F.E.A.R. 2 demo coming tomorrow

[ManCannon]

I don't think this is really that much of a leap graphically over the original FEAR.

Definitely looks like the old FEAR game engine.

I really don't see where you guys are coming from. I was playing the original FEAR literally two days ago, and it doesn't even come close to comparing to this game.

It's certainly not the best looking game on the market, but it runs VERY well and it looks quite nice from where I'm sitting.

 

[jonneymendoza]

TBH the screenshots dont do it any justice. you really need to go and see and play it in motion to realize that the graphics are far better then the original fear game

 

[Riftsaw]

I've started to take the general [H]ardforum feelings for a game in to account on whether to pick it up or not.

They really took the lean out? Man thats gonna change the Multiplayer quite a bit. That is unless they integrated the lean into some sort of cover system.

 

[next-Jin]

I'm not one of the ones saying the game is not better graphically than the orignial. I would just like to comment on the fact that the graphics in this game do not fit the FEAR universe at all.

There are just so many things wrong with the game that listing every complaint and issue would take the better part of a couple hours to do. The most predominate thing which everyone who has issues with seems to agree is that this game is basically console trash.

Here is a quick list of things wrong with it:

- Graphical overlay is terrible
- FOV is set to 65'ish
- Film Grain
- Outdated engine (geometry, polygon counts, etc.)
- Letterboxed
- Cartoonish Look
- Stuttering problem is very noticable (this also happens on the consoles)
- Mouse movement feels somehow wrong (with or without triple buffering, vsync on or off, etc.)
- Duck and Cover system is completely worthless
- Weapons sound and look tacky and unproffesionally done
- Flashlight is worth absolutely nothing and is completely pointless to even have in the game.
- Mech portion......... seriously why? It's FEAR for christs sake.
- Control scheme is just plain bad
- Menu system is just plain bad
- Completely linear and follows usual scare, shoot, scare, shoot mentality
- Incredibly stupid AI

Thats just off the top of my head, I'm sure others could chime in and looking at other forums around the net I am definately not alone. The game will be reviewed based on consoles and thats a damn shame. I hope someone reviews the PC version specifically and gives it a real review.

My opinion is it will be in bargain bins in less than 6 months with a dead online community around the same time.

 

[TheBlueChanell]

I think it's pretty sweet. I loved the first fear and this is like a mix of a the original Fear and Shogo.

 

[Bigbacon]

Whats really sad is Monolith has Always been an inovator in the FPS market since the days of Blood and Shogo, I've never been disappointed in one of thier games. This demo finally broke their streak for me. It's just because it's a demo, it's because they removed things like lean and totally, as others said, dumbed it for consoles that it's not even that fun.

Sad to see one of my favorite developers falling into the console trap.

 

[ShuttleLuv]

Seems good, needs improvements however. Graphics are fine, not groundbreaking but very well done. Atmosphere is pure FEAR. The problem I have mainly, is the AI does seem retarded at times. And the enemies are not as dynamic as even the first game from 2005. Come on developers, it's 2009 - you don't go backwards. Other than this, seems good.

 

[Derangel]

I'm not one of the ones saying the game is not better graphically than the orignial. I would just like to comment on the fact that the graphics in this game do not fit the FEAR universe at all.

There are just so many things wrong with the game that listing every complaint and issue would take the better part of a couple hours to do. The most predominate thing which everyone who has issues with seems to agree is that this game is basically console trash.

Here is a quick list of things wrong with it:

- Graphical overlay is terrible
- Film Grain
- Outdated engine (geometry, polygon counts, etc.)
- Letterboxed
- Cartoonish Look
- Stuttering problem is very noticable (this also happens on the consoles)
- Mouse movement feels somehow wrong (with or without triple buffering, vsync on or off, etc.)
- Duck and Cover system is completely worthless
- Weapons sound and look tacky and unproffesionally done
- Flashlight is worth absolutely nothing and is completely pointless to even have in the game.
- Mech portion......... seriously why? It's FEAR for christs sake.
- Control scheme is just plain bad
- Menu system is just plain bad
- Completely linear and follows usual scare, shoot, scare, shoot mentality
- Incredibly stupid AI

Thats just off the top of my head, I'm sure others could chime in and looking at other forums around the net I am definately not alone. The game will be reviewed based on consoles and thats a damn shame. I hope someone reviews the PC version specifically and gives it a real review.

