Given the recent competition then, you might expect these two expansions to at least be on a par with their predecessor to make them worthy of your time. Sadly, they aren’t, feeling more like regression than progression and a quick cash-in before the publishers get round to releasing a proper sequel. It is perhaps worth noting at the outset that neither Extraction Point nor Perseus Mandate were developed by Monolith, makers of the original F.E.A.R.. Instead development duties have been passed on to TimeGate Studios this time, famous for making such illustrious titles as, well, erm, there must be one? Oh yes, Axis & Allies – A PC strategy game. So that’s alright then.
From the outset, it’s obvious that the same care and attention lavished on F.E.A.R hasn’t been applied here. Neither of the titles included in this bundle is a looker. Whilst the original F.E.A.R. never pushed the 360 to it’s graphical limits, it’s not hard to imagine Extraction Point running on the original Xbox. Both titles suffer from ropey collision detection, with Extraction Point being particularly poor in this regard.
In fact, looks aside, Extraction Point is certainly the weaker of the two offerings. The plot continues from where F.E.A.R. left off, following your anonymous special ops agent as he fights his way from a helicopter crash, following his airborne escape from the Armacham explosion at the end of the last game, to the titular extraction point. Sadly, TimeGate have used this as an opportunity to reuse most of the last game and make it a bit worse. By a silly contrived plot twist Paxton Fettel returns, along with his army of telepathically-controlled replica soldiers which means essentially that you’ll find yourself trudging through more or less the same environments, fighting the same enemies, and using the same guns that you did last time. Except this time, Monolith’s clever level design, which showed off the excellent enemy-AI routines to their fullest is gone. Instead, the levels are incredibly linear and either filled with chokepoints or long-range gun battles where the blend of AI, slow-mo powers and gunplay don’t work as well and don’t create the sense of tension that the first game did. Of course, this being an expansion there’s a couple of uninspired new enemies and guns, but it doesn’t help to relieve the crushing feeling of repetition and monotony that pervades Extraction Point.
On a brighter note, Perseus Mandate is more accomplished than its companion. This time, you’re case as another F.E.A.R. operative, working with another squad trying to recover, erm, something. Again, the plot is waifer thin and little more than the thinnest of excuses to shoot things. However, that the events in Perseus Mandate run concurrently with those in F.E.A.R and Extraction Point causes an interesting conundrum. In the original F.E.A.R. the agent’s abilities were meant to be unique, yet here we play a completely different character who, quite handily it transpires, has exactly the same unique abilities. Was someone at the back not listening the first time?
You’ll immediately notice that Perseus Mandate is a step up from Extraction Point graphically and you’ll also notice the inclusion of a couple of ethnically diverse, wise-cracking, team-mates to accompany you. However, you’ll also notice that you’re strolling through office complexes, research labs and the like again and that, as with the original F.E.A.R. your team-mates are shepherded off down a different path. Occasionally, you’ll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them against the enemy, and its here you’ll realise that they couldn’t hit the proverbial barn door. The level design of Perseus Mandate is a step in the right direction, although it never hits the heights of F.E.A.R itself, it’s far superior to Extraction Point. Throw in a better selection of new weaponry and some tougher, though equally repetitive new enemies and Perseus Mandate is a better prospect all round, although that’s not to say that its on a par with even the original F.E.A.R..
Of course, F.E.A.R. isn’t just about shooting stuff, it’s about scaring the player. Sadly the scares on offer here are another element of gameplay that never better the original, there’s nothing here we haven’t seen done better before and everything feels a little over the top, as if smearing a bit more blood around makes things scarier. It doesn’t.
On top of the roughly six hours of gameplay that each expansion offers, F.E.A.R. Files also reprises the original’s instant action mode. Featuring a number of set-pieces from the expansions as stand-alone levels you’re charged with notching up the highest score possible by shooting enemies. It’s quite compulsive, but hardly reason enough to buy this game. The competent online mode returns, but this is now populated by extremely hardcore F.E.A.R. fans, who will take great pleasure in thoroughly beating you. It’s hardly a welcoming place.
F.E.A.R. Files is, to steal an adage, a game of two halves. Extraction Point struggles to be mediocre at best, whilst Perseus Mandate offers a better experience, if one which struggles to be anything other than slightly above average. Whilst there’s plenty here to keep fans of F.E.A.R. happy, it’s telling that the game from which both of these titles derive is still significantly better in terms of design and playability.
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