Just picked this and the two expansion packs up for the 360. I was looking for a good FPS more along the lines of Half-Life than Halo, and I heard this was a good bet.
I’ve played through the first and some of the second level, and so far… it’s OK. The AI is very challenging, which is nice, and reminiscent of Valve games. On the other hand, the storyline has not gone anywhere yet (although I hear it does), the horror elements feel tacked-on, and the aiming is somewhat imprecise, although that probably just comes with the “console shooter” territory. I’m aware that I’m playing a console port of a PC game, but my PC could never run this title.
Has anyone else played it? Does the difficulty curve even out, or is it just a matter of getting used to the AI? I’m a pretty good FPS player, and I haven’t hit a brick wall or anything, but some of these early encounters are kicking my butt pretty squarely.
The AI can get a little weird. Have you got to the part where you get the crazy disintegrating rifle? Around there I had one guy yell out that he was under fire, even though I hadn’t fired in about 3 minutes.
Only played Fear 1 online, but I got FEAR 2 for my 360 and It was a good game, though I have my issues about the ending of it. Spending most of my time right now with HAWX.
It was just a bit anticlimatic for me. Like it built and built and built up to that last level, but then the final fight or what ever was done and over with to easy and I was left going…really…was that it? Is there more?
So yeah, I really dragged my heels on this one, but I finally finished F.E.A.R. and Extraction Point. Generally, I have positive things to say about the series, except that, like Valve, Monolith has no idea how to make an ending. The best they can do is a huge explosion followed by the credits. I have yet to play Perseus Mandate or F.E.A.R. 2, but I sincerely hope they wrap up some of the loose ends of the story, because there’s no real resolution in the plot of the first game.
Otherwise, the games are difficult - sometimes frustratingly so, but I prefer a challenge to a cakewalk. The SlowMo mechanic never feels boring, and some of the horror scenes, while way too infrequent, are really well-thought-out and provide a cool alternative to the “huge, unnecessary boss fights” that many games rely on.
The pacing and difficulty, however, seem way off, especially in Extraction Point. The levels vary wildly in length from “painfully long” to “pitifully short” with few happy mediums, and by time the story starts to get interesting, it ends without any resolution.
I can only hope they explain this stuff in the sequel, but hey, I’m interested enough to buy it now. Good work, Monolith.
