The first 1000 people to use the link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/jarekthegamingdragon05211 WOW this was a bigger project than expected. If you could like and share this around it would mean A LOT to me. If you want to hang out when I stream more F.E.A.R. then consider giving a follow to my twitch! www.twitch.tv/jarek4gamingdragon
What up Jarek. When I played F. E.A.R 2 Project Origin. I was so disappointed that Heavy Riot Armour didn't appeared in the game. When I found out Armacham Forces have turned Supersoldiers 🤨🤨??
My disapointment is that FEAR became The Pointman Saga instead of focusing on FEAR as the unit. Hell, they are a fkin Federal Ghost Busters unit, I want more crazy shit they meet on the job, not Pointman's family issues
@@MILDMONSTER1234 kinda You could have still made it about responding to different scenarion with Pointman saga being background detail. It also kinda... fucked the potential as I mentioned
the original concept of FEAR is that the game are made of different case on each series (like ghost buster but military style) and point man is the super soldier for countering the mysterious phenomenon. but when they realized that alma popularity are high (because of the similarity with japanese style ghost ie: samara from the ring and the grudge ghost from 2004 movie) so they continue with alma story.
Fun fact: extraction point was meant to be the end of alma's story. FEAR 2 would have focused on a different F.E.A.R. squad sometime afterwards dealing with a seperate, unrelated paranormal spooky thing happening. Each entry was gonna focus on a different story revolving around the F.E.A.R. team and the weird paranormal shit they are constantly told to deal with and investigate. IIrc the destruction of fear 1's city was going to essentially just be covered up and the mission considered a failure, with the next entry in the series just changing subject to an unrelated spooky event that needs to be investigated. edit: I forgot to mention fear 2 was originally going to be a consle spinoff while monolith focused on the real fear 2, but the suits made them focus on the consle spinoff and that became the official second entry of the series.
I will also add that I also liked Fear 3 for what it was. Played it twice with my friends and we had a fantastic time. But it's just not the same as the first game. :)
FEAR 1 will always be one of the greatest fps games of all time, but I will not sleep on FEAR 2 because I actually don't mind it. I've always said this, FEAR 2 isn't that bad, its just a bad sequel.
This is honestly the case for many sequels , this can be said for the new halo games as well , they're good games but they're just not anywhere near the OG games
I mean. We had FEAR, and then they made a new game, FEAR2, that was also good but in different ways, whilst keeping the story and core mechanics going. Problem? Maybe for the autistic people, but It also was really well received and I'd never heard it get bashed in any way as a game (the third game however...was a bit of a different story) so I went here just because I was dumbfounded at the depths that people will dive into now to put up clickbait opinion-pieces, since I thought this was such a non-divisive game. It's not as original as... the original.. but I sure as fuck will boot that game up before the original if I'm going for a better action shooter experience with noice slomo and way more varied locales, weapons and enemies than the original. Besides, FEAR1 got two expansions IIRC (which I both enjoyed but mildly) and even those didn't try to stick close to the style of the actual game they were building upon; like how one of them tried to go the route of those Star Trek Elite Force games by focusing on team-based battles). I'm pretty sure the well dried out on OG FEAR's gameplay design pretty quick so the expansions both were already trying to go into different directions. How many more office buildings and Samara (Alma...) jumpscares and shadows leaping across the wall do you need to feel satiated? Those moments have zero replayability whereas the gameplay does (and I still think FEAR1 is great; but actually an inferior experience as someone who's played it already because the mechanics, the battles, the weapons, the variety, were only improved upon in FEAR2, and I think a lot of people forget that FEAR1's AI becomes super easy to predict, and that the atmospheric horror tricks became stale halfway through the game already. Monolith knew that too, or they could've easily done the same thing that was so shocking and unique when it came out, and which they already showcased to its full extent. I think it's perfect how you can basically play two franchises now, one of them being Condemned - which keeps the creepiness whilst not having to rehash a FEAR1 experience - and then the other branch where they veered into a more interesting shooter.
I sort of find myself in between camps: some aspects of 2 were improvements, others were steps back. In some regards, all three main entries in the franchise had interesting things in them, but the original F.E.A.R. still reign supreme over the sequels.
The original F.E.A.R. is one of my all-time favorite games. I did make the mistake of buying it on the PS3, though. Which is great if you like sub 20 FPS games. But the PC version is great, and looks pretty decent for a 15 year old game.
And so we ended up inventing 2 different Fear timelines.... because from being a swat like member encountering spooky shit we jumped into killzone with ghosts 18:55 lol that's a cursed reload right there.
And Fear 2 is one of those many games where the empty and tactical reloads play the same animation. I can ignore it, but it just annoys me. Fear 2 doesn't even push the fact that you're a special forces operator into your head. Every member of Dark Signal doesn't take anything seriously, which would be fine if you were playing as US Army grunts. But they take nothing seriously at all.
@Mr. Turnenkof I mean, he talks about it in the video. But there are certain types of shooters where it actively hurts the gameplay to have iron sights.
@Mr. Turnenkof ADS may not be the best choice for games that (should) have faster paced combat. Of course there's exceptions, but FEAR 2's choice to include it partially contributed to the slower combat. It also hurts visibility - for a series known for particle effects, the ADS obscures it.
Ah yes, can't mention F.E.A.R. without the shotgun. The only thing that kept me going through F.E.A.R. 2 was the info tidbits. Otherwise it felt dry and flat as a cardboard. Though the biggest sin is the enemy voice downgrade. It was immensely satisfying to encounter enemies in F.E.A.R. 1: H O S T I L E!!!!!! * enemy retreats to cover * * you bounce grenade off the wall and engage slowmo * (slowmo) F * C K!!!! * enemy disappears into fine red mist *
@@michaelbecket4901 I have not played one. I played Fear 2 first and loved it. It held up even though I played it in October 2022. I was completely obessed with it ! I haven't felt that way about a game in a long time. I played it for hours and hours with no pause and enjoyed every second of it.
So basically, FEAR became a victim of the time where every game wanted to be Call of Duty. I'd say it's nice that we are out of that, but now every game wants to be Fortnite, so it's definitely not better.
Nearly every problem that FEAR 2 has (dumber AI, control issues, lack of side mouse button support, weaker lighting, etc) can be traced back to the same core; focusing on the consoles first, and the PC second. Heck, I remember reading in a magazine that the devs stated that it was being made primarily with consoles in mind, and they seemed to be proud of that fact.
Thats why the series failed they backstabbed their OG fans on PC for that console money than in FEAR 3 they screwed over FEAR 2 fans by making it pointless and killing off the main character thus basterdizing BOTH sides of the fandom lol
Played FEAR 2 for the first time few weeks ago and I have to say that it was pretty fun. Especially the level variety was just heads above the original. I still prefer combat in F1 tho.
Don't forget the ai in F.E.A.R. 1 almost had some kind of morale system, your dominating them then Replica 1 says "Flank him!". And number 2 says "No", that refusal to do something effective because of how well the player is doing makes them feel both more alive and believable and the reverse is true where they are kicking your ass and charge due to morale being high. God damn it I need to reinstall F.E.A.R. again, damn you Jarek.
There is an indie project named "Trepang2" being developed, although the last demo came out in 2019. It seems like the devs are still trying to figure out the engine and implement new mechanics, so it's a long way from becoming a complete game. It is worth cheching out on Steam and the devs seem to be somewhat active on youtube and Twitter.
@@elielc.8459 yep, finished it like an hour ago or so. Honestly, its incredible how much effort was put into this game. I did not expect it to have so much stuff, even side missions, hvts, multiple enemy types, mini bosses and bosses, stealth segments, arenas, fear-esque environments etc. Took me 7 hours on normal, i wish i had bumped it up to hard just to make it more of a rollercoaster. The story is good btw and everything starts to make sense in the end. Also liked some occasional spooky sections and ominous foreshadowing. Its certainly not fear, but max payne-doom-fear. I only have 2 complaints - lack of weapon variety (would like to have 2 of each type. We have 2 grenade launchers, but only 1 weapon of every other type) and inconsistent level design (eg destructible environment varies from level to level, sometimes it is turned off completely and in a couple of places everything crumbles and falls apart). Also the gore is top notch and makes combat really nasty and satisfying.
