Demo now available for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin today sees the launch of a cross-platform demo, with the full release expected to be the second week of February this year. The demo comes as a pleasant surprise, as far too few games receive this treatment – particularly on all supported platforms and, heaven forbid, prior to the full release. I’d view this as a sign that developer Monolith is confident in the title’s strength as a great, polished, horror game, much like the first F.E.A.R. it created.
Set around the end of the original game, Project Origin sees the return of Alma, the morbid little girl that likes to set you alight and generally make you think you’re crazy. Players now have a heftier arsenal at their disposal, as they can now command gun-laden, rocket-loaded mechs to deal with the constant stream of shenanigans from a particularly disturbed child who also happens to be psychic. Among other things, this is a nod of the head to cult-followed Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, a mech-based, first-person shooter that Monolith developed over nine years ago.
The horror title, which is clearly designed for mature adults, was effectively banned in Australia by the Classification Board because it was deemed as unfit for fifteen-year-olds (MA15+, our loving maximum games rating). Reasons cited included “copious blood spray” and “close-up throat slashing from behind and close-up gunshots to the throat,” which was sure to sell the game to many who saw them.
However, Warner Bros. recently managed to get a pass without changing a thing, instead convincing the Classification Review Board (a different panel of people to the Classification Board) that spraying blood around and deep throat action are totally suitable for our nation’s pimply-faced teens. You sure can’t blame them for not being progressive.
You can take the 1.8GB single-player demo for a spin via the Xbox 360’s online marketplace right now, on the PlayStation 3’s equivalent service a little later in the day, or you can grab the PC version right here or here.
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Stange
2009.01.23 15:09
There is also a demo on Steam.
mcgarnagle
2009.01.25 10:38
Someone at Monolith doesn't like throats.
Played it, finished it, sort of liked it. F.E.A.R. is one of my favourite games of this "generation" (scare quotes because I PC game and don't have generations), and this feels like the first game improved in a lot if obvious ways. It was nice to actually be able to make out several different enemy classes in such a small demo, because the first game definitely needed more enemy types - or at the very least, more enemy models and skins.
Though they took out leaning which is disappointing, as it simplifies the combat which is really the meat of the F.E.A.R. sandwich. It's not even like you could lean a whole lot in the first game…