F.E.A.R. 2: best of the series?

[Flogger23m]

I think FEAR 2 was the scariest. FEAR 3 was an action shooter and disappointing, but it was still solid enough. Should have been a different game.

 

[80251]

I've only played thru the 1st level of FEAR 3 but it's kinda stupid that bullets don't go through wire mesh-hurricane type fences and what's even worse is that the AI will continuously try to shoot through such fences.

 

[Artas1984]

I have recently finished F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin on hard difficulty without any deaths (yes, including the last fight with Keegan). It was a frustrating trip - i can't recall an FPS game where hard difficulty would be this challenging... Fuck me sideways! Some of the levels i had to restart like 20 times in order to finish without a death, so ye... I also accomplished the same with F.E.A.R. 2 Reborn - that was an easier trip in comparison. I've played these games like 10 years ago on normal difficulty, but never dwelt into the storylines, only now i had a real blast immersing myself and reading all the story data!

I do acknowledge the worsened or bad gameplay elements that FEAR 2 "incorporated" - ruined combat algorythm that forces enemies to come from single directions mostly, worse ragdoll physics implementation, unnecesary blur effect upon slow motion, over-saturated and sometimes unrealistic graphical effects, useless melee combat, worsened in-game sound design, not so memorable soundtrack, shity feedback from some of the guns, but i also acknowledge that FEAR 2 incorporated some improvements over FEAR 1 - actualy beutiful level design with some eye widening visuals, new gameplay elements like operating giant robots, gun iron sights, an actual flashlight that lasts, sprint (even if it is short), and last but not least - way better story telling and characters. Overall original FEAR & Extraction Point, of course, were much better games, but i definitely think FEAR 2 was a good game, and despite it's many drawbacks i somehow enjoyed it a lot (unlike FEAR 3, which sucked and should not have existed, but i did finish that too recently just for "full experience").

 

[Splinterdog]

It's a fun game and for one that was made 15 years ago, it still stands up well today. I'm single player only and well crafted FPS/SP games such as this are far and few between nowadays.
My only gripe is that they removed the manual save.
I also love games where you end up in a hospital/prison or similar and need to find a weapon and fight your way out. It really creates challenge and continuity.

 

[Klemc]

F.3.a.r only has been good.

 

[Event Horizon]

I played them all but I enjoyed the first one and it's non-canon expansions the best. It's a shame the subgenre has kind of died.

 

[67Elco]

Played so many hours in online MP I can't recall, but I do know it was the most hacked game in pc gaming history.

 

[Artas1984]

Played so many hours in online MP I can't recall, but I do know it was the most hacked game in pc gaming history.

Are we talking about FEAR 2 MP? Was that even a thing? I have only heard about FEAR Combat and the pathetic excuse for a "multiplayer" in FEAR 3. What are you saying? Everyone was cheating like crazy in FEAR 2?

 

[LabRat 891]

FEAR 2 was one of the *very* few games that ever gave me the sensation of
"Playing *in* a Movie".

Other than the infamous ending, it's a very good 'cinematic' story-driven FPS.

 

[Hyderz]

I enjoyed piloting the mech in fear 3, sadly I couldn’t fight Alma in it

 

[purecain]

Fear and fear 2 were so ahead of their time. The games took 10yrs to get hardware that had the rasterization ability to play maxed out. Cool ass game.

 

[alwayssts]

Fear and fear 2 were so ahead of their time. The games took 10yrs to get hardware that had the rasterization ability to play maxed out. Cool ass game.

I concur, thread necromancer. While the story is fun (until it's ridiculous/predictable, but then pretty fun again regardless imho) there were certainly moments ahead of their time; including some of the ragdoll effects (which were more fun than they had any right to be). Also cool stuff with Alma (for the time), and the dev team has talked about how much work went into their enemy AI (path-finding). You've probably read some version of them or somebody else talking about it, but it really did add a special something to the experience.

To me, those games were a very much more my speed version of Max Payne (which I played but never particularly enjoyed; not really a noir guy). Never been quite the Remedy/R* type, although I respect them, but I have enjoyed pretty much everything Monolith has made. Very under-rated studio, especially back then, imho. I have no doubt those games are still worth playing, and have probably held up pretty well.

 

[outpt]

Can’t remember how many times I’ve played fear. Never finished the second one or the third. The third one was terrible. Might do the second one again and play though.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

I loved F.E.A.R. and never finished F.E.A.R. 2, I got the 3 on steam, I should give it another try for sure but...F.E.A.R. was really something

It really needs a remaster.

 

[neatfeatguy]

It really needs a remaster.