@@olegdemianenko3054That monolith level creeped me out the most. Fantastic game all around, felt the closest to FEAR 1 than any game I've played since and the cloak was a nice addition to the formula
Monolith has a history of nailing things first time, then they screw it up when they try to make a sequel. Condemned: Criminal Origins is better than Condemned: Bloodshot in every way, despite the latter being a sequel
@@dirgeisdead8141 Blood 2 is Monolith's worst sequel but that's largely due to it being shoved out the door half-finished by GT Interactive while they were being bought out by Infogrames. If given time and a bit of cash from the publisher, it could still have been an alright game.
Watching Holiday dying in extraction point might have been the most traumatizing thing I ever experienced. But in Fear2 i never (except in the school section) got scared.
I still hate how they ruined the aesthetics of the enemies in FEAR 2. In FEAR 1 the replicas and ATC security had practical equipment (well aside from the elite replicas anyway with their dumb masks). In FEAR 2 they're wearing armor and fatigues with lights all over them like they're cosplaying as a Christmas tree.
It's like JJ Abrams designed those outfits. In FEAR 2, we are supposed to deal with some Black Ops squad, but these guys look they need to be seen from across the street.
@@Endru85x Yeah, it is strange for a covert squad designed to sneak around to have those lights on their armour... "ATC Squad 1 to Squad 2, what's the sitrep, over..." "ATC Squad 2 here, advancing on target. Have not been spotted..." Gunfire over radio. "ATC Squad 2 taking fire!" "Enemy spotted you?" "Our damn body lights gave our position away - if we survive, let's kick the ass of the asshole who designed our uniforms."
@@milesipka Also, the sheer size of ATC force is ridiculous. We kill like few companies of these guys. And it seems nobody in this world care about it - no army, no police etc. Did ATC try to take control of whole country? It is one of the reeasons why FEAR 2 story does not hold up.
@@Endru85x Technically if you follow the story carefully, the explosion the Point Man triggered at the end of FEAR 1 killed almost everybody inside Fairport, also it severed the transportation lines connecting the city to the outside world. Aside from the player, the Dark Signal squad, the Replicas and the ATC black ops mooks, there is virtually nobody left alive in the city (any other survivors were deep underground like Aristide, SnakeFist and several nurses in the underground hospital.
8:40 I remember playing the hospital level in Wolfenstein 2009 (one of the best levels in that game) and thinking this feels heavily inspired by F.E.A.R and its expansions. And sure enough it turned out to be a gigantic inspiration for the devs at Raven Software. The Veil Assassins (first encountered in that specific level) were an homage to the Replica Assassins in F.E.A.R and and the same was true for the level itself. And this might be slightly controversial, but that Hospital level in Wolfenstein 2009 is one of the best levels in the entire Wolfenstein franchise. And I agree that the same can be said for the Hospital level in Extraction Point. It is one of the best levels in the entire F.E.A.R franchise.
That's honestly one of my favorite Wolfenstein games if not my favorite. I live in the country so I don't have good Wi-Fi so I ordered a copy for my 360 about a week ago because I missed it. Wish they would do something with it on my series X like fps boost or resolution upgrade
@@chrislair6832 Yeah, it's in that weird limbo of it being published by Activision and Bethesda now having the rights to the Wolfenstein name. I would love to see them bring it back (preferably with a visual upgrade).
@@tominatorxx My pants wiggled at the thought of that I'm sorry if that's vulgar but it's true that would be so great to just get a bad-ass remaster if anything.
The one good thing about the FEAR sequels is that Jin lives in the Monolith timeline. I was significantly affected by her death the first time round when I played Extraction Point.
I have always maintained that Fear 2 should be where players start the franchise. As I did. Doing so, Fear 2 plays like a lot of familiar shooters so the disappointment of it not playing like 1 doesn't hurt the game, glitches aside. Story wise, not knowing what happened in Fear 1 added a great deal of mystery for me that was intriguing. Who is Alma? Why did a nuke go off in the city? What are replica's? I loved Fear 2 so much that I got Fear 1 and was in for a huge treat. Thus, Fear 1 actually felt like the sequel for me. It expanded on what was started with the sequel. Had I started with Fear 1 like most, I would have also disliked 2. But doing it this way, made 2 a good game for me.
@@pastichiorocker Its not like I went out of my way to do this. XD Getting Fear 2 was a blind impulse buy. I loved it and wanted more, so I went and found a copy of Fear 1.
Did the same and hated Fear 2 so much that i thought the whole series is trash. I replayed them again and started with Fear 1, still hated Fear 2 and forced myself through it and really loved Fear 3. Fear 2 has to be the most boring shooter i've ever played and i play a lot of shooters.
I feel like yes, FEAR 1 is significantly better than FEAR 2, yet I enjoy it as an FPS game. It has its moments and the gameplay still is great imo. If you compare it to FEAR 1, it will feel meh, but compared to a lot of the titles that came out at the time, yeah, I had a great time and still enjoy it today
Fair enough and to each their own. Me personally, I feel like everything after Extraction Point felt bad. Including Perseus Mandate, just because it felt more like an FPS and not a horror game. Not that they didn’t try. FEAR 1 was just so good for me it was hard for any follow-up to meet that standard.
We need some kind of fear remake, or a soft reboot. Imagine FEAR but with the tech used in Control. Imagine the lighting, the particle effects, the environmental effects. Speaking of Control, imagine the Point Man being tasked with retaking a building taken over by anomalies. I want it so bad
I love all fear games, even 3 . Fear 2 might feel really different and my main complain Is that the melee Is bad and the levels are really linear because otherwise there are some aspects i prefer over the first game, like the setting. The second chapter of fear 2 Is one of my most favourites chapters un any fps
@@DakotaofRaptors The New Order says that the japanese were invaded by germany after 1947, they got the same treatment as every other country, genocided in the same way
FEAR 1 was a fucking masterpiece. and in my head Extraction Point is the true ending and where the series ended for me. FEAR 2 just felt like a chore to play.
It's a fun enough, well-paced shooter, and a terrible sequel. The fights being shooting galleries rather than enemies being initially unaware of your position and then reacting semi-dynamically is such a downgrade it might as well not be the same series as FEAR. The story is ick. Making the victim (Alma, obviously) into a scary supernatural monster is an extremely common horror trope, but it feels gross here even before the ending happens. Armacham went from the morally detached middleman carrying out a military contract to a scifi evil conglomerate that lords over an entire city. It's like nobody was allowed to play or even watch any of the first game and only had vague notes to go by.
Y'know, the irony is that if I were a TH-camr I'd eventually find myself in the same position as you. I'd end up referencing games like Warframe so freakin much I'd HAVE to make a video out of pure principal.
Around 4:30 boulder punch also mentioned a lot of criticisms of the first game were offices and industrial buildings but they were designed for the games ai and to also give you the feeling of fighting in a city than a battlefield which I liked a lot!
I believe it was dxfan who best brought up 2 major reasons for atleast the gameplay being such a negative departure from FEAR 1 (though the second might have impacted the story): 1. Though John Mulkey was on the team during FEAR 1, during 2's development, he started forming a idealistic crush on the "more realistic/visceral" feel of COD's aiming and sprint bursts to cover or to close the distance. I forgot if had more creative liberties in 2 because of becoming more of a head of the design or due to team problems. What supports the angle that John is responsible for the poorly done gameplay style change however is the fact he ALSO worked on aliens colonial marines where the gunplay and movement had the same problems and were stemmed from the same design ideal overfixiation. 2. FEAR 2 was the originally planned spiritual sequel that was initially in the works while the original ip rights were out of their hands. However when the ip was ultimately bought back, the plan became to cement project origin as a console first side sequel and make a proper sequel be more thought out in being a truer to the og by putting more focus on pc first/console second like a excelerated life span of og FEAR's releases. However both projects started to have problems with the true sequel just plain having trouble getting off the ground, so they focused more on the broader audience and further along Project Origin seeing as the immediate consoles release market would be more profitable and prevent simular problems they had with the co-development of blood 2 and shogo long ago. Beyond that however, its a victim of both conflicting design decisions and writing. Much like rpg have their share of amazing and stinker quests, different devs/writers handled each section of the game with a simular general basis in mind but differ direction to execute their vision of it while using Mulkey and his guy's gameplay (which is why we get something as good as the school level while everything else is a flop, same as why halo 1's library is a flop with some other flood levels close to it but everything else generally is great). Shame to see monolith ditch the ip after such a wrecked and divisive development. Anyways, Sidenote to Jerrek and fellow fans: keep a eye on Trepang 2 and try the demo if you havent already, it feels like a proper spiritual sequel to FEAR 1/ extraction point. They even released some more indev footage that looks sweet.
