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

by Warner Bros

Product Features

• Confront enemy forces and Alma's supernatural powers as special forces operator Michael Becket
• Enjoy improved world interaction features as you navigate the detailed environs of a ruined city
• Experience a dramatic slow-motion effect as a result of your character's awesome reflexes
• Combat all-new enemies that use improved AI to employ advanced tactics
• Use multiplayer mode to compete with or against your friends

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00163LW7A
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: February 10, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,194 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #48 in Video Games > Xbox 360 > Adventure

Product Description

Platform: Xbox 360

Amazon.com

Confront terrors both known and unknown in a explosive battle for survival with F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin for Xbox 360. This action-packed follow-up to Monolith Productions's award-winning supernatural shooter F.E.A.R. begins where the previous game left off. This time, you'll come up against Alma's powers from the perspective of special forces operator Michael Becket. After an enormous explosion has devastated the city of Auburn, you'll quickly discover that what seemed like an ordinary mission to retrieve and interrogate Genevieve Aristide is anything but.

Ghoulish supernatural enemies give F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin a horrific, cinematic feel. View larger.

You'll explore and do battle in the dark corners of the ruined city of Auburn. View larger.

An enhanced graphics engine offers more dramatic effects. View larger.

Improved enemy AI means you'll need better tactics. View larger.

Project Origin Run Amok: Alma's Background
Fans of the first game will be familiar with the suspenseful story surrounding the psychic Alma, a peculiar and disturbing odyssey that adds depth to her devastating quest for revenge and immediacy to gameplay. Origin began as a secret military project run by the Aramacham Technology Corporation (ATC) . In an experiment run by Alma's own father, her DNA was used to create two clones that possessed her impressive psychic powers in an attempt to engineer a telepathic military commander. In the end, the research team became worried about the dangers of Alma's powers, and they tried to kill her.

While her heart stopped beating and her physical body died, her psychic energy continued to exist, and she manifested herself in many forms, including both a child and a deformed adult figure that betrays the gruesomeness of her ordeal. Due to a string of events tied to both her clones, Alma has escaped the disastrous explosion of the last game and the facility where she was held, and the haunting manifestations of her power are at work all around you, adding an unpredictable, nightmarish quality to the world.

Strange Events in a Supernatural Setting
In order to get anywhere in the rubble of the city of Auburn, you'll need to survive firefights, stay calm in the face of surprisingly graphic events, and uncover the terrifying and mysterious nature of your real enemies. Your character's phenomenal reflexes allow the much-talked-about slow motion effect from the original title to persist here, giving you an edge in combat and adding to the unique nature of your perspective.

Improved Details and Enemy AI
An enhanced graphics engine means more detailed environments to explore and better effects. The vast destruction in the city opens up a huge variety of spaces and enhances the other-worldly feel of your mission, and you better be ready to stay on guard because all-new enemies powered by improved AI don't just act more realistically than their predecessors, they employ advanced combat tactics and know how to use the environment against you. But they aren't the only ones with more resources at their disposal--additional world interaction enhancements allow you to create cover and protect yourself or remove obstacles from your path.

While it may be the horrific action and the details that first catch your eye, the tactical demands and the way story elements are slowly unveiled promise to help keep you interested as gameplay wears on. And for those times when you're not in the mood for a prolonged single-player campaign, this title also offers the ability to battle with or against friends in multiplayer mode.

Product Description

Fear Alma Again

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Sequel with Beautiful Atmosphere, Lacks Length and Has Moderate Glitches, February 14, 2009

By 

Kyle Slayzar (Bismarck, ND) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Fear 2: Project Origin (Video Game)

If any of you played the original, you remember many of the WTF Mate moments that made the game. It's rare that an FPS actually succeeds in making a horror game that works. Others have tried, but failed miserably (This means you Condemned 2!!) whereas FEAR captivated many gamers with creepy atmospheres, bizarre moments of hallucinations, and one strange little girl that you wanted to either hug or give a swift kick to.

In other words, for us gamers FEAR 2 had a lot to live up to and they did alright but I fear the FEAR franchise is going the way of Halo; letting it go to their head.

