[Mechanical R]

F.E.A.R. Files

Published by: Sierra
Developed by: TimeGate / Day 1 Studios
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Release Date:
US: November 6, 2007
Europe: November 16, 2007
Australia: November 30, 2007

Alma’s returned, and she’s brought friends…

To those of you who had played and finished F.E.A.R. I’m sure, like me you all thought ‘Oh man…what could happen next?’ and for quite a while anyone without a PC was left to continue thinking that. We hoped for the expansion in form of DLC but Sierra waited. But did they gave us the ‘Stand alone pack’ no Fear fan should be without?

Whilst pondering on the near on exact replicated Main Menu from its original your faced with two campaigns to choose from. Extraction Point (EP) and Perseus Mandate (PM) You can chose either one, or both and have individual saves on each so you can continue your experience from either game.

Extraction point picks up straight from F.E.A.R. where the credits FMV left you, and your mission is to escape from the city with your 2 F.E.A.R. operatives. Your objective is to reach the Extraction Point safely for pickup which…happens to be almost on the other side of town. Clever that eh?

Perseus Mandate follows a separate F.E.A.R. team sent in to investigate Armchams layouts. This one is set a short time before the ending of the first game and continues after. In this you learn more about Alma’s past and meet a new enemy the ‘Nightcrawlers’ along with a different project going by the name Perseus.

The sound with F.E.A.R. has always played a key pay in building the atmosphere the game keeps you in. Walking around loose objects can cause you to scare yourself by knocking them over or off shelves and the sounds of some of the ’shocker’ scenes can really creep into your head and scare the hell out of you.

Visually, there’s been no advancements from the original. It looks and feels exactly the same as its predecessor. That isn’t always a bad thing, but sometimes the buildings your in still have that ‘square, old PC game’ look whilst can kind of take down the feel of realism a peg or two. Unfortunately because of this, it makes the game feel very dull and repetitive due to the lack of change in scenery.

What hasn’t changed is the gripping edge the game always has upon you. Whether it’s the fact when your Flashlight battery needs recharging your literally stranded in pitch black or it’s the freaky noises you here creeping around the next corner.

Having played F.E.A.R. a lot. I’m used to the traits the game has regarding its scary moments. They usually jump you with ‘in your face scary’ moments usually when you turn around from a dead end or on the opposite end of glass and even though you train yourself to expect them…they still got me. Every time. I frequently remember telling myself ‘Well, nothing much has happened lately and I’ve reached a dead end…I bet if I turn arou- OH JESUS CHRIST’. And each time…it scares the living hell out of me.

Another trait Fear has had which they continue though this one is the sheer amount of blood you see painted on the walls. You get the feeling they start with the blood and then add the walls around it sometimes. With piles of bodies and people being dragged through small holes in the floor, this game is still not for the queasy and deserves its 18+ rating.

Sadly, the game follows its original in being a completely linear path game. No forks, no opportunities to be different or adventurous. Just a straight forward route. What’s worse is how if you ever find yourself lost or stuck in direction, it’s as simple as looking for a Air Vent cover to whack through. That’s about as complex as route taking gets.

To liven battles up a little, the high tech enemies come with some new high tech weapons including lasers, turrets, grenade launchers and lightening guns. These weapons, because of their high powered abilities are rarely seen until the very end, when there all over the place.

To stick with the ‘copy/paste’ theme. The online multiplayer is exactly the same, except they’ve removed all the health-packs your friends drop. The downloadable game types are now in the game properly and there’s a handful of new maps to play. All the usual ones are still there.

Expectedly Extraction Point is very short lived with it only having a selection of intervals the game is quick and you’ll find yourself on PM quickly. Perseus Mandate is a little longer. Its shorter than F.E.A.R. but still considerably longer than EP.

The extra difficulties and Instant Action games can add a small bit of life, but with an inactive multiplayer it wont take long before you grow bored of the single player game.

Conclusion: A nice add on for the story, with plenty of moments that’ll make you jump. The lack of storyline fails to answer any questions you may have had from #1. And you only ask more after finishing both campaigns. If you’re a total F.E.A.R. nut then this is for you. If your not so hot on repetitive scenery and a lack of real advancement from the predecessor, then you may be better off waiting for Project Origin.

My Rating: 7.2


For a full achievement list click here

[Haggler r1]

Nice review mate , but as have not played the first one yet (Will get round to it sometime) and have heard that one was relatively hard how does this one stack up in the difficulty stakes ?

[Nbkrooney]

Hard isn't the word Haggler, it was the first game I gave up on in frustration

[Haggler r1]

So i've been told and the cheeves are thin on the ground too i've been told.

[Mechanical R]

Nbkrooney, on Dec 22 2007, 11:35 AM, said:

Hard isn't the word Haggler, it was the first game I gave up on in frustration

Your just crap.

Haggler r1, on Dec 22 2007, 11:50 AM, said:

So i've been told and the cheeves are thin on the ground too i've been told.

It has its difficult moments but then it all depends on what difficulty you take the game on with. There are lean buttons where you can poke out round corners. That, ive been told is the key to defeating Extreme.

Achievement wise yeah, number one is quite thin. If you look on my gamercard, i have more achievements unlocked on F.E.A.R. than F.E.A.R. Files, but i have more points from F.E.A.R. Files.

If your interested in F.E.A.R. see the next page of reviews. My review of that is lurking around there if im correct.

[SafeGrey fox2]

Nbkrooney, on Dec 22 2007, 01:35 PM, said:

Hard isn't the word Haggler, it was the first game I gave up on in frustration

well i competed on hardest setting, easy your just rubbish

Haggler r1, on Dec 22 2007, 01:50 PM, said:

So i've been told and the cheeves are thin on the ground too i've been told.

nope ive got most of them, and you shouldnt really buy a game based on its cheevs.

FEAR is one of the best shooters ive played

[Mechanical R]

SafeGrey fox2, on Dec 22 2007, 06:12 PM, said:

FEAR is one of the best shooters ive played

You've really not played very many shooters huh?

[Haggler r1]

SafeGrey fox2, on Dec 22 2007, 06:12 PM, said:

and you shouldnt really buy a game based on its cheevs.

FEAR is one of the best shooters ive played

That is a pretty sweeping statement and for your information I buy games of ebay cheap reguardless of cheeves (Already have both fear games ) and was only inquiring what the latest one was like

[Mechanical R]

You came to the right place then XD

[SafeGrey fox2]