Oh god if you had difficulty finally doing this video due to your disappointment with the game then I can’t imagine how you feel about F3AR. You should balance it out by doing a video on FEAR and why it’s so amazing.
Incredible, in the span of just a few hours, Armacham Technology Corporation went from being a 5 billion dollar company, to a 100 billion one. Such growth has never been seen before, or since.
Wait, those blue dot dudes your fighting in FEAR 2 ARENT Replicants? Damn. I really really miss the grounded feel of the first FEAR. ATC Security looks like your basic security firm, the replicas look slightly higher tech, SFOD-D looked phenomenal.
18:54 So... lemme get this straight... The pistol's slide locks back even if it isn't empty. Then it seems to be instantly released upon the insertion of a new magazine (okay, this bit in particular isn't completely unreal). However, the PC then pulls the slide back! Uh-huh...
6:12 i know this review is already more older and etc bu i could try to explain why the lighting on F.E.A.R. 2 is strange, i think that too but i dint realized until i use the world editor from FEAR 1 (that is the level editor from the SDK). But the lighting in FEAR 2 is strange...Because Belive it or not, in 90% of the game the lights dont cast shadows (from objects,characters and etc) and when they cast rarely is everything. most of the time it doenst cast any and when it cast, cast just characters or just objects. Its just ridiculos how an little mistake like this just has left behind! in the Reborn dlc they "fixed" a little. but its all about the level desgin this include the AI too that is actully better than the first game, but not used at full potential thanks to the COD level style. i still love FEAR 2 but it has alot of flaws that makes worse than the first game. Good review!
I also like the method of storytelling in Fear 1 much more than in Fear 2. Also, I'm not sure if I had a broken audio file but every time I opened a log in Fear 2 it would make this harsh buzzing noise and I would just pick up the log, exit out of it, and ignore the in-game stuff.
Yep By reworking FEAR 2 with E3 2007 demo graphics and sound design. And test the Enemy AI before release date. make them shoot explosive objects near players.
@@brendanrourke9418 Ehhh, I'm thinking more like rebooting the first game. I did enjoy FEAR 2 but I vastly more enjoyed the first FEAR. So I'd prefer that one to be redone if possible.
The lack of support for side-buttons is absolutely inexcusable considering the first games on the engine way back in 1998 supported them. It had to have taken more effort to remove or otherwise break support for them than it would have to just keep them working for this game. Also, something you didn't mention was that one of the cool new additions to the game - sections where you get to go on a rampage in an EPA - is mitigated by the fact that every time you jump into one, the game arbitrarily shuffles what slots your weapons are in, and there's no way to put them back where you want them except by finding a new weapon entirely to juggle everything around.
AI can seriously make a game incredible. I recently replayed Batman Arkham Knight, that games AI is severely under-appreciated. The AI constantly adapts to your tactics, they group up, one covering the front and one covering the back, they call out the position of bodies to friendlies, they make plans and counter your abilities. It made the stealth sections of the game SO entertaining. Fear 1 is another great example, AI that constantly adapt and communicate with each other.
In the first F.E.A.R. I was hiding behind a wall and then one of the replica soldiers just shout " shoot the extinguisher " and I was dead it blew my mind when I reload my save he rushed at me with a shotgun it was awesome
If FEAR 2 had essentially kept the storyline of extraction point or rather continued the story, and kept the visual styling of the sierra timeline and gameplay with higher quality visuals and *maybe* some new additions here and there it would have been so much better.
Right you are! Content was being cut. At one point there were 2 versions being made. First it was focused for pc and later they shifted focus to console.
"For a long time I never realized those soldiers were ATC soldiers" This, so much. The enemies in this game basically have no personality. Even the replicas sound like generic soldiers spouting off fluff.
It's weird because when fear 2 came out I remember liking it more than 1 (I think it's because I originally sucked at 1) however after playing through them recently it's clear fear 2 is a step back from 1
I remember playing the FEAR 2 multiplayer on X360. My fondest memory is when I was using the BFG-like weapon, ended up killing the entire enemy team with it, and shortly after receiving a message telling me to kms for using it. Good times.
22:30 Just wanted to note that in this game the way that you can best distinguish the Armacahn baddies and the Replica baddies is that the Armacahn hired goons do not communicate with each other while the Replica troops do. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on that because you go without this sort of combat radio chatter throughout most of the game and then when the Replica are suddenly introduced you get all that chatter back. I think they intended that to be one of those moments to put a smile on the face of fans of the original. The actual chatter isn't as reactive or thorough as the original but they did make this conscious decision. Also I actually disagree with the Hammerhead being better. If you try to use it ADS it's really inaccurate and the gun pins enemies way less often which means trying to headshot an enemy you'll miss at least one shot even if you're shooting a stationary enemy from a steady stance in slomo, they usually take multiple headshots from the Hammerhead, and even when you do headshot them they usually just fall down like it were normal damage. There's a few negative criticisms I disagreed with so I was surprised to disagree with you when you had something nice to say about one of the guns.
I have the unpopular experience of remembering this fondly at the time and being blown away. I remember being surprised when I understood it wasn’t liked.
My most vivid memory of the campaign was running down corridor after corridor in a replica soldier manufacturing facility and all the pods containing the replicas begin opening up one by one, left and right. Just speaking of it gives me the chills...
It is been a while since I completey agree with someone on TH-cam. I have played Fear 2 immediately after the first one and it was clearly a mistake. You feel immediately that this FPS is more oriented for consoles while the combat feels very weak. I had more the feeling to play a Killzone clone with some horrors elements than a true sequel of Fear.
I was so disappointed of F.E.A.R 2:Project Origin. It is because Replica Forces are designed differently from the first F.E.A.R game look at Replica Heavy Armour. It look so different. Unfortunately Replica Heavy Riot Armour didn't appeared. there are also new enemies like Specimen.
I wonder why I even was on the official Project Origin forums, it as if we, fans, were talking to air. I don't think they really listened to us that much but only took into account feedback from their old forums: NOLF fans who couldn't stand the serious tone of the original F.E.A.R. The demo that was delivered, didn't even look too much like the original footage that was shown initially. Also I heard stories, there were 2 games being made at once, one for pc and the other for console. The one for pc got shafted along the way. Project Origin was a complete disappointment in the end.
I'm really surprised that despite generally being regarded as "Not as good as the first" that fear 2 actually has a 93% approval rating on steam. Fear 1 has an approval rating of 94%. Which really gives the false impression that the games are of similar quality when they're not. The only thing thats better in Fear 2 imo is the story, but gameplay wise fear 1 is significantly better. I'd even go so far as to state that fear 1 has better art direction (but not necessarily better graphics). Sound design is worse in fear 2. Lighting is worse in fear 2. The fighting arenas are worse. The AI was supposedly improved, but the level design and enemy design makes them perform worse. Its overall just a significantly worse game, but it still has a good rating on steam. I don't get it.
Some people see improvements on the first one, like color palette and various locations And somehow fail to see destroyed og fear gameplay, particle effects, broken melee, design inconsistency with og one, lower sound quality, dumbed down guns, more console approach in control and movement and etc Also, mood switch from action movie to generic military style, which was style at the time Almost everything, that differ f.e.a.r from many other fps But, somehow this game improved Yes🤔🤔🤔
I agree, extraction point should have been the true sequel. Also a tortured soul on a bloody vendetta having sex with you and getting pregnant as the result??? Ouch...