The story is simple. You are Delta Operator Beckett sent in to extract a bad CEO from some company doing bad things in a town plagued by weirder things. In the process, all goes to hell and so does reality and the story as well. The story keeps you reeled in w/o the main character engaging in any dialog and without any cut scenes scene outside of first person. This is what made the first FEAR and Project Origin does a good job of staying faithful. The ending, however, is a Halo 2 "that's it?!" since it ends so bloody abruptly. When the credits started to roll, my brother and I looked at each other and spent a whole minute exchanging "uhhhs" and "huh." Like a rug in The Big Lebowski, endings are supposed to tie the story together but perhaps I am spoiled by RPG endings.

Despite the WTFness of the ending, Project Origins does sport some major improvements. The animations are top-notch and true to reality. When you have to press a button, move something, or open a door, you actually have to temporarily move your weapon while your other hand does the action. This grounds the animation in reality and is executed properly, especially when you use the ladder (which is automatic instead of requiring you to carefully place your aimer). The aiming reticules are also improved as the weapons have red-dot or neon iron sights similar to actual firearms. Even the recoil is accurate and the movement through the sights as movement causes the red dot to move around since they are never really fixed but projected.

Another improvement is the weapons and their balance. The shotgun is no longer an end-all weapon and you can hold more then 100 rounds of assault rifle ammo as opposed to the first FEAR. Grenades are also more abundant and you don't accidentally shoot incoming grenades (which causes them to explode in midair) as easily as the first game, which caused me more deaths than anything else. The special weapons are also more abundant such as the penetrator (now the Hammerhead) and the sniper rifle. Not to mention new weapons such as the laser. Sadly though, the particle weapon seems only to come at the end of the game.

And yet another improvement is the enemy AI. Replicants are no longer just small obstacles but considerably smarter opponents. In the first FEAR, you could slow time down through "reflex time" (which is in Project Origin), dash into a crowd of Replicant soldiers, lay waste, and then take cover. Not in Project Origin... or as much. Now the enemy will actively try and outflank you so it is easier to get pincer in by enemy troops. Sadly, they no longer talk like Half-Life marines but still scream like them. The stealth ninjas only appear towards the end of the game and are a lot easier to handle as they appear in better lighting so it's easier to recognize the distortion they create. No more hiding in wait.

They also created three new, and very annoying, enemies. The first are what I crawl "non-tongue lickers," a play on the Resident Evil version but they do not have tongues. They will, however, crawl agilely across floors and walls and lunge at you. The second are what I call "puppet masters," civilians that have little stringy tentacle thingies that resurrect the dead to kill you. To me, these guys were the most annoying because they usually soak up the bullets like a sponge and will continually bring back those you just killed. The third are the power units, similar to those in the first FEAR, but a lot more dangerous as they have shields and will chase you down. However, you get to drive two later on!! That was my favorite part as I was driving the armor down the street, laying waste to... everyone, almost casually. The only features missing in the power armor is a Mr. Coffee and an MP3 player since I was humming "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson while launching rockets.

The last improvements, and probably the most important, are the atmosphere and the freaky moments. The first FEAR executed this almost flawlessly so how do you improve upon that without going overboard? Simple, Monolith simply spread them out so the player, who probably played the first one, will keep expecting it and then lower his guard since it doesn't happen as much. I noticed there weren't nearly as many freaky apparitions or lunge in front of you moments, although you do wrestle with Alma more. My personal favorite scene involved an elementary school and a crap load of lockers. There is also a lot more blood and gore as the first one.

Now, despite all these advantages, there are three distinct complaints I wish to bring up.

The first is the length of the game or the lack thereof. My brother and I started at 3pm, played until 5:30, stopped until 7pm, resumed then, and beat the game at 11pm. If you do not count restroom and food breaks, our total completion time was (rounded up) 6 ½ hours. The first time around in FEAR, which had around 13 intervals as opposed to Project Origin's 7, took twice as long and then half the time the second time around. An FPS should take longer than that but, as they did with Halo 3, they figured quality would trump quantity. It doesn't quite work this time around. They could have expanded significantly or, oh I don't know, MADE THE ENDING LONGER!!

The second is how the wacky linear nature of the environment is hard to tell at times. By that, I mean it can be very hard to find the hidden ladder needed to advance, or the door, or even see the lock you have to shoot out. Dead Space did an amazing thing with the interface by allowing the player to press a button to see where they had to go and it did not take away from the overall experience. This isn't Resident Evil 2, where you bounce back and forth in the police station like a ping pong ball.

The third, and probably my biggest complaint, are the blatant transition glitches. I swear, my brother and I are glitch magnets. When Alma attacks and you have to fend her off your person it ALWAYS effects the environment whether it be opening an elevator door or knocking some boxes down. However, three times the transition did not occur and we were stuck to either wander around endlessly or reset to the last checkpoint. The first time was in the elementary school right after we fought the principle. We went back to the elevator and fought off Alma. Normally, she opens the doors but this time they did not and we wandered around for 20 minutes trying to figure out where to go. Once we restarted, we did the fending off again and this time the doors opened. GLITCH!! This happened two more times during the same play through. THIS is bad.

All in all, FEAR 2 will dazzle previous FEAR fans with brilliance while no players will be dazzled with BS as you seemingly have to be a fan to appreciate it. Nonetheless, if you're a new player then do yourself a favor and get the first FEAR, THEN get this one. It is well worth it, I promise you.

Overall, an 80/100
-10 for glitches
-5 for lack of length
-2 for hard to find paths
-3 for bad ending

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hell of a fright!, February 14, 2009

By 

Craig Moller (Brisbane, AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Fear 2: Project Origin (Video Game)

It's clear as you play through Project Origin that Monolith has spent some time thinking about the science of horror. With a goal to walk a delicate tight rope with the game's design - to ensure that the transitions between straight-up shooting and a foreboding, malevolent atmosphere with semi-frequent scares is executed with style. It's a line that the team has managed to tread with some aplomb. Project Origin may have its weaknesses, but in terms of its blend of shooter and horror, it has the weighting just right. Backing up the general melting of reality that is Project Origin's horror motifs, is a rock solid shooter.

There's an awful lot to like, however. There's a much greater variety in locales than in the original, and the way you progress through the world is excellent. The story is really well handled and intriguing too. There's regular radio chatter from your team mates and other characters, as well as intel pick-ups that fill you in on Alma, Armacham, Replica soldiers and everything else. Perhaps most impressive is the city itself. You arrive on the surface a while after the explosion, in a dilapidated warehouse with a car embedded halfway through a second storey wall, with most of its corrugated iron roof panels missing, exposing a muddy brown, broken sky. The sound design is every bit as good as the visual design, if not better. From roaring rushes and pained moans, to frenzied whispers in your ear as you creep down a corridor, HUD juddering, the effects do wonders for the atmosphere. So too does the strong soundtrack.

In the end, Project Origin is a fantastic piece of work and deserves to be applauded in many ways. Taking the original much loved game and transforming it into a suspenseful, adrenaline pumping sequel. A very entertaining game that ought to be tested and highly recommended.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I ain't afraid of no ghost....honest, February 17, 2009

By 

Cloud "..." (Canada) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Fear 2: Project Origin (Video Game)

In a strange way, I kind of feel sorry for Fear 2: Project Origin and its appeal and recognition. Naturally any game that becomes a massive hit becomes the standard, the true pinnacle of the genre that every other game has to be either like it or it's just disappointing. What Fear 2 does is not reinvent but refine; to get rid of excess, to streamline and to improve on the first game. But naturally people will say despite the graphics, it doesn't hold up to Killzone 2. Multiplayer? Call of Duty IV does it better. So just play Fear 2 on its own merits, its own turf and you'll find a really fun game...in the single player that is.

Story: Taking place minutes before the explosion at the end of the first Fear, you play as Michael Becket, a Delta Force officer, who is brought in to put Genevieve Aristide, president of Armatech into protective custody. Only things don't go as planned and the explosion wipes out the Auburn district of the city and you along with other team members have to found out the secrets behind Project Origin, Harbinger and the young girl named Alma Wade.