My opinion is it will be in bargain bins in less than 6 months with a dead online community around the same time.

To be fair, the first game isn't exactly a shining example of good level design or progression. The biggest selling points for the first game were its graphics and AI. Monolith seems to have forgotten that.

 

[inotocracy]

Mouse control seems to be an issue. Seriously, why cant I disable acceleration? Most annoying thing ever. Other than that I've got no serious complaints.

 

[Derangel]

Seems good, needs improvements however. Graphics are fine, not groundbreaking but very well done. Atmosphere is pure FEAR. The problem I have mainly, is the AI does seem retarded at times. And the enemies are not as dynamic as even the first game from 2005. Come on developers, it's 2009 - you don't go backwards. Other than this, seems good.

Worst thing is its the same version of the engine they used in the first game. Doesn't seem like they did much to it since than either.

 

[bpmurrGT]

Worst thing is its the same version of the engine they used in the first game. Doesn't seem like they did much to it since than either.

To me the game looks great maxed out at 1920x1080. Sure it might not have as much detail as Crysis but it's not a bad looking game. With that said it was really easy to play on normal level. I remember the original F.E.A.R. to be much harder on the normal setting.

 

[Derangel]

To me the game looks great maxed out at 1920x1080. Sure it might not have as much detail as Crysis but it's not a bad looking game. With that said it was really easy to play on normal level. I remember the original F.E.A.R. to be much harder on the normal setting.

The original had far better AI even on easy. Even on easy the AI would still try to flank you and come up behind you.

The game looks alright. I dunno maybe my absolute hate for that film grain shit makes me see the graphics as worse than they are.

 

[Plague_Injected]

Anyone else think the blood looks wrong? It's too bright and looks orange half the time.

 

[Frostex]

just tried it out for the heck of it and it runs fine in the windows 7 beta with the system in my sig. and just to let you know... play Extraction Point! Do not play Perseus Mandate!

Nice, good to hear it works on Window 7, using that as my Primary OS at the moment, will give this a spin tonight!

 

[pigwalk]

- Weapons sound and look tacky and unproffesionally done

Am I the only person that remembers laughing out loud at the pistol animation in FEAR?

 

[haitu]

Anyone else think the blood looks wrong? It's too bright and looks orange half the time.

like gears of war blood?

 

[beanman101283]

I'm not one of the ones saying the game is not better graphically than the orignial. I would just like to comment on the fact that the graphics in this game do not fit the FEAR universe at all.

The FEAR "universe?" We have one game, and 2 expansions that don't count. Not really enough there to say what does or doesn't belong. This isn't Star Wars or Lord of the Rings we're talking about here. Just a couple horror/action games.

There are just so many things wrong with the game that listing every complaint and issue would take the better part of a couple hours to do. The most predominate thing which everyone who has issues with seems to agree is that this game is basically console trash.

Here is a quick list of things wrong with it:

- Graphical overlay is terrible
- Film Grain

These are aesthetic choices made by the developer. They don't make a game "console" or "PC." You may not agree with those choices, but don't act like there is some sort of aesthetic guidebook that determines if a game is "PC" or "console."

- Outdated engine (geometry, polygon counts, etc.)
- Letterboxed
- Cartoonish Look

Those screenshots ManCannon posted look out of date to you? We get more varied, more detailed environments compared to the first FEAR and that's a bad thing? Were you running it at 800x600 with all the effects turned on low or something? People complain when a game comes out that stresses hardware that it's not optimized. Now we're complaining about a game that runs smoothly on high end systems and scales well to lower end hardware? If that came from the engine optimizations that were made to get it running on consoles, then I say that's a GOOD THING. Not every game needs to bring every modern computer to its knees.

I played in 1600x1200 so I can't speak to the letterboxing issue.

Again, based on those screenshots, I can't see why you think it looks "cartoonish." It certainly looks like a realistic art style to me.[/quote]

- Stuttering problem is very noticable (this also happens on the consoles)

If this is due to the autosaving feature like many suspect, this can be easily patched.