The disabling extra mouse buttons was probably done because of a specific bug with logitech mice in FEAR 1. In FEAR 1 if you ever used a logitech mouse it would often cause insane stutter to the point where the game was pretty much unplayable, and the only solution was to disable the extra mouse buttons. Monolith apparently tried to patch it out but it was so hard-coded into the engine it couldn't be fixed (this is why the same problem happens in Condemned: Criminal Origins). Since FEAR 2 is using FEAR 1's engine, they probably just decided it was easier to make the game based around not needing extra buttons and disable them so it didn't have this problem, since switching engines would've been significantly more difficult.
I think I read that the reason FEAR 2's laser weapon lists to the top left is because the weapon is used in game by heavily armored units, so for a normal guy its supposed to seem unwieldy. It do look broken tho.
I also didn't like how everyone can have superhuman reflexes after a "surgery" now. The pointman has this since birth through some abhorrent genetic meddling, and it was not even an intended outcome, it's a side affect of the failed telepathy experiment. It does kinda ruin the epicness that the first game built aroud the "successful failure first prototype".
In my opinion, F.E.A.R. 2 actually has a solid gameplay. But as for narrative and campaign is relatively short. It took me only 6 hours to beat the sequel. Three hours for F.E.A.R. 3 because that F.E.A.R. is really bloody short and lack of scare and atmosphere. Gameplay however is pretty decent.
Yup, I agree with you devoting that time to the game's visuals, they do matter. It doesn't look that bad technically, just distasteful. Like these sparkly gifs with sugary cartoon animals holding hearts.
16:20 I find it odd... that the melee is less effective in fear 2, leading you to believe that the hitboxes are just "more accurate". The first person model in Fear 1, is the 3rd person model, so you see exactly where your foot is actually going. In Fear 2 they wanted a prettier 1st person model, so now, you have no idea where your melee is actually landing...
FEAR 2 Seems like a clear victim of a PC centric franchise trying to target consoles as a main platform in the sequel, leading to WAY less ambition and even multiple areas that feel like full blown down grades relative to a much older game. FEAR OG was an ambitious, bold and boundary pushing game for it's time, and this is such a safe, lazy and technically unambitious sequel that it's hard to believe the same team made this. Everytime I go back and try to give this game another shot I end up just reinstalling FEAR 1 & Extraction Point because they are objectively better video games almost across the board, & especially in regards to combat and AI
Nothing pisses me off more than a short sprint meter. After playing Black Mesa I can't deal with it anymore in Half Life 2. Plus Half Life 2 has so many big open maps It makes it even worse. sv_infinite_aux_power 1 all day!
I'm wanting a fear 4 where half the game is a third person stealth type game playing as Alma's third child, a girl who is on her way to becoming as warped as her mother, but on the run from armacham, kinda like a reverse horror where you butcher and scare the fuck outta the enemy, tearing locations apart, all that, and the second half can be pointman trying to get to his sister first, constantly a step behind, the levels are essentially the same layout but left in the state the player leaves them in as the kid and the enemy type changes depending on whether the kid massacred or spared the enemy
When I saw how nauseatingly narrow the FOV was I thought - “Here we go, $h!¥¥ console port inbound.” Then I realised you couldn’t rebind the keys properly. Which supported my suspicion. Then I realised it had committed the cardinal sin of removing lean n’ shoot. This confirmed it. $h!¥¥ console port (or nerfed to make it ‘console friendly’). Most disappointing sequel ever, and objectively a bad game full stop.
Back when I first played this when it first came out and even playing the demo I knew there was something very off about it and couldn't put my finger on it and you just expressed what was wrong with it and it could've done so much better. "I'm gonna review FEAR 3." Curious, what about the expansion Reborn? (If done already then my apologies)
What happened to the A.I. in this crap? The enemy AI literally MADE the original, along with the great sound, weapon feel, particle effects and lighting. Everything gone in this one.
Hey Jarek, cool video man. So. When are you getting around to reviewing Alien rage(CI games) and Pariah(digital extremes or epic games dont remember) Would love to hear your analysis of these games. Stay safe brother.
You're forced to wander aimlessly much of the time. A pace-killer. The devs are too vague about what to do and go. Shows its age there, I guess. Great fun, then a total bore, great fun, total... you know what? Let's play something, anything else.
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"Who would be against learning?"
Republicans
I think F3AR is a worser game in comparison.
lets go play some FEAR 2 multyplayer for old times sake??XD
or atleast tell us when ur doing FEAR 3 multi/coop so i can chime in...want ma nostalgia
What up Jarek. When I played F. E.A.R 2 Project Origin. I was so disappointed that Heavy Riot Armour didn't appeared in the game. When I found out Armacham Forces have turned Supersoldiers 🤨🤨??
My disapointment is that FEAR became The Pointman Saga instead of focusing on FEAR as the unit.
Hell, they are a fkin Federal Ghost Busters unit, I want more crazy shit they meet on the job, not Pointman's family issues
Fears after credits reveals that the fear unit was just a front to get Pointman to do stuff so… yea this was all on purpose
@@MILDMONSTER1234 kinda
You could have still made it about responding to different scenarion with Pointman saga being background detail.
It also kinda... fucked the potential as I mentioned
First Encounter Assault Recon is such a BADASS concept and they did indeed waste it.
They could have at least made a damn spinoff about the unit.
the original concept of FEAR is that the game are made of different case on each series (like ghost buster but military style) and point man is the super soldier for countering the mysterious phenomenon. but when they realized that alma popularity are high (because of the similarity with japanese style ghost ie: samara from the ring and the grudge ghost from 2004 movie) so they continue with alma story.
Fun fact: extraction point was meant to be the end of alma's story. FEAR 2 would have focused on a different F.E.A.R. squad sometime afterwards dealing with a seperate, unrelated paranormal spooky thing happening. Each entry was gonna focus on a different story revolving around the F.E.A.R. team and the weird paranormal shit they are constantly told to deal with and investigate. IIrc the destruction of fear 1's city was going to essentially just be covered up and the mission considered a failure, with the next entry in the series just changing subject to an unrelated spooky event that needs to be investigated.
edit: I forgot to mention fear 2 was originally going to be a consle spinoff while monolith focused on the real fear 2, but the suits made them focus on the consle spinoff and that became the official second entry of the series.
Maybe in a parallel timeline...
I find this interesting. Where did you find this information. i'd like to read up on it.
@@chrisluvener173 it was a long time ago, I think I read it on a forum or the fear wiki or an article or something.
Das crazy
Ugh that’s frustrating cause now I’m thinking about all of the cool things they could have done in the universe
I really liked fear 2. It isnt better but l liked it a lot.
I enjoyed it a bit but the game we could’ve gotten in the E3 trailer looked so much better.
@@casedistorted minus the blood effects
I find it to be better
I will also add that I also liked Fear 3 for what it was. Played it twice with my friends and we had a fantastic time. But it's just not the same as the first game. :)
@@T4RHUNFear 3 is definitely an awesome game. Super awesome co-op campaign and the multiplayer modes were so cool!
FEAR 1 will always be one of the greatest fps games of all time, but I will not sleep on FEAR 2 because I actually don't mind it. I've always said this, FEAR 2 isn't that bad, its just a bad sequel.
This is honestly the case for many sequels , this can be said for the new halo games as well , they're good games but they're just not anywhere near the OG games
@@a8333 exactly I actually think fear 2 has merits that just doesn't fit with the FEAR brand
That's exactly how I see it.
I mean. We had FEAR, and then they made a new game, FEAR2, that was also good but in different ways, whilst keeping the story and core mechanics going. Problem? Maybe for the autistic people, but It also was really well received and I'd never heard it get bashed in any way as a game (the third game however...was a bit of a different story) so I went here just because I was dumbfounded at the depths that people will dive into now to put up clickbait opinion-pieces, since I thought this was such a non-divisive game. It's not as original as... the original.. but I sure as fuck will boot that game up before the original if I'm going for a better action shooter experience with noice slomo and way more varied locales, weapons and enemies than the original.
