Thoughts on “Fear 2: Project Origin + DLC” – 360
What can I say about Fear 2? Well, being October, and after dealing with the epic Final Fantasy FAIL, I felt I should play through some of the horror games in my collection. After blasting through the Condemned games, I figured I’d finish up the Monolith horror fest. With that said, here are some quick thoughts on the game.
COMBAT
The combat in Fear 2 was a lot of the same seen in fear one. Somewhat competent AI, slow mo bullet time effects, and a small arsenal of interesting weapons. Nothing ground breaking but fun none the less. I will say that the AI this time around was pretty smart at times. I cant remember the last time in a game the AI would pin me down, flank me, and then chuck grenades at me to flush me out of cover. Fun, Frustrating at times, and gratifying when you can pull yourself out of a sticky situation.
ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere this time around is mixed. You spend a lot of time wondering around spooky locations either enduring a ferocious battle against an onslaught of enemies, or tyring to find yourself around “conveniently” place obstacles. I mean, how many times can a gas pipe break and catch fire right in front of the exit?
The scary factor here wasn’t anything special. Sure some locations were spooky, but the Alma scenes just seemed so… Lame. It’s almost like they resorted to the “jumping out from a corner” way of trying to scare you, rather than really try to mess with your head. I just remember the original FEAR being a great deal more cerebral and spooky.
STORY
The story was so-so. They portray it in a way that just doesn’t fill in enough blanks. I would have expected more of a connection with the main character and the people he comes in contact with, but they just didn’t seem to put that much thought into it. Just a silent soldier being hunted by a crazy ghost ..demon…thing. I will say, it does move pretty quickly, and the levels seemed to last FOREVER. I just wish in the end they would have chosen to fill you in with vital information in the form of dialogue, rather than making you locate INTEL and read your way through information trying to decipher what’s happening. Not terrible, but could have been so much better.
LASTING APPEAL
The games ran around 8 or 9 hours, not including the DLC campaign. There are checkpoints all over the place, so you won’t find yourself back tracking, and I found the Normal difficulty perfect. This meaning it was not too hard and not too easy. In, my opinion I believe the length of this game was good and makes it something easy to jump into and be done with. It’s a fun experience, but if it were much longer I think I would have lost interest. There is also multiplayer, but I didn’t give it a try. I have found in the past that if a game isn’t one of the big 2 (Halo, COD) then there aren’t many matches to join.
DLC: FEAR 2: REBORN
A bit overpriced for the hour of entertainment it brings, but price aside, not a bad little add-on. It’s actually an add-on that expands the story and seems like it should have been included in the game. Maybe wait for a sale on it as 10.00 seems a bit steep for so little.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Fear 2 was fun, and I enjoyed my time playing it. It didn’t completely meet my expectations, but didn’t fall flat either. At around 8-10 hours with the DLC it drew my attention long enough to run through it with relative ease. Sure it could be frustrating at times, but overcoming these parts actually became part of the fun. I would say that this is worth a play through, but as a rent or used purchase. I believe I got my copy for around $15, and I’m rather satisfied with my purchase. In the end, if you’re looking for a great FPS, then there are so many more options. If you are looking for an FPS with some neat twists and a horror theme, then this will serve you well for a couple of sessions.
Thoughts on “Condemned 2: Bloodshot”
First off ill say that this was a big step up from the originally. The fighting, timing, and aiming all felt a bit more natural. The graphics and voice acting in the game also trump that of the original. Just a fun game with some truly memorable and F’ed up scenes. One thing I want to mention is that the story is so-so, and I just didn’t find it interesting. I also became annoyed with the amount of firearms there were in the game, especially near the end. Not a deal breaker by any means, but still annoying as this series is supposed to be centered on Melee combat. All in all I would say with was a much better gaming experience then the original and a great short horror title to keep you busy. 8-10 hours completion. Rent or Pick up Used.
Thoughts on “Condemned: Criminal Originals”– 360
This is one I’ve been meaning to play for awhile. Not because I heard it was good, but because it had an interesting emphasis on melee combat (that’s something I just haven’t seen very much of) and a horror theme that that was appealing. Was it worth it in the end? Not really. At first the game serves to entertain and has its chilling moments, but after awhile can start to get frustrating. The story seems to makes sense and actually starts getting very interesting up until about ¾ of the way through, the writers must have bumped there heads, forgot what they were doing, and just went off into left field. I mean, this game takes such a 90 degree turn it’s not even funny. You go from a CSI meets the fugitive type game, to something…else.
That aside, the gameplay was OK, for awhile, but became frustrating as the game moved on. It seemed that most of the combat relied on the “block, counter, back off” formula over and over, forever and ever, until you just can’t take it anymore. And while this doesn’t exactly SEEM horrible at first, the timing for blocking is odd, frustrating, and just becomes infuriating as the battles become more intense. Non regenerative health is a downside here and the one seemingly cool gadget upgrade you appear to get in this game gets ripped away from you right when you need it the most. Like I said earlier, way off into left field. The experience wasn’t horrible mind you but was frustrating, and I began losing my interest around the last couple chapters. I see this as more of a seasonal game, meaning, play it if you want something spooky and First person, but if you’ve got other things to play, don’t choose this one over something else. I believe the game took around 6-8 hours to complete and allows you to change the difficultly level if you should need it. Rent or pick it up really cheap used.
Torchlight: Final Thoughts
I’ve been AWOL for awhile and haven’t posted much. For this I can blame one game: Torchlight. Details after the jump.
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Shadow Complex: Final Thoughts
Short, Sweet, and awesome. More after the jump.
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Thoughts on Two Uwe Boll Films
Far Cry
I expected nothing and that’s what I got. The acting was terrible. Dialogue very bad, and acting just horrible on some parts. The camera work in some fight scenes was dizzying, and weak to today’s standards. I don’t know why this guy is making such a big deal about this film as if truly is a BAD film. Not recommended, but Available for streaming if you have Netflix.
Rampage
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The camera work in the first 15 -20 minutes or so of the movie was crappy and disorienting. Not the dialogue moments mind you, but the shots back and forth between points in time. This aside, Brendan Fletchers performance was very good and the overall direction of the movie shocking. Not an academy award winner by any means, but for shock value and dark humor I think it was excellent. Much better than anything else I’ve seen come from Uwe Boll. Available for streaming if you have Netflix.
Mass Effect 2: Quick Final Thoughts
There is no doubt that Bioware knows how to tell a story. From their classic hit KOTOR, to this latest entry Mass Effect 2, they have more than proven that they know what they are doing. There is a great deal to say about this game, but I will keep it brief.
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