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F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

From F.E.A.R.

This is the article about the video game. For the Experiment of the same name, see Project Origin.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is the sequel to F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon, developed by Monolith Productions for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. A demo unrelated to the campaign is currently available for all formats. The game was released on February 10, 2009, in the North American region, and in Europe on Febuary 13, 2009.

Contents

[edit] Development

The follow-up has stayed in F.E.A.R.'s existing universe, retaining the original storyline and characters, although it doesn't recognize the events of F.E.A.R. Extraction Point or F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate. The game was shown for the first time at the 2007 E3 Expo with an Xbox 360 demo. The demo footage showcased the game's enhanced Jupiter EX engine, and reveals glimpses of the plot, starting with a cutscene of Michael Becket undergoing surgery overseen by Genevieve Aristide, with unexplained complications, later revealed to be cause by Alma Wade. The game showcases a more varied level design than in F.E.A.R.. Medkits have returned from F.E.A.R..

[edit] Plot

The sequel to F.E.A.R. continues the supernatural suspense story of the supernatural being, Alma, whose rage against those who wronged her caused her to begin an escalating paranormal crisis that threatens to devour and replace reality with her own.[5] Instead of playing as the Point Man, the game's protagonist is Michael Becket, a Delta Force operator [6] whose squad is sent in to arrest Genevieve Aristide approximately thirty minutes before the ending of F.E.A.R.

The game opens with Alma swinging on a swing next to a tree, before the screen goes bloody, then going to Becket experiencing a hallucination involving a ruined city, where he sees Alma walking along. He follows Alma, before falling down a glowing yellow hole next to the tree and swing (appearing again). As he recovers, Alma's child form grabs him before suddenly disappearing, with it turning out to be Redd Jankowski (a teammate of his squad), before he is sat down by Lt Stokes who initializes his visor. Becket's squad arrives at the penthouse complex where Aristide lives, only to find it under assault by a black ops team of mercenaries dispatched by Armacham's Board of Directors. After saving Aristide, Becket uncovers hints of a project known as "Harbinger," which involves himself and several of his teammates. Aristide claims that Becket and his team are the only way to stop Alma, but before she can elaborate, the F.E.A.R. Point Man detonates the Origin Facility's reactor. Becket is knocked unconscious in the explosion.

When he comes to, Becket finds he is being operated on by a team of doctors under Aristide, and begins seeing more visions of Alma. After he recovers, Becket find himself in a hospital deep underground, along with the rest of his squad. The hospital comes under attack by ATC clean-up crews led by Colonel Richard Vanek, and Becket must fight his way out. While escaping, Becket receives communications over his radio from a man who calls himself "Snake Fist". On the way out of the hospital Becket finds Sgt. Redd torn up by a surgical machine. After escaping the hospital and confronting the commander of the ATC forces, Becket fights his way to the surface, encountering the reactivated Replica troops. As he moves to the surface, Becket is also repeatedly physically assaulted in hand-to-hand combat by Alma, who Snake Fist says is trying to "absorb" Becket, drawn by the psychic signal he now emits after his operation.

After reaching the surface, Becket regroups with what is left of his team, many of whom have been systematically killed by Alma. Now consisting only of Becket himself, his superior Lieutenant Stokes, and Sergeants Manuel Morales and Harold Keegan, the squad moves to nearby Wade Elementary, an Armacham-controlled school where Snake Fist and Aristide are hiding. Once he reaches the basement, Becket discovers that the basement of the school is another Armacham research facility, for a project known as "Paragon." Here, Becket discovers that Project Harbinger was an attempt to create more psychic commanders similar to Paxton Fettel without the use of Alma wade and that Becket and Keegan were the most promising subjects. Project Paragon, meanwhile, is intended to condition psychically-gifted children to work for ATC.

In the basement facility, Becket kills Colonel Vanek and finds Snake Fist. Snake Fist reveals himself as a researcher for Armacham, and explains that the only way to defeat Alma is to travel to an Armacham base inside a nuclear reactor underneath nearby Still Island, which houses a device that can amplify psychic power. With this device, Becket can possibly defeat Alma with his own psychic abilities. Snake Fist insists that they must leave immediately, then presents Beckett with an experimental weapon he took from the facility. Upon taking the weapon, a Replica Assassin jumps down from the ledge and decapitates Snake fist, instantly killing him.