Besides, FEAR1 got two expansions IIRC (which I both enjoyed but mildly) and even those didn't try to stick close to the style of the actual game they were building upon; like how one of them tried to go the route of those Star Trek Elite Force games by focusing on team-based battles). I'm pretty sure the well dried out on OG FEAR's gameplay design pretty quick so the expansions both were already trying to go into different directions. How many more office buildings and Samara (Alma...) jumpscares and shadows leaping across the wall do you need to feel satiated? Those moments have zero replayability whereas the gameplay does (and I still think FEAR1 is great; but actually an inferior experience as someone who's played it already because the mechanics, the battles, the weapons, the variety, were only improved upon in FEAR2, and I think a lot of people forget that FEAR1's AI becomes super easy to predict, and that the atmospheric horror tricks became stale halfway through the game already. Monolith knew that too, or they could've easily done the same thing that was so shocking and unique when it came out, and which they already showcased to its full extent.
I think it's perfect how you can basically play two franchises now, one of them being Condemned - which keeps the creepiness whilst not having to rehash a FEAR1 experience - and then the other branch where they veered into a more interesting shooter.
Nah FEAR 2 was fantastic FEAR 3 however......
Yeah, definitely. FEAR 2 had some cool stuff but FEAR 1 is just perfection.
I sort of find myself in between camps: some aspects of 2 were improvements, others were steps back. In some regards, all three main entries in the franchise had interesting things in them, but the original F.E.A.R. still reign supreme over the sequels.
@@kinghoodofmousekind2906 The final third one had nothing interesting in it. It was just a supernatural Call of Duty with slow-mo.
@@giorgialadashvili4771 I liked some arenas and the slo-mo melee felt better; that's it, other than that was bland indeed.
The original F.E.A.R. is one of my all-time favorite games. I did make the mistake of buying it on the PS3, though. Which is great if you like sub 20 FPS games. But the PC version is great, and looks pretty decent for a 15 year old game.
Like the condemned games the first one is fucking pure gold and condemned 2 bloodshot is dumpster fire
And so we ended up inventing 2 different Fear timelines.... because from being a swat like member encountering spooky shit we jumped into killzone with ghosts
18:55 lol that's a cursed reload right there.
And Fear 2 is one of those many games where the empty and tactical reloads play the same animation. I can ignore it, but it just annoys me. Fear 2 doesn't even push the fact that you're a special forces operator into your head. Every member of Dark Signal doesn't take anything seriously, which would be fine if you were playing as US Army grunts. But they take nothing seriously at all.
This was that era where they shoved iron sights into every game, regardless if it made sense for that game or not.
@Mr. Turnenkof I mean, he talks about it in the video. But there are certain types of shooters where it actively hurts the gameplay to have iron sights.
@Mr. Turnenkof ADS may not be the best choice for games that (should) have faster paced combat. Of course there's exceptions, but FEAR 2's choice to include it partially contributed to the slower combat. It also hurts visibility - for a series known for particle effects, the ADS obscures it.
@@bovinleephann I don't mind it tbh. I prefer having ADS to work with for shooters
Why wouldn't iron sights make sense in a FPS game?
@@michaelbecket4901 see all of the above discussion and the video itself.
Ah yes, can't mention F.E.A.R. without the shotgun.
The only thing that kept me going through F.E.A.R. 2 was the info tidbits. Otherwise it felt dry and flat as a cardboard.
Though the biggest sin is the enemy voice downgrade. It was immensely satisfying to encounter enemies in F.E.A.R. 1:
H O S T I L E!!!!!!
* enemy retreats to cover *
* you bounce grenade off the wall and engage slowmo *
(slowmo) F * C K!!!! * enemy disappears into fine red mist *
I felt similar to FEAR 1
"He wiped out the whole squad" -stunned and scared Replica
was always my favorite enemy chatter in any game
"I'm with my best buds pranking Alma" is the best description I've ever heard for this game. Such a bore of a game of couldn't bother finishing it
GONE SEXUAL
@@bovinleephann PRANKS IN THE HOOD GONE SEXUAAAAAL
Whiner
Disagree FEAR 2 is a far superior game than 1 in MOST cases
@@michaelbecket4901 I have not played one. I played Fear 2 first and loved it. It held up even though I played it in October 2022. I was completely obessed with it ! I haven't felt that way about a game in a long time. I played it for hours and hours with no pause and enjoyed every second of it.
So basically, FEAR became a victim of the time where every game wanted to be Call of Duty. I'd say it's nice that we are out of that, but now every game wants to be Fortnite, so it's definitely not better.
More like _FARTNITE_
More like every game wants to be Open world when allot devs dont know how to make one so they just copy ubisoft.
@@John-996 oh my gosh. I am tired of every game being open world. It's the same thing just a different environment.
@@gagejohnathan9641 oh yeah, Fear 2 is still cool. It was just that time were everything was becoming cod.
@@eccentric_freak Halo fell victim to that
Nearly every problem that FEAR 2 has (dumber AI, control issues, lack of side mouse button support, weaker lighting, etc) can be traced back to the same core; focusing on the consoles first, and the PC second.
Heck, I remember reading in a magazine that the devs stated that it was being made primarily with consoles in mind, and they seemed to be proud of that fact.
Thats why the series failed they backstabbed their OG fans on PC for that console money than in FEAR 3 they screwed over FEAR 2 fans by making it pointless and killing off the main character thus basterdizing BOTH sides of the fandom lol
Played FEAR 2 for the first time few weeks ago and I have to say that it was pretty fun. Especially the level variety was just heads above the original. I still prefer combat in F1 tho.
Fair enough lol
Graphics don’t matter art direction dose that’s the issue with fear 2 visuals I think that’s what you where geting at with the visuals
The bloom was also so aggressive
Don't forget the ai in F.E.A.R. 1 almost had some kind of morale system, your dominating them then Replica 1 says "Flank him!". And number 2 says "No", that refusal to do something effective because of how well the player is doing makes them feel both more alive and believable and the reverse is true where they are kicking your ass and charge due to morale being high. God damn it I need to reinstall F.E.A.R. again, damn you Jarek.
we desperately need a real sequel/spiritual successor to FEAR 1. nothing beats the combat encounters in that game compared to any fps
There is an indie project named "Trepang2" being developed, although the last demo came out in 2019. It seems like the devs are still trying to figure out the engine and implement new mechanics, so it's a long way from becoming a complete game. It is worth cheching out on Steam and the devs seem to be somewhat active on youtube and Twitter.
@@olegdemianenko3054 Yo, it finally came out!
@@elielc.8459 yep, finished it like an hour ago or so. Honestly, its incredible how much effort was put into this game. I did not expect it to have so much stuff, even side missions, hvts, multiple enemy types, mini bosses and bosses, stealth segments, arenas, fear-esque environments etc. Took me 7 hours on normal, i wish i had bumped it up to hard just to make it more of a rollercoaster. The story is good btw and everything starts to make sense in the end. Also liked some occasional spooky sections and ominous foreshadowing. Its certainly not fear, but max payne-doom-fear. I only have 2 complaints - lack of weapon variety (would like to have 2 of each type. We have 2 grenade launchers, but only 1 weapon of every other type) and inconsistent level design (eg destructible environment varies from level to level, sometimes it is turned off completely and in a couple of places everything crumbles and falls apart). Also the gore is top notch and makes combat really nasty and satisfying.
@@olegdemianenko3054That monolith level creeped me out the most. Fantastic game all around, felt the closest to FEAR 1 than any game I've played since and the cloak was a nice addition to the formula
And now monolith are making Batman Arkham: Lord of the rings edition.
I don't mind it all if it has nemesis system
Actually they are making some new sci-fi IP.
@@damienscott6561 noice
@@caesar7786 ?
@@caesar7786 Who?
I loved FEAR 2. I play through the campaign every 3-4 years. The multiplayer was a blast, too, especially the toy soldier maps.
Exactly, this is the best game in the series.
@@MrCBTman I feel sorry for u if u actually think that
@@Zeqweery Why would you feel sorry for me? It's true.
@@MrCBTman I agree. FEAR 2 is a masterpiece.
@@milesipka Really taking away any gravity the word "masterpiece" has huh
You might wanna keep an eye out for Trepang2. It's basically the sequel F.E.A.R never got.
I really hope this turns into somthing.
and Selaco
He knows already, btw.
