Game Play: FEAR 2 Early Play

I was supposed to get something out on FEAR 2 earlier, but I only had a 360 copy on hand and my PS3 copy arrived just around the time of Killzone 2.

Which may be something of an analogy, because I think Monolith's latest is a bit of a sleeper. There is a lot of good packed into this title, including some of the most impressive use of in-game set pieces this side of Valve. The team mines the Japanese horror angle for a great deal of material and certainly pulls no punches when it comes to the plot.

This is not your average shooter by any means. I'm maybe half way through the single player (if that) and the game manages to keep a nice even balance of challenge to the play. There's a bit of monotony to the enemies, but often not to the varied tactics they'll use to try to kill you.

If you are a FPS on a console type person, FEAR 2 needs to be on your list somewhere, even if it is a must have rental. I'll be finishing out the single player and getting into the multiplayer later this week.

Watch FEAR Live Tomorrow, Friday the 13th

For those of us not lucky enough to win the FEAR 2 competition where you get whisked off to a secret location to frag the hell out of anyone, either because you weren't one of the eight selected or you don't live on the other side of the pond, you can watch it live tomorrow at http://www.whatisfearlive.com.

Kicks off at noon PST. Hope to have a review copy and a review henceforth soonish.

Game Play: FEAR 2 Demo (PS3)

I loaded up the FEAR 2 demo last night and am going to frame a brief review by saying that I was in one of those "tired but can't sleep" kinda modes, which frankly probably wasn't the best introduction into the game.

There's a lot of good to be had here, and I can definitely recommend at least trying out the demo. I understand there were some frame rate issues with the first FEAR and the PS3, but what I saw was a downright gorgeous rendering of a broken down world filled with murderous soldiers. Since this is FEAR we're talking about, quite a few spooky scenes will pop up at you as well and whether you'll be scared or not is probably a personal matter, the effects are quite well handled and fun.

Short version: this is one of the most graphically impressive titles I've seen on a console.

And this world is dense - rooms are filled with items as a whole squad of goons will kick over tables to get you. At times, I kinda felt like it was almost information overload. Am I supposed to react to that flickering light or was it just a spooky sideshow?

The demo makes it a bit hard to catch the drift of WTF is going on, and I never saw the ending of the first FEAR - so I'm not sure if that will be mandatory reading to get the plot or not. I want another go with the demo when I'm good and rested (which might not be until March), but the game is certainly either a buy or rental for me right now.

For Sunday: FEAR 2 EPA Trailer

I love the commercial spot angle:

FEAR 2 Screenshots

I've got some posts backlogged, but probably won't get them out. Thankfully, I was handed a secret file with something spooky scrawled on it containing some screens from the upcoming FEAR sequel. Here's a few choice ones: