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

The eerie little girl is back.

About two months back Sierra and development studio TimeGate released the standalone expansion, F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate. The game met with largely negative reviews. Meanwhile, a completely separate project is under way at Monolith Productions – a full continuation of Monolith's shooter F.E.A.R., recently named F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, following the NameYourFear contest.

In case some of you are still confused, Vivendi Games has the rights to the F.E.A.R. name, whereas Monolith and parent company Warner Bros. Interactive own the rights to the F.E.A.R. universe. What this legal nightmare actually means is that Vivendi can create games using the name F.E.A.R., but without incorporating characters from that particular universe. On the other hand, Monolith has the rights to use the characters and the setting, but cannot exploit the name F.E.A.R. It's a pickle, to say the least.

Regarding F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Monolith stated that the game still has to undergo somewhere around 8-12 months of development.

Not much is known about the story, except that it kicks off 30 minutes before the ending of the original F.E.A.R., as players step into the shoes of a completely new character. Alma, the creepy little girl from the original, represents, as Monolith claims, the very heart of the whole tale. All that's known is that Alma evolved since we've last seen her. Apparently, the power she wields increased severely and she is wreaking havoc throughout the city. Your unit is sent in to handle the situation, but wasn't given any details about Alma.

Although Monolith refuses to divulge more info on the narrative, they did confirm that other games are going to revolve around Alma and will center on the character's growth and development. Yes, you've read it correctly; more games in this particular setting are yet to come.

Retaining the sinister ambience and the horror elements from the original, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin takes the recipe of the previous game a few steps further. Intense shootouts and blood spilling everywhere are, once again, the core of the game. Monolith recently showcased one of the game's levels, which demonstrated new high-tech weaponry, improved AI and physics, as well as new foes.

With the enhanced AI, which is now completely dynamic, opponents react even more realistically, without any scripted behavior (with the exception of a number of cut-scenes, of course). At this early stage, it's a bit difficult to say for sure how your enemies will behave, but from what we've heard, they should offer a unique experience each time you play the game. The AI acts according to your particular style of play and occasionally foes won't give in to injuries and die on the spot. This new behavior pattern can be seen when players use their new laser-based incendiary weapon against oncoming enemies. Ignited enemies may sometimes act on their instinct and try to put the flames out by dropping and rolling on the ground or if there is water near by they will jump in. Then again, not all foes react the same way. While some look to extinguish the flames, others will just scream and panic, which in turn results in a variety of cinematic deaths such as scorched foes jumping off buildings and the like. Rather grotesque, but clearly an effective way of creating the right atmosphere for a horror themed game.

Another change has to do with healing your character. In the original F.E.A.R. players were able to replenish health in the traditional FPS manner – by picking up med packs and healing manually. Now, there's nothing wrong with this system per se, but healing your character sometimes proved difficult during chaotic shootouts. For that reason, Monolith decided to include a progressive health system, similar to that of Bungie's Halo (a pattern widely utilized by many developers nowadays). Of course, we have yet to see how this new health system works in practice and if it meshes with the improved AI behavior.

Alongside these additions to the gameplay, players will also see improved in-game physics. Environmental interactivity has been move up a notch, so when defending yourself against enemies, you'll be able to rely on a variety of moveable objects in the nearby area. During intense firefights, just knock over a bookshelf or anything else that might provide useful cover.

While details on the game remain fuzzy, a few things are certain. Monolith promised to pour extra effort into level design to offer more outdoor areas, as opposed to the repetitive and confined spaces of office buildings and basements from the pervious game. Still, the game takes place in a city, hence these outdoor locations will mostly depict urban districts – so, don't expect huge open areas like in Crysis.

Now, these steps to perk up level design are most welcomed, but the programming team still has to optimize the game's technology, which, as far as we can remember, was rather lousy at rendering outdoor sections.

Like we've said earlier, info and media on F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin are scarce at the moment, since Monolith appears to be keeping a tight lid on things. We do know that the game is going to arrive for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC platforms at some point during 2008 (no specific date was offered).

We've certainly enjoyed Monolith's games in the past, which is exactly why we expect more from them this time around.

Somehow we cannot escape the hunch that aside from a handful of improvements to the familiar gameplay mechanics, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin doesn't appear to go too far beyond its predecessor. It's a shame they're not showing effort to bring further innovation to the excellent concept that was demonstrated in F.E.A.R.

Nonetheless, given Monolith's reputation, we can assume we're in for a decent FPS experience and a familiar mix of action and horror elements. If nothing else, it's a title to look forward to in the coming year.