Fear did get a sequel though. Fear Files exists.
trepang is pretty good, but its like going from doom 2016 to eternal, its massively different
It still sad fear 3 left a cliffhanger and we're not getting a fear 4
not really a cliffhanger...
F.E.A.R unfortunately died the same way as Dead Space
And Dead Space is back with a dead space 1 remake
@@pchtommy1268aaaannnnddddd it’s dead again
Monolith has a history of nailing things first time, then they screw it up when they try to make a sequel. Condemned: Criminal Origins is better than Condemned: Bloodshot in every way, despite the latter being a sequel
Condemned 2 bloodshot is still one of my favorite games but you're so right. As a sequel it's so bad
I think Blood II the chosen is the worst sequel with Monolith's name
Condemned Bloodshot and F.E.A.R. 2 had moments where they're pretty decent
But middle earth: Shadow of War was imo much better than Shadow of Mordor
@@dirgeisdead8141 Blood 2 is Monolith's worst sequel but that's largely due to it being shoved out the door half-finished by GT Interactive while they were being bought out by Infogrames. If given time and a bit of cash from the publisher, it could still have been an alright game.
So true
Watching Holiday dying in extraction point might have been the most traumatizing thing I ever experienced. But in Fear2 i never (except in the school section) got scared.
I still hate how they ruined the aesthetics of the enemies in FEAR 2. In FEAR 1 the replicas and ATC security had practical equipment (well aside from the elite replicas anyway with their dumb masks). In FEAR 2 they're wearing armor and fatigues with lights all over them like they're cosplaying as a Christmas tree.
Yeah, those Replica Elites looked stupid as fuck with their two-tone armour and spider eye masks...
It's like JJ Abrams designed those outfits. In FEAR 2, we are supposed to deal with some Black Ops squad, but these guys look they need to be seen from across the street.
@@Endru85x Yeah, it is strange for a covert squad designed to sneak around to have those lights on their armour...
"ATC Squad 1 to Squad 2, what's the sitrep, over..."
"ATC Squad 2 here, advancing on target. Have not been spotted..."
Gunfire over radio.
"ATC Squad 2 taking fire!"
"Enemy spotted you?"
"Our damn body lights gave our position away - if we survive, let's kick the ass of the asshole who designed our uniforms."
@@milesipka Also, the sheer size of ATC force is ridiculous. We kill like few companies of these guys. And it seems nobody in this world care about it - no army, no police etc. Did ATC try to take control of whole country? It is one of the reeasons why FEAR 2 story does not hold up.
@@Endru85x Technically if you follow the story carefully, the explosion the Point Man triggered at the end of FEAR 1 killed almost everybody inside Fairport, also it severed the transportation lines connecting the city to the outside world. Aside from the player, the Dark Signal squad, the Replicas and the ATC black ops mooks, there is virtually nobody left alive in the city (any other survivors were deep underground like Aristide, SnakeFist and several nurses in the underground hospital.
8:40 I remember playing the hospital level in Wolfenstein 2009 (one of the best levels in that game) and thinking this feels heavily inspired by F.E.A.R and its expansions. And sure enough it turned out to be a gigantic inspiration for the devs at Raven Software. The Veil Assassins (first encountered in that specific level) were an homage to the Replica Assassins in F.E.A.R and and the same was true for the level itself.
And this might be slightly controversial, but that Hospital level in Wolfenstein 2009 is one of the best levels in the entire Wolfenstein franchise. And I agree that the same can be said for the Hospital level in Extraction Point. It is one of the best levels in the entire F.E.A.R franchise.
That's honestly one of my favorite Wolfenstein games if not my favorite. I live in the country so I don't have good Wi-Fi so I ordered a copy for my 360 about a week ago because I missed it. Wish they would do something with it on my series X like fps boost or resolution upgrade
@@chrislair6832 Yeah, it's in that weird limbo of it being published by Activision and Bethesda now having the rights to the Wolfenstein name. I would love to see them bring it back (preferably with a visual upgrade).
@@tominatorxx My pants wiggled at the thought of that I'm sorry if that's vulgar but it's true that would be so great to just get a bad-ass remaster if anything.
The one good thing about the FEAR sequels is that Jin lives in the Monolith timeline. I was significantly affected by her death the first time round when I played Extraction Point.
Because you had that certain fever?
I have always maintained that Fear 2 should be where players start the franchise. As I did.
Doing so, Fear 2 plays like a lot of familiar shooters so the disappointment of it not playing like 1 doesn't hurt the game, glitches aside. Story wise, not knowing what happened in Fear 1 added a great deal of mystery for me that was intriguing. Who is Alma? Why did a nuke go off in the city? What are replica's? I loved Fear 2 so much that I got Fear 1 and was in for a huge treat. Thus, Fear 1 actually felt like the sequel for me. It expanded on what was started with the sequel. Had I started with Fear 1 like most, I would have also disliked 2. But doing it this way, made 2 a good game for me.
Thats actually a pretty clever way to play the series lol
Same here. I am playing fear 2 first and It really amped up the experience
Do you also watch movie sequels first?
@@pastichiorocker Its not like I went out of my way to do this. XD Getting Fear 2 was a blind impulse buy. I loved it and wanted more, so I went and found a copy of Fear 1.
Did the same and hated Fear 2 so much that i thought the whole series is trash. I replayed them again and started with Fear 1, still hated Fear 2 and forced myself through it and really loved Fear 3.
Fear 2 has to be the most boring shooter i've ever played and i play a lot of shooters.
I feel like yes, FEAR 1 is significantly better than FEAR 2, yet I enjoy it as an FPS game. It has its moments and the gameplay still is great imo. If you compare it to FEAR 1, it will feel meh, but compared to a lot of the titles that came out at the time, yeah, I had a great time and still enjoy it today
Fair enough and to each their own. Me personally, I feel like everything after Extraction Point felt bad. Including Perseus Mandate, just because it felt more like an FPS and not a horror game. Not that they didn’t try. FEAR 1 was just so good for me it was hard for any follow-up to meet that standard.
It didnt really bother me that FEAR 2 had aim down sights, but the removal of leaning left and right made aiming in combat feel terrible
We need some kind of fear remake, or a soft reboot. Imagine FEAR but with the tech used in Control. Imagine the lighting, the particle effects, the environmental effects. Speaking of Control, imagine the Point Man being tasked with retaking a building taken over by anomalies. I want it so bad
trepang2
I love all fear games, even 3 . Fear 2 might feel really different and my main complain Is that the melee Is bad and the levels are really linear because otherwise there are some aspects i prefer over the first game, like the setting. The second chapter of fear 2 Is one of my most favourites chapters un any fps
For me personally i don't care about graphics from a tech standpoint i care from an art design standpoint
I love fear 2. It’s a solid, polished FPS with great atmosphere and a cool story.
It’s not bad.
The original is definitely better though
While Fear 1 may be better, I still enjoyed Fear 2 and even Fear 3.
I would love if you analyse Wolfenstein new quadrology. Not only New Collosus but everything
I want more Imperial Japanese representation
@@DakotaofRaptors they are a puppet state.
@@hawkevick9184 I'm referring to videogames as a whole: imagine what sort of fuckery the Wolfenstein developers could create with say, Unit 731?
@@DakotaofRaptors probably very similar to Deadshead.
@@DakotaofRaptors The New Order says that the japanese were invaded by germany after 1947, they got the same treatment as every other country, genocided in the same way
Hey Jarek, great video as always! By any chance have you ever played a game called Brink (2011)?
I don't even think I finished the 1st mission of that game
Well yeah obviously, but I think the real problem is with fear 3
Finally someone did it. That's why I decided to follow up with your contents.
FEAR 1 was a fucking masterpiece. and in my head Extraction Point is the true ending and where the series ended for me. FEAR 2 just felt like a chore to play.
Ngl don’t mind the color in FEAR 2. What I do mind is the excessive bloom, and how it goes from mostly dynamic lights to static pre baked
It's a fun enough, well-paced shooter, and a terrible sequel. The fights being shooting galleries rather than enemies being initially unaware of your position and then reacting semi-dynamically is such a downgrade it might as well not be the same series as FEAR. The story is ick. Making the victim (Alma, obviously) into a scary supernatural monster is an extremely common horror trope, but it feels gross here even before the ending happens. Armacham went from the morally detached middleman carrying out a military contract to a scifi evil conglomerate that lords over an entire city. It's like nobody was allowed to play or even watch any of the first game and only had vague notes to go by.