Graphics: It is an oft-made complaint about the first Fear: too many offices. It literally was either hallways, catacombs and sewer areas or warehouses. While graphically it looked best during the big firefights, it wasn't a very diverse game. Fear 2 changes all that with improved graphics all around. Environments are more open-ended with a lot more detail and structural damage compared to the cleanliness of before. Effects from gunfire looks cooler, the spectre and ghost effects look awesome and lighting's been improved. But when you compare it to upcoming Killzone 2 or other known FPS' then it's not as technologically impressive but it certainly works well.

Sound/Music: Typically in FPS sound mixes, they go for an all-out assault on the senses. Explosion, gunfire, yelling, bullets whizzing past as you run for cover are frequently found in shooter games. Others however like Bioshock, the Fear games or Monolith's own Condemned series are all about soundscapes and creating a tangible-yet-abnormal world. Weapons have a great kick to them, that satisfying "AAH!" when a Replica's killed and the louder setpieces (piloting the Powered Armor, which I'll get to, is intense thanks to sound design), the sound design works incredibly well. Also since it's a horror game we get creepy whispering, atonal dissonance and ambience so this isn't really a "loud" game per se but it's certainly an immersive one.

Gameplay: Not much as changed from the first Fear. You still control a mute character who has access to a 4 weapon wheel, grenade types and the like. And of course the popular Slo-Mo is back. Pressing Y instead of LB like before will put you in bullet time where you can lay the proverbial smackdown on your foes and seeing thrown grenades wipe out your opponents in half the speed never loses its fun. One suggestion is to play on Hard mode since normal mode is a bit too easy while Hard mode will give players that challenge the first game had (although even then some might say the mode's too easy anyway so go figure).

One of the major additions is a few sections where you pilot an Powered Armor and became an all-out enemy killing machine. With powerful missile and cannons available, you become nearly indestructible. I say nearly because if you take too much damage you'll have to eject where the machine will self-repair prompting you to ditch and hopefully find cover if there's enemies around. While it doesn't look like it makes sense in a horror game, the intensity and genuine fun with a capital "F" these sequences bring makes them instant highlights. Weaponry is also cool to use from body-melting lasers to flamethrowers and personal favorite Hammerhead which acts like a high-velocity nail gun that can pin enemies to walls. You'll still stick with your trusty Shotgun (not as uber-powerful as before but does the trick) and Assault rifles or Submachine guns but having variety helps spice things up.

Multiplayer is becoming one of those weird evils with games nowadays where people will complain if there isn't any then complain that it will feel tacked on or not as better integrated as a Halo or Call of Duty. Fear 2's multiplayer is functional but not really addicting to me personally. Some lag issues, getting booted out of servers, enemy teammates that don't die from full-on gunfire yet a few rounds from the same gun and you're toast and it's one of the few multiplayers that just doesn't feel as balanced to me but some might disagree. The modes are fun such as Blitz which is like Capture the Flag only the flag is a leaking canister that acts like a punctured paint can on a car to Armored Front where a team member gets to ride a powered armor and go after the other team. They're fun modes but spawn points are kind of ridiculous at times and not to constantly compare this to Modern Warfare but I like being TOLD when I level up, reach new ranks and stay in the multiplayer menus. After every match, you're dumped back to the main menu and have to do it all over again as opposed to other games where you stay in multiplayer menus until you quit out. And naturally most of the achievements are in multiplayer so hurray.

Now we come to the end and the question becomes...Is Fear 2 scary? Well, sort of. It certainly keeps you on edge thanks to sound design, Alma encounters and new enemies and some levels like the elementary school are downright creepy; however, that being said this isn't like say a Fatal Frame or Silent Hill where you're going to lose sleep. Fear 2 is basically a fun rollercoaster with high-octane firefights and eerie paranormal encounters. It's worth a playthrough but hopefully this won't get buried because Helghast are more popular.

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