- Mouse movement feels somehow wrong (with or without triple buffering, vsync on or off, etc.)
- Duck and Cover system is completely worthless
- Weapons sound and look tacky and unproffesionally done
- Flashlight is worth absolutely nothing and is completely pointless to even have in the game.

Mouse use felt fine to me. Sniping was precise and satisfying. Just because YOU didn't find the cover system useful in the ONE level presented doesn't mean it remains so throughout the game. The first game was a largely run and gun affair anyway, so why change things up for the sequel? Again, weapons and sounds are an aesthetic choice. If you don't like it, fine, but that doesn't make the game "console trash." Flashlight worked fine for me in dark areas. Sure you had it on?

- Mech portion......... seriously why? It's FEAR for christs sake.

There were enemy mechs in the first game. You never once wished you could pilot one of them yourself and lay wasted to waves of clone soldiers? These are the same developers who brought us Shogo, which i see many people clammoring for a sequel to. If a mixture of FPS and mech combat was loved in that game, why not this game?

- Control scheme is just plain bad

It's exactly like the first game, and pretty much just like any other PC first person shooter.

- Menu system is just plain bad

Not really. No scroll wheel is annoying, but again, that can be easily patched.

- Completely linear and follows usual scare, shoot, scare, shoot mentality

Just like the first FEAR!

- Incredibly stupid AI

I wouldn't say incredibly, but I will agree that I saw them doing some... questionable things. However, they don't just stand around talking while you run up to them killing them.

Overall, sounds like whiny PC snobs are finding any reason to bitch about the game they can. Multiplatform automatically means bad, right?

I had fun playing this game, which is the most important thing. Even with the minor quibbles I have with some parts of the game, this is not the OMGWTFWORSTGAMEEVARRRRR that some of you make it sound like. Get off your high horses and enjoy the polished cinematic slo mo action for what it is.

 

[jonneymendoza]

The FEAR "universe?" We have one game, and 2 expansions that don't count. Not really enough there to say what does or doesn't belong. This isn't Star Wars or Lord of the Rings we're talking about here. Just a couple horror/action games.



These are aesthetic choices made by the developer. They don't make a game "console" or "PC." You may not agree with those choices, but don't act like there is some sort of aesthetic guidebook that determines if a game is "PC" or "console."



Those screenshots ManCannon posted look out of date to you? We get more varied, more detailed environments compared to the first FEAR and that's a bad thing? Were you running it at 800x600 with all the effects turned on low or something? People complain when a game comes out that stresses hardware that it's not optimized. Now we're complaining about a game that runs smoothly on high end systems and scales well to lower end hardware? If that came from the engine optimizations that were made to get it running on consoles, then I say that's a GOOD THING. Not every game needs to bring every modern computer to its knees.

I played in 1600x1200 so I can't speak to the letterboxing issue.

Again, based on those screenshots, I can't see why you think it looks "cartoonish." It certainly looks like a realistic art style to me.

If this is due to the autosaving feature like many suspect, this can be easily patched.



Mouse use felt fine to me. Sniping was precise and satisfying. Just because YOU didn't find the cover system useful in the ONE level presented doesn't mean it remains so throughout the game. The first game was a largely run and gun affair anyway, so why change things up for the sequel? Again, weapons and sounds are an aesthetic choice. If you don't like it, fine, but that doesn't make the game "console trash." Flashlight worked fine for me in dark areas. Sure you had it on?


There were enemy mechs in the first game. You never once wished you could pilot one of them yourself and lay wasted to waves of clone soldiers? These are the same developers who brought us Shogo, which i see many people clammoring for a sequel to. If a mixture of FPS and mech combat was loved in that game, why not this game?



It's exactly like the first game, and pretty much just like any other PC first person shooter.



Not really. No scroll wheel is annoying, but again, that can be easily patched.


Just like the first FEAR!


I wouldn't say incredibly, but I will agree that I saw them doing some... questionable things. However, they don't just stand around talking while you run up to them killing them.

Overall, sounds like whiny PC snobs are finding any reason to bitch about the game they can. Multiplatform automatically means bad, right?

