, including the 'Demon in the Black Puddle' (whatever it's called) - add to the spookiness of the game. The Mercenaries and their wall-crawling counterparts are fun, but basic.

The "spookiness" levels range from 'none' to 'slasher' - there's nothing subtle about the paranormal sections of the game, aside from a few cutscenes. Monsters like the Demon in the Black Puddle are completely slasher (think Friday the 13th ), whereas others are a bit more subtle and more in line with the original game (the near-invisible underground cave dwellers are unexplained).

One cute thing about this is the 'Bonus Missions' - once you complete the main game, three new levels will be open to you. They're basically the F.E.A.R. version of single player deathmatch, where you run through a single map, killing all the way. But it means that you don't have to replay the game to get the same Thrill Kill, which can be a way to kill some time. Want the action without playing the entire game all over again? Play a Bonus Mission.

Pros: the same style gameplay as the original, slightly better graphics and sound, so you don't need to amp up your system unless you really want to. Perseus will play nicely enough on an nVidia 9500, but you may want to get something a bit higher up just to take full advantage of the game. The game has good replay ability, which is always a plus. It also has many more environments than the basic three of the original. It's a stand-alone, so you don't need to have the original installed in order to play this. No DRM.

Cons: gameplay is still linear, point A to point B, no side trips or exploration. Your control setup can't be imported from the original. The spookiness factor is uneven - some level are very creepy, while others are boring and bland.

All in all, this is a good expansion, one worth getting.