Y'know, the irony is that if I were a TH-camr I'd eventually find myself in the same position as you. I'd end up referencing games like Warframe so freakin much I'd HAVE to make a video out of pure principal.
Around 4:30 boulder punch also mentioned a lot of criticisms of the first game were offices and industrial buildings but they were designed for the games ai and to also give you the feeling of fighting in a city than a battlefield which I liked a lot!
I believe it was dxfan who best brought up 2 major reasons for atleast the gameplay being such a negative departure from FEAR 1 (though the second might have impacted the story):
1. Though John Mulkey was on the team during FEAR 1, during 2's development, he started forming a idealistic crush on the "more realistic/visceral" feel of COD's aiming and sprint bursts to cover or to close the distance. I forgot if had more creative liberties in 2 because of becoming more of a head of the design or due to team problems. What supports the angle that John is responsible for the poorly done gameplay style change however is the fact he ALSO worked on aliens colonial marines where the gunplay and movement had the same problems and were stemmed from the same design ideal overfixiation.
2. FEAR 2 was the originally planned spiritual sequel that was initially in the works while the original ip rights were out of their hands. However when the ip was ultimately bought back, the plan became to cement project origin as a console first side sequel and make a proper sequel be more thought out in being a truer to the og by putting more focus on pc first/console second like a excelerated life span of og FEAR's releases. However both projects started to have problems with the true sequel just plain having trouble getting off the ground, so they focused more on the broader audience and further along Project Origin seeing as the immediate consoles release market would be more profitable and prevent simular problems they had with the co-development of blood 2 and shogo long ago.
Beyond that however, its a victim of both conflicting design decisions and writing. Much like rpg have their share of amazing and stinker quests, different devs/writers handled each section of the game with a simular general basis in mind but differ direction to execute their vision of it while using Mulkey and his guy's gameplay (which is why we get something as good as the school level while everything else is a flop, same as why halo 1's library is a flop with some other flood levels close to it but everything else generally is great). Shame to see monolith ditch the ip after such a wrecked and divisive development.
Anyways, Sidenote to Jerrek and fellow fans: keep a eye on Trepang 2 and try the demo if you havent already, it feels like a proper spiritual sequel to FEAR 1/ extraction point. They even released some more indev footage that looks sweet.
To be fair, a lot of the infantry act like a giant frat, I wouldn't be surprised if Delta Force acts similarly and has fun in combat like that
Oh god if you had difficulty finally doing this video due to your disappointment with the game then I can’t imagine how you feel about F3AR.
You should balance it out by doing a video on FEAR and why it’s so amazing.
Incredible, in the span of just a few hours, Armacham Technology Corporation went from being a 5 billion dollar company, to a 100 billion one. Such growth has never been seen before, or since.
Some talented moddersomewhere should "demake" fear 2 into fear 1. Literally just the levels. Keep the enemies and guns as they are in fear 1.
Wait, those blue dot dudes your fighting in FEAR 2 ARENT Replicants?
Damn.
I really really miss the grounded feel of the first FEAR. ATC Security looks like your basic security firm, the replicas look slightly higher tech, SFOD-D looked phenomenal.
18:54 So... lemme get this straight... The pistol's slide locks back even if it isn't empty. Then it seems to be instantly released upon the insertion of a new magazine (okay, this bit in particular isn't completely unreal). However, the PC then pulls the slide back! Uh-huh...
6:12 i know this review is already more older and etc bu i could try to explain why the lighting on F.E.A.R. 2 is strange, i think that too but i dint realized until i use the world editor from FEAR 1 (that is the level editor from the SDK). But the lighting in FEAR 2 is strange...Because Belive it or not, in 90% of the game the lights dont cast shadows (from objects,characters and etc) and when they cast rarely is everything. most of the time it doenst cast any and when it cast, cast just characters or just objects. Its just ridiculos how an little mistake like this just has left behind! in the Reborn dlc they "fixed" a little. but its all about the level desgin this include the AI too that is actully better than the first game, but not used at full potential thanks to the COD level style. i still love FEAR 2 but it has alot of flaws that makes worse than the first game. Good review!
I also like the method of storytelling in Fear 1 much more than in Fear 2. Also, I'm not sure if I had a broken audio file but every time I opened a log in Fear 2 it would make this harsh buzzing noise and I would just pick up the log, exit out of it, and ignore the in-game stuff.
I wish that this series would get a sweet reboot or remake of some kind. I think it’s time to revisit the franchise
Yep
By reworking FEAR 2 with E3 2007 demo graphics and sound design.
And test the Enemy AI before release date. make them shoot explosive objects near players.
@@brendanrourke9418 Ehhh, I'm thinking more like rebooting the first game. I did enjoy FEAR 2 but I vastly more enjoyed the first FEAR. So I'd prefer that one to be redone if possible.
nah, they will make a shitty open world or something, better is to stay dead
The lack of support for side-buttons is absolutely inexcusable considering the first games on the engine way back in 1998 supported them. It had to have taken more effort to remove or otherwise break support for them than it would have to just keep them working for this game.
Also, something you didn't mention was that one of the cool new additions to the game - sections where you get to go on a rampage in an EPA - is mitigated by the fact that every time you jump into one, the game arbitrarily shuffles what slots your weapons are in, and there's no way to put them back where you want them except by finding a new weapon entirely to juggle everything around.
What were the writers smoking when they wrote in the part where Alma and the MC "get it on"?!
AI can seriously make a game incredible.
I recently replayed Batman Arkham Knight, that games AI is severely under-appreciated. The AI constantly adapts to your tactics, they group up, one covering the front and one covering the back, they call out the position of bodies to friendlies, they make plans and counter your abilities. It made the stealth sections of the game SO entertaining.
Fear 1 is another great example, AI that constantly adapt and communicate with each other.
i always remember my dad playing this when i was younger; i remember absolutely nothing from it
As stupid as 3 was it did have pretty awesome arena moments and the mech sections were really fun, more memorable than 2.
In the first F.E.A.R. I was hiding behind a wall and then one of the replica soldiers just shout " shoot the extinguisher " and I was dead it blew my mind when I reload my save he rushed at me with a shotgun it was awesome
If FEAR 2 had essentially kept the storyline of extraction point or rather continued the story, and kept the visual styling of the sierra timeline and gameplay with higher quality visuals and *maybe* some new additions here and there it would have been so much better.
I love how when you reload that p90 assault rifle hybrid thing, you smack the red dot sight. I feel like that'd eventually put it off center.
No lol not how that works
I watched a bunch of the trailers and it looked like a bunch of content got cut
Right you are! Content was being cut. At one point there were 2 versions being made. First it was focused for pc and later they shifted focus to console.
"For a long time I never realized those soldiers were ATC soldiers"
This, so much. The enemies in this game basically have no personality. Even the replicas sound like generic soldiers spouting off fluff.
Can't wait for you to reach 200k subscribers
It's weird because when fear 2 came out I remember liking it more than 1 (I think it's because I originally sucked at 1) however after playing through them recently it's clear fear 2 is a step back from 1
I remember playing the FEAR 2 multiplayer on X360. My fondest memory is when I was using the BFG-like weapon, ended up killing the entire enemy team with it, and shortly after receiving a message telling me to kms for using it. Good times.
22:30 Just wanted to note that in this game the way that you can best distinguish the Armacahn baddies and the Replica baddies is that the Armacahn hired goons do not communicate with each other while the Replica troops do. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on that because you go without this sort of combat radio chatter throughout most of the game and then when the Replica are suddenly introduced you get all that chatter back. I think they intended that to be one of those moments to put a smile on the face of fans of the original. The actual chatter isn't as reactive or thorough as the original but they did make this conscious decision.
Also I actually disagree with the Hammerhead being better. If you try to use it ADS it's really inaccurate and the gun pins enemies way less often which means trying to headshot an enemy you'll miss at least one shot even if you're shooting a stationary enemy from a steady stance in slomo, they usually take multiple headshots from the Hammerhead, and even when you do headshot them they usually just fall down like it were normal damage. There's a few negative criticisms I disagreed with so I was surprised to disagree with you when you had something nice to say about one of the guns.