I had fun playing this game, which is the most important thing. Even with the minor quibbles I have with some parts of the game, this is not the OMGWTFWORSTGAMEEVARRRRR that some of you make it sound like. Get off your high horses and enjoy the polished cinematic slo mo action for what it is.

[/QUOTE]


glad someone put that person to shame. the game is great from the demo and looks brillient

 

[JonnyK]

I think the demo was pretty good, but it's definitely built for the consoles. The way the guns shoot, feels more like halo than it should. The guns shoot all over the place, I remember Fear 1 having tight controls more like half life does. The enemies didn't seem to do anything smart, but the demo didn't really have any situations where they could do anything but stand in front of you. If the game is big and has lots of open environments for the AI to shine, and the story is cool, I will buy the game, but if it's just a corridor shooter with no thought and completely haloized i'll pass

 

[Mortuus]

2 parts in demo that really i hated.

- 16.10 Aspect ratio even tho i dont run a widescreen monitor...why? same in mirrors edge its awful.
- Film grain filther like one in Left 4 dead but i didnt find option to turn off...why?

 

[Protocol.48]

Though the game was 'fun' and there were some improvements over the original, it's clear that it's been dragged down by console hardware limitations and is no longer the cutting edge graphical master piece the original once was. Some of the best things about the original fear such as smart AI, crouching, leaning, running has all been removed to make way for, as another poster described it, 'mindless fun', fear never was 'mindless' so in that aspect I am a Little disappointed but I will reserve judgment until the final version is released.

 

[tuaarita]

Just finished the demo, settings cranked to maximum with 2xAA, too bad I'm not the jumpy kind, I'd have enjoyed this more.

 

[meatfestival]

If this is due to the autosaving feature like many suspect, this can be easily patched.



Mouse use felt fine to me. Sniping was precise and satisfying. Just because YOU didn't find the cover system useful in the ONE level presented doesn't mean it remains so throughout the game. The first game was a largely run and gun affair anyway, so why change things up for the sequel? Again, weapons and sounds are an aesthetic choice. If you don't like it, fine, but that doesn't make the game "console trash." Flashlight worked fine for me in dark areas. Sure you had it on?


There were enemy mechs in the first game. You never once wished you could pilot one of them yourself and lay wasted to waves of clone soldiers? These are the same developers who brought us Shogo, which i see many people clammoring for a sequel to. If a mixture of FPS and mech combat was loved in that game, why not this game?



It's exactly like the first game, and pretty much just like any other PC first person shooter.



Not really. No scroll wheel is annoying, but again, that can be easily patched.


Just like the first FEAR!


I wouldn't say incredibly, but I will agree that I saw them doing some... questionable things. However, they don't just stand around talking while you run up to them killing them.

Overall, sounds like whiny PC snobs are finding any reason to bitch about the game they can. Multiplatform automatically means bad, right?

I had fun playing this game, which is the most important thing. Even with the minor quibbles I have with some parts of the game, this is not the OMGWTFWORSTGAMEEVARRRRR that some of you make it sound like. Get off your high horses and enjoy the polished cinematic slo mo action for what it is.

These are my sentiments exactly.

The people nit-picking about this clearly want it to be an entirely different game. It's like they've ordered steak and are for some reason complaining that it does in fact taste like steak.

A few thoughts come to mind:

Comparing it to rainbow six vegas... Um, excuse me? I don't remember that game having supernatural baddies and big fucking mechs with rocket launchers. And speaking of mechs, they were in the first game too, did you actually play it?

Complaining it's too linear/consolized/etc... what's wrong with having a well-crafted linear experience? They've paced it so that you have the action and the scares at all the right moments.

Being convinced that the AI is dumbed down. And you know this how? It's a very short demo yet I saw plenty of flanking and running to cover.

The flashlight is dim because they want the game to be dark and suspenseful. Kinda ruins the atmosphere when you can illuminate everything.

I could go on. I'm just really tired of seeing forums full of unappreciative PC snobs turning their noses up at quality like this.