En route to Still Island, Becket's squad is ambushed by Replica troops, and Sergeant Keegan wanders off in a daze during the battle. Becket follows and tries to recover Keegan, but is instead delayed by Replica forces. After fighting off both the enemy soldiers and more of Alma's assaults, he eventually reunites with the remainder of the squad underneath Still Island and heads for the Armacham facility. Becket enters the psychic amplifier, and as Stokes prepares to power up the machine, she is interrupted by Genevieve Aristide, who explains that she operated on Becket so he would serve as a lure for Alma. Instead of destroying her, Aristide plans to seal Becket and Alma inside the device together, so Aristide can use Alma as leverage against Armacham. Stokes disagrees with the action Artistide is about to perform, and reaches for her gun but is shot by Artistide before she could shoot her. Stokes collapses, with her ultimate fate unknown.

Alma then appears, then Artistide seals the device, with Alma staring into Becket's eye, with Becket sent into another hallucination, where he fights off apparitions of a maddened Sergeant Keegan while trying to activate the amplifier and destroy Alma. As Becket fights Keegan, the battle is interspersed with images of Alma raping him. Finally, after activating the last switch, Becket escapes the hallucination to find himself sealed inside the device. Suddenly, the device is unsealed from the outside by Alma, and Becket, securely strapped to the chair inside the device, is at her mercy. Instead of killing him, Alma walks up to Becket and reveals she is pregnant (as she is shown with a swollen belly; clearly indicating pregnancy). She used the psychic link forged with him, while he was effectively trapped in the hallucinations, to conceive a baby with him. Alma proves the child is his by taking Becket's hand and gently placing it over her stomach. The game ends as Becket hears the child say Mommy inside Alma's body.

[edit] Expansion

An expansion to the single player campaign was released on September 2nd, 2009. Titled F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn, the player assumes the role of a replica soldier codenamed Foxtrot 813 instead of Michael Becket as he is still thought to be in the custody of Alma.

[edit] Demo

See F.E.A.R. 2 Demo.

[edit] Design

F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon, though highly praised by critics for it's suspenseful atmosphere, intelligent AI, and kinetic gunplay, was widely criticized for it's unimaginative level design, and the fact that the main horror element Alma, and her minions, hardly ever physically interacted with the Point Man. Taking these things into consideration, Monolith Productions has improved several aspects of design in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. With the recent changes made to the Jupiter EX engine, the team of developers at Monolith have added substantial detail and color into the F.E.A.R. universe with carefully designed levels full of real-world objects; these can be used for cover via an action button command to flip over or slide suitable objects. The game also boasts a redesigned damage system which allows Michael Beckett to tear apart everything from cars to buildings.

As for the horror element, John Mulkey, Lead Designer for F.E.A.R 2, has stated several times that Alma will "touch" Beckett more, suggesting that the physical interaction that F.E.A.R. had lacked will become an ongoing part of the storyline in the sequel. Also, the creation of a new enemy, the Remnants, will increase the amount of physical interaction between Beckett, and the forces of Alma, giving the Player a more intense experience.

[edit] Problems

F.E.A.R. 2 is known to have several problems in all versions that include; PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. The most common problems with the PC version range from trouble installing, to crashing during load, and audio problems. There has not been any clear solutions, and the patches released don't seem to address the most serious problems. The [ official forums] still have the majority of post from people who cant seem to get past loading.

[edit] Patches

Since its release there have been 2 patches released.

[edit] Trivia

  • See Easter Eggs for a list of in-jokes and interesting items present in the game.
  • For an April Fools' joke, the official F.E.A.R. 2 site announced that the next game would be a prequel to the first F.E.A.R.. Referencing criticism of the quick time events in F.E.A.R. 2, they stated the new game would consist entirely of quick time events, and would allow the player to control Alma on her swing, try not to fall asleep in Wade Elementary School, and enjoy the "Alma Ball."

[edit] Characters

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