I have the unpopular experience of remembering this fondly at the time and being blown away. I remember being surprised when I understood it wasn’t liked.
I liked the game too. The atmosphere was awesome.
My most vivid memory of the campaign was running down corridor after corridor in a replica soldier manufacturing facility and all the pods containing the replicas begin opening up one by one, left and right. Just speaking of it gives me the chills...
Longest video on your channel but your f.e.a.r videos are great really show your passion and talent
Failed to
Escape
Alma's
Rape
It is been a while since I completey agree with someone on TH-cam. I have played Fear 2 immediately after the first one and it was clearly a mistake. You feel immediately that this FPS is more oriented for consoles while the combat feels very weak. I had more the feeling to play a Killzone clone with some horrors elements than a true sequel of Fear.
The only thing Fear 2 does better in my opinion is being able to aim down sights. It probably wouldn’t add much to Fear 1 but it would satisfy my tick
I was so disappointed of F.E.A.R 2:Project Origin. It is because Replica Forces are designed differently from the first F.E.A.R game look at Replica Heavy Armour. It look so different. Unfortunately Replica Heavy Riot Armour didn't appeared. there are also new enemies like Specimen.
Yes finally!!!!! Been waiting for this.
I wonder why I even was on the official Project Origin forums, it as if we, fans, were talking to air. I don't think they really listened to us that much but only took into account feedback from their old forums: NOLF fans who couldn't stand the serious tone of the original F.E.A.R. The demo that was delivered, didn't even look too much like the original footage that was shown initially. Also I heard stories, there were 2 games being made at once, one for pc and the other for console. The one for pc got shafted along the way. Project Origin was a complete disappointment in the end.
I'm really surprised that despite generally being regarded as "Not as good as the first" that fear 2 actually has a 93% approval rating on steam. Fear 1 has an approval rating of 94%. Which really gives the false impression that the games are of similar quality when they're not. The only thing thats better in Fear 2 imo is the story, but gameplay wise fear 1 is significantly better. I'd even go so far as to state that fear 1 has better art direction (but not necessarily better graphics). Sound design is worse in fear 2. Lighting is worse in fear 2. The fighting arenas are worse. The AI was supposedly improved, but the level design and enemy design makes them perform worse.
Its overall just a significantly worse game, but it still has a good rating on steam. I don't get it.
That’s because Fear 2 was a good game and has its moments; it’s significantly worse than its predecessor.
Some people see improvements on the first one, like color palette and various locations
And somehow fail to see destroyed og fear gameplay, particle effects, broken melee, design inconsistency with og one, lower sound quality, dumbed down guns, more console approach in control and movement and etc
Also, mood switch from action movie to generic military style, which was style at the time
Almost everything, that differ f.e.a.r from many other fps
But, somehow this game improved
Yes🤔🤔🤔
I agree, extraction point should have been the true sequel. Also a tortured soul on a bloody vendetta having sex with you and getting pregnant as the result??? Ouch...
Fear 1 isn't sold on the Microsoft store. But currently, fear 2 is $5....what even?
The disabling extra mouse buttons was probably done because of a specific bug with logitech mice in FEAR 1. In FEAR 1 if you ever used a logitech mouse it would often cause insane stutter to the point where the game was pretty much unplayable, and the only solution was to disable the extra mouse buttons. Monolith apparently tried to patch it out but it was so hard-coded into the engine it couldn't be fixed (this is why the same problem happens in Condemned: Criminal Origins). Since FEAR 2 is using FEAR 1's engine, they probably just decided it was easier to make the game based around not needing extra buttons and disable them so it didn't have this problem, since switching engines would've been significantly more difficult.
I think I read that the reason FEAR 2's laser weapon lists to the top left is because the weapon is used in game by heavily armored units, so for a normal guy its supposed to seem unwieldy. It do look broken tho.
I also didn't like how everyone can have superhuman reflexes after a "surgery" now. The pointman has this since birth through some abhorrent genetic meddling, and it was not even an intended outcome, it's a side affect of the failed telepathy experiment. It does kinda ruin the epicness that the first game built aroud the "successful failure first prototype".
Doesn't Fear 3 retcon how the point man got his slow mo powers to fit with Beckett more?
I actually liked the AR and SMG in Fear 2 better but that’s it, otherwise first is superior
dude the SMG in FEAR 2 is the worst. are you high?
In my opinion, F.E.A.R. 2 actually has a solid gameplay. But as for narrative and campaign is relatively short. It took me only 6 hours to beat the sequel.
Three hours for F.E.A.R. 3 because that F.E.A.R. is really bloody short and lack of scare and atmosphere. Gameplay however is pretty decent.
Yup, I agree with you devoting that time to the game's visuals, they do matter. It doesn't look that bad technically, just distasteful. Like these sparkly gifs with sugary cartoon animals holding hearts.
16:20 I find it odd... that the melee is less effective in fear 2, leading you to believe that the hitboxes are just "more accurate".
The first person model in Fear 1, is the 3rd person model, so you see exactly where your foot is actually going. In Fear 2 they wanted a prettier 1st person model, so now, you have no idea where your melee is actually landing...
Excellent work and very well argued. You're a legend bro.
MGS1 Graphics aren’t the best when you look back at it but it’s still a Masterpiece
FEAR 2 Seems like a clear victim of a PC centric franchise trying to target consoles as a main platform in the sequel, leading to WAY less ambition and even multiple areas that feel like full blown down grades relative to a much older game. FEAR OG was an ambitious, bold and boundary pushing game for it's time, and this is such a safe, lazy and technically unambitious sequel that it's hard to believe the same team made this. Everytime I go back and try to give this game another shot I end up just reinstalling FEAR 1 & Extraction Point because they are objectively better video games almost across the board, & especially in regards to combat and AI
I genuinely enjoyed FEAR 3 more than 2, I guess it just felt like 2 didn't know what it wanted to be.
waited so long for this one
Nothing pisses me off more than a short sprint meter. After playing Black Mesa I can't deal with it anymore in Half Life 2. Plus Half Life 2 has so many big open maps It makes it even worse. sv_infinite_aux_power 1 all day!
I'm wanting a fear 4 where half the game is a third person stealth type game playing as Alma's third child, a girl who is on her way to becoming as warped as her mother, but on the run from armacham, kinda like a reverse horror where you butcher and scare the fuck outta the enemy, tearing locations apart, all that, and the second half can be pointman trying to get to his sister first, constantly a step behind, the levels are essentially the same layout but left in the state the player leaves them in as the kid and the enemy type changes depending on whether the kid massacred or spared the enemy
When I saw how nauseatingly narrow the FOV was I thought - “Here we go, $h!¥¥ console port inbound.” Then I realised you couldn’t rebind the keys properly. Which supported my suspicion. Then I realised it had committed the cardinal sin of removing lean n’ shoot. This confirmed it. $h!¥¥ console port (or nerfed to make it ‘console friendly’). Most disappointing sequel ever, and objectively a bad game full stop.
13:01 that sounds like an actually intresting idea for a video game. I would play it.
Back when I first played this when it first came out and even playing the demo I knew there was something very off about it and couldn't put my finger on it and you just expressed what was wrong with it and it could've done so much better.
"I'm gonna review FEAR 3." Curious, what about the expansion Reborn? (If done already then my apologies)
What happened to the A.I. in this crap? The enemy AI literally MADE the original, along with the great sound, weapon feel, particle effects and lighting. Everything gone in this one.
Hey Jarek, cool video man.
So.
When are you getting around to reviewing Alien rage(CI games) and Pariah(digital extremes or epic games dont remember)
Would love to hear your analysis of these games.
Stay safe brother.
You're forced to wander aimlessly much of the time. A pace-killer. The devs are too vague about what to do and go. Shows its age there, I guess. Great fun, then a total bore, great fun, total... you know what? Let's play something, anything else.
Fear 1 is just perfect I love it so much.
Trying to play FEAR2 on hard difficulty wasnt fun.
I think the 3 Medkit limit ruined my fun