 

[next-Jin]

I'm standing by my remarks and a hell of a lot of other people agree with me. This isn't one person saying OMFGWORSTGAMEEVER it's about half of the entire community. If you seriously do not think this game was extremely limited by consoles you need to seriously consider selling your PC and just buying an Xbox. Bottom Line

I could "quote reply" old dude that thought it would be cute to break down the flaws I listed but then it would take me 30 pages to try and explain to him "why" it looks cartoony, or why the flashlight is terrible or any number of other things. So I'll just let my post stand and simply say the direction that the developers have taken this game is plain bad. Saying it was the developers choice to do it that way is the same thing as saying Ubisoft's choices in Farcry 2 mission development was a good choice just because they thought it was the best route.

 

[tesfaye]

I tried the demo last night and quit right before getting into the mech suit. I just didn't care. The game never felt engaging, The controls felt a tad floaty as well. Almost like a better mannered Dead Space with V-Sync on. The visuals looked about two years old and even though the game played smoothly overall, there is far too many pauses in spots where the game seemed to be saving or loading stuff. I wish these games would recognize the installed ram on a system and just load up as much as it can into memory.

I played this on Windows 7 using the rig in sig. I had to set the compatibility to Windows Vista or else the game would freeze before the opening video sequences. Why are developers using Bink? I had a similar problem with Bink in Vista where I had to set the compatibility to Windows XP but it would cause the game to lower the graphics. I think it was a Need For Speed game. Anyway, Bink=Fail.

 

[Mystic-Micro]

I Dont know about floaty controls, I found them extremely tight and responsive. I did however find thier key bindings extremely annoying, and now that they disabled the g5 side button(s), is also quite annoying.

 

[phide]

I'm standing by my remarks and a hell of a lot of other people agree with me.

I'm pretty much with you on most points. I'm generally fine with the film grain, though, so I don't knock the game for that.

What's bothering me here is that nobody seems to care that the FOV is probably about 65 degrees horizontal like your average console shooter. It's absolutely fucking intolerable.

These developers need to start being forced to disclose what the game's FOV is right on the box. Something akin to "Playing this game for any extended period of time will make your eyes bleed and result in you attempting to claw at your own face" would do.

 

[wrangler]

Yep, side buttons don't work on my MX-518 either. I was surprised that they took away leaning also. You really need to be able to lean in this game.

Also had the momentary pausing. Not bad though. It did seem like it was saving or something. Didn't make it unplayable. Another thing, on 1920x1200 I had black bars top and bottom like it was running 1920x1080. Anyone else?

 

[next-Jin]

I'm pretty much with you on most points. I'm generally fine with the film grain, though, so I don't knock the game for that.

What's bothering me here is that nobody seems to care that the FOV is probably about 65 degrees horizontal like your average console shooter. It's absolutely fucking intolerable.

These developers need to start being forced to disclose what the game's FOV is right on the box. Something akin to "Playing this game for any extended period of time will make your eyes bleed and result in you attempting to claw at your own face" would do.

I noticed that too, I was just more annoyed with other aspects. It might be that the letter boxing made it less noticeable maybe? Regardless I added it to the list thanks.

 

[Q-BZ]

I'm pretty much with you on most points. I'm generally fine with the film grain, though, so I don't knock the game for that.

What's bothering me here is that nobody seems to care that the FOV is probably about 65 degrees horizontal like your average console shooter. It's absolutely fucking intolerable.

These developers need to start being forced to disclose what the game's FOV is right on the box. Something akin to "Playing this game for any extended period of time will make your eyes bleed and result in you attempting to claw at your own face" would do.

Agreed. Overall I'm happy with things but between that FOV issue and the HUD...heck, I had a Deus Ex: Invisible War flashback when I first started playing this thing.

 

[meatfestival]

Regardless I added it to the list thanks.

You remind me of the guy complaining about the bananas in Crysis.

Do you actually play and enjoy games or do you write lists about things you dislike in them?

 

[tesfaye]

I Dont know about floaty controls, I found them extremely tight and responsive. I did however find thier key bindings extremely annoying, and now that they disabled the g5 side button(s), is also quite annoying.

I'm using a MX Revolution and I could not map mouse buttons until I added the demo to the Logitech Setpoint software. After I did that I was able to assign keystrokes to the buttons and then map them in the game. It's clunky but it works! Your mouse should work the same way.

 

[Q-BZ]

You remind me of the guy complaining about the bananas in Crysis