FEAR: Extraction Point

L31mr0d

Anybody played this yet? Feck me it scared the bejasus out of me. I actually nearly turned it off one night because my hand was shaking so much on the mouse.

I watched "The grudge" the day after completing it and nearly laughed how stupid it was compared to FEAR: Extraction Point. The scene with Douglas Holiday is one that will live in my nightmares for years to come :eek:

IMO, it was a lot more tense then the original game, with a lot more freaky noises, invisible characters, doors opening and closing suddenly, things appearing right in front of your eyes (note: if you haven't played it yet, whenever there is anything in the distance behind a door which you have to squint to make out, expect something to suddenly smash against the glass you are looking through)

This being said, and soilage aside, the storyline hasn't really been developed much more, it really just follows your character moving through the city trying to get to... you guessed it... the extraction point. You get to it and its game over. Would of liked a little bit more info about Alma, rather than her just crawling along the ground, dripping hair all over her face screaming at you incessantly "why won't she stop"

If you're into horrors because you like to be made to jump, then this game is for you. Its made even better if you have a decent soundcard and headphones to get the real feeling like you are immersed in the game. Although I would recommend playing it for maybe an hour or so at a time. I played it for 4 hours straight one night and I had so much adrenalin pumping through my blood I couldn't sleep for hours, theres maybe at least one scary bit every 20 minutes.

Compared to the original, it is a lot scarier imo. But where the original made up ground was the storyline which has all but been forgotten in this expansion pack.

EDIT: Title change... I can't do and write something at the same time :rolleyes:

Retr0gamer

A case of crossed wires methinks.

kaimera

*chuckle*

Quick turn around with a Prey expansion already.

FEAR: EP on the other hand is very solid. I'm sure they graphics have been given some nice tweaking but could be the latest patch I kept neglecting.

Only a wee bit into it but impressed. Whatever it is that's invisible...damn them. Can't wait to finish it after exams.

savemejebus

Got this for a song the other day so am looking forward to starting it this weekend.

AFAIK though the expansion pack was done by a different studio to the original, as the developers of FEAR severed their links with the original publisher (vivendi) and that's why the storyline wasn't expanded.

I think there is going to be a proper sequel but it will be under a different name because vivendi own the rights to the Fear name etc.

L31mr0d

lol... how didn't I spot that, tis been rectified. I was installing Prey whilst writing this review, who says men can't do two things at once

Yeah Monolith did the original and Time gate took over for the expansion pack. They did a pretty good job or following in their footsteps, in fact, I think they did better. The original FEAR didn't scare me that much at all, but this one built up the tension brilliantly. Like all great horrors it isn't about the big scares every 30 minutes, its about the little ones, like a bird suddenly flying out in front of you, a light flickering, a bottle falling over that keep you on the edge of your seat for every minute of the movie. The gaps between the scares in the original where too long, also I never genuinely felt in danger in any of the gun fights, where in this one they routinely push you right down to the last clip of your weapon. Some fights I had to do over 3 or 4 times before making it through with decent health and enough ammo to continue (I don't like to quiksave until i've completed a battle sequence.)

I'll give an example, there is a point when you are have to fight your way down through a carpark, past a load of soldiers and mech warriors, and this goes on for a long time. I get down to one level and i'm positive it must be over then I turn a corner and there's this massive mech warrior waiting (these are a feckin bugger to kill, and they are equipped with automatic rocker launchers) I see a door into a utility room on the right so I go in, pick up the med kit, and decide to take a breather for a minute to recharge my bullet time before going out again to fight the thing as I assume its too big to fit through the door and won't be able to get at me. In that second the mech comes along and rips the wall off the side of the utility room??? I'm like "wtf", so I run out and hide behind a piller, the mech picks up one of the cars throws it at the pillar destroying it and sends a melee of rockets at me. At this point I had to pause it and save. My point is that they don't give you a minute to catch a breather, you are either fighting or being scared, there is no exploring or just walking around, and the AI of the soldiers is amazing, they don't make it easy for you, the soldiers flank you if you wait behind a crate too long and they have no problem all throwing grenades at you then attacking from all sides.

It's probably the first FPS in a long time that i'll be replaying again shortly, and thats saying something because I haven't even replayed the original or played multiplayer.

Beelzebub

I thought that 'The Suffering' was much more scary. And I would highly recommend it!
I might check out this expansion pack though...especially if it's 'going for a song'

Gizzle

Nah, I think Torque was far too much of a badass in The Suffering for it to be very scary. There were even points where I felt sorry for the hordes of undead beasties, especially when you went in to rage mode!