Dirigible of Pain

This, sadly, is a hard review for me. For years I have been a diehard fanboy of the FEAR series, throwing myself in the original FEAR and playing it to death along with the expansion Extraction Point. Like a giddy little school girl I waited eagerly for the sequel since hearing about it back in December, and when the demo was available for Steam I downloaded it as soon as it was available and played it over and over again for at least two weeks. Now here I am, having just freshly come off of beating the game after receiving it in the mail yesterday evening with a overwhelming feeling disappointment and confusion. The fear is sadly absent from FEAR 2 Project Origins. Let me explain.

You see I’m a huge fan of the video game horror genre, games like the Fatal Frame series, the first few Silent Hill games, and of course Eternal Darkness for the Game Cube (One of the most under rated games of all times by the way, check it out if you get a chance.) And I’ve been a fan of FPS games since the dawn of Doom, losing myself for weeks at a time in the many sequels of Doom, Quake, and of course Medal of Honor……so getting into the FEAR series was rather a no brainer for me. The first game fed my desire for pulse pounding, mouse destroying FPS action, running and gunning till my heart’s content, squealing in glee as I pin enemy after enemy to the wall with the Penetrator….which of course gets a name change in FEAR 2, but I digress. Now couple that with the terrifying sequences of Alma popping up and messing with your head, along with the creepy whispers of the Replica army’s General Paxton Fettel left me at the edge of my seat screaming colorful variations of “Get some!” and “ Holy Sh!t, what the F- was that….OH GOD!” If you ever listened to me on The Game Master Show you know how “articulate” I can be with my choice of words.

By now you are probably wondering why I keep babbling about the first game and its expansion and not getting to the actual review of FEAR 2, I’m trying to illustrate a point. FEAR 2 has a huge wet steamy serving of the hardcore FPS action, while offering little to none of the scares and thrills that blanketed the first game that kept its predecessor fresh and interesting. Yes, there were a few tense moments in the game when Alma would show up and decided to mess with your head, but it seemed very rushed and almost added as some afterthought like a Michael Bay’s horror movie remake. It was as if someone in the development team forgot that FEAR was suppose to be a horror game, and just hastily threw in some scenes pretending that they were frightening. Honestly, the first FEAR had me jumping in my seat, leaned over the keyboard to where my nose was practically hitting the monitor, damn near FEARful (get it?) to turn the next corner. The magic frankly was gone. No tense scenes, no me accidently waking up someone in my house screaming like some flipped out girl at a Justin Timberlake concert because something nearly scared the crap out of me, just me sitting there during the “scary” parts going “Seriously? That’s it?”

And well as I said there was a bit of confusion that occurred in the game along with the overwhelming feeling of disappointment. Now I consider myself a relatively intelligent person, not exactly the most book smart individual, but I know how to put my pants on and can generally tell you while watching a murder mystery movie that without a doubt the butler didn’t do it…..and be right. So I come to the ending of the FEAR 2, and I promise I won’t give anything away, but as it ended suddenly and the credits began to roll I found myself blinking in a befuddled manner before standing up with my arms outstretched yelling “What the F@#K just happened!?” I mean I think I can tell you how the game ended, what about six hours of game play led to at the very end…but I’m not certain. Now by no means do I need everything that happens spelled out for me, but some clarification would have been appreciated.

With all that said however I can’t call FEAR 2 a bad game, it was a solid FPS, and had moments in fire fights where I found myself gleefully grinning while clicking away at my mouse lighting up Replica soldiers while other members of the squad that the main character belongs to let forth some amusing action movie lines while tearing down baddies like “Man this is therapeutic!” But for me the game left me wanting, the horror and suspense that drew me to the FEAR series was all but gone. If you like FPS games, this is certainly a game that is worth your while to play, and if you enjoyed the previous installments of the FEAR series you may care for it as well…..but hardcore fans such as myself may find it more than a little lacking.

Popularity: 80%

Zombies, gotta love them.  They are a source of a near endless fount of pleasure and pain in the horror genre. From tacky B movies, to block buster hits…and of of course who can forget hours of running around in various video games blasting through hordes of the undead army with a 12 gauge shotgun of justice?  Left 4 Dead is one of those games, but it’s not for everyone. Let me elaborate, with perhaps a little bit of bias.

I’m one of the many who enjoy the zombie genre of gaming, I’ve waded my way through seas of the undead in games dating back to Doom to more recent titles such as Resident Evil 4 and Dead Rising. So of course I had to run out and buy, or actually in my case download from Steam, Left 4 Dead.

Now first off I would like to say that if you are looking for an epic game with a engrossing storyline and pivotal plot points then Left 4 Dead is not going to deliver for you, I’d suggest looking into Fallout 3 which my friend Vandermore has recently reviewed.  However, if you’re looking for a pulse pounding game that will have you bent over your keyboard gritting your teeth and furiously clicking away abusing your mouse, or gripping your Xbox 360 controller so tight that your knuckles turn white then look no further.

There’s no explanation, no reason for this outbreak, no in depth background to the four playable characters. In fact all the characters have the same basic qualities with nothing extra to offer other than flavor in looks and personality, but to me that is part of the charm.  And to be honest, the amusing little jabs the characters take at each other, and the random muttering they utter to themselves when the find weapons such as “Ooohh, this looks dangerous” makes up for the lack of story.

Now you’re probably reading this asking yourself why should I spend my hard earned money on this game, it sounds awful. Well I have just one thing to say, action. Pulse pounding, blood pressure raising, gonna need a change of shorts, action. Within the first five minutes of game I had dozens of zombies throwing themselves at me growling for my flesh, with me screaming a few choice words at my monitor and being damn thankful that I popped the extra money for a gaming mouse that could take the abuse that I’m about to put it through. And this where I actually believe that the lack of story actually helps this game, no dramatic story about how you are this lone gun man with this traumatic past trying to wrestle your demons and right the wrongs you’ve committed.  No, you’re just in Sh!t and you’re trying the best you can to get out alive…and save the other three that are with you along the way.

If you’re a fan of action or the zombie genre, this game is certainly for you. There are at least four hours of solid game play through it’s four scenarios, and of course the endless possibilities for online playing as well. My only complaint I have at this point is that four boards seem awfully short, and unless you are an action junkie or someone who just likes the gratifying splat of zombie goo, that’s really not offering much. But to be fair to Valve, I love this genre so much I’ve gone back and played each campaign twice and I find myself trying to unlock all of the achievements.  Knowing Valve however they will address this like they have with Team Fortress 2 and add new campaigns at a later date.

Though not for everyone, Left 4 Dead will deliver for the demographic it’s aiming for. And if you give this game a try you might find yourself sitting there yelling into your monitor at a zombie that just tried to take a bite out of your arse “How ’bout a face full of Shotgun instead!? BLAM!” I know I did, and yes thats a exact quote.

Popularity: 75%