F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate

Metachronos overall score = 6.0 / 10

Positive
- Some scary moments

Negative
- Rehash of first two FEAR games
- Graphics engine looks downright primitive now
- Can be really hard
- Not much new since the previous 2 games

In the first two F.E.A.R games, you played as the same character, a mysterious "point man" who is part of a First Encounter Assault Recon team sent into a developing situation regarding an army of cloned soldiers, a military commander gone mad, and a lot of scary paranormal phenomenon. In Perseus Mandate, you play as a brand new character, though it's hard to tell the difference because you're simply the point man of a second F.E.A.R. team sent into a developing situation involving an army of cloned soldiers and scary paranormal phenomenon. You even have the same superfast reflexes that allow you to move so fast that it makes it seem that everything else has slowed down. It's an effect that's like Neo dodging bullets in The Matrix. The only real key changeup is that there's now an army of mercenaries that you have to fight.



The first half begins on an entirely off note, trying to render huge, open environments. However, the F.E.A.R. graphics engine has not aged gracefully at all. This is shocking considering that it's only a couple of years old, but it simply can't handle the task. The environments are so blocky and bland that they look like they'd fit in with a shooter from a decade ago. The gameplay is also frustrating because it seems the developers tried to amp up the difficulty level not by making the impressive artificial intelligence smarter, but by giving it crazily overpowered weapons. You'll be at full health and full armor, walk into a room then a second or two later, get killed. It's such a twitch game now that you pretty much have to use slow motion all the time to survive. Many of the cool AI behaviors and battles from the original F.E.A.R. are also gone.



F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate feels like a completely unnecessary trip to the well for Sierra, especially considering that series creator Monolith is already working on a proper sequel in the form of Project Origin. Only the most die-hard F.E.A.R. fans need apply; they'll likely appreciate the little story details that trickle out. If you've already played F.E.A.R., there's nothing really new here, and if you haven't played F.E.A.R., then check that game out instead.

Cover = http://www.tothegame.com/boxshot.asp?picnum=us&id=7055

looks VERY good

not as good as its predessor