The game doesn't need a remaster. It plays just fine and provides a good challenge. I played through FEAR and the expansions about 2 years ago, had a good time replaying them.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

The game doesn't need a remaster. It plays just fine and provides a good challenge. I played through FEAR and the expansions about 2 years ago, had a good time replaying them.

Id much prefer a graphical overhaul with the newer bells and whistles.

 

[Space Lynx]

I am going to see if F.E.A.R will work on Steam Deck OLED, been meaning to play those... damn my backlog is so vast ; ; lol

 

[Assimilator]

The first and second installments are some of the greatest games ever made, period. The original's expansions were pretty good too. But probably my favourite thing is the enemy NPCs.

No, I'm not talking about their much-vaunted ambush system (which is fantastic), but the fact that those NPCs don't cheat by knowing where you the player is at all times. They have the same senses as the player, which means if they can't see or hear you, they don't know you are there. Therefore, if you are sufficiently careful, you can very conceivably ambush them.

This allows for play styles other than the gung-ho-time-slowing-super-soldier-charging-into-firefights one that most people employ. In particular, if you play the game ninja-style, you don't ever need to use the slow motion ability because getting the drop on enemies means you can whittle them down to even the odds before they know you're there. It completely changes the equation from "do I have enough bullets and slow-mo time to kill this group of enemies?" to "how can I best approach the location of this group of enemies to kill enough of them to lower their threat level significantly enough that I don't have to fall back on slow-mo?", and that completely changes the flow of play. Instead of being just the same cinematic firefights one after another, it becomes a series of distinct tactical battles, individually shaped by each location's layout, against a numerically superior enemy with the same firepower and reflexes as your character.

For me, stealth honestly feels like the way the games were intended to be played from the start, with the slo-mo added later as a differentiating feature. Once you try stealth you start noticing that the levels are laid out in a way that makes it easier for you to go that route, and that there are little tweaks and props added here and there to facilitate sneaking.

I could go on all day but in short I love these games. Sadly we'll likely never see a decent remaster precisely because the NPCs are programmed so well (not with high complexity, just well); today's "AAA" game developers are simply incapable of the same.

 

[Ruru]

FEAR2 is a way too underrated game. The first one was a masterpiece, but FEAR2 is often overlooked.

 

[GamerGuy]

FEAR is the game that I'd liked to see a remake, much like Dead Space...it deserves that Remake treatment.

 

[Assimilator]

FEAR2 is often overlooked.

I think a lot of people were seriously upset by the ending. Which was kinda the point.

 

[Ruru]

I think a lot of people were seriously upset by the ending. Which was kinda the point.

To be honest, I don't even remember it as it's an eternity since I last finished the game. Need to replay it soon (of course the first game first).

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I've played all the F.E.A.R. titles, and even put a fair bit of time into making a full game video walkthrough of the original on Extreme with Slow Mo no scratch. For it's time the AI and the visuals were stunning. At the time the original was being played by a lot of people shortly after release, I and many others were participating in chat and video capture sharing on the Sierra forums. They ended up having a prize giveaway contest for the best videos submitted, with 6 winners to be selected. A couple of people won video cards, but I got a F.E.A.R. jacket and autographed copy of the game, signed by the whole dev team.

Most submitted singleplayer videos, the better ones using their own voice overs and clever mystery plots. I was the only one who submitted a rather lengthy multiplayer video, which many thought was too long and repetitious. I focused primarily on getting in as much visual gore as I could, a lot of severed bodies. I guess it turns out there's an even bigger following for F.E.A.R.'s story elements as there is for the visuals and effects. I remember there was one quirky thing about the effects though, you'd now and then get bodies stretching weirdly instead of severing.

I still have that mp video on disc, as well as the whole sp walkthrough, but I've only uploaded one to YT, a sub level of Interval 03 Escalation called Bad Water. If you can get past the corny humor I dubbed in via the games audio files (which is just a very short part of the start), it has some pretty good visual effects in it.

As for the thread question, I still feel the original was the best game. Sure, by today's standards it could definitely use at the very least a remaster, but I feel it's the most deserving title for one, as it has the best gameplay IMO.

This is just 360p, so should be viewed embedded or on YT's smallest viewer size. My current rig has no disc drive, so the rest may never get uploaded.

 

[theFOoL]

FEAR is the game that I'd liked to see a remake, much like Dead Space...it deserves that Remake treatment.

What about prototype 1?

 

[Assimilator]

I guess it turns out there's an even bigger following for F.E.A.R.'s story elements as there ais for the visuals and effects.

The story is what elevated the first and second games from FPSs with some cool mechanics and clever NPCs, to cult classic horror games that are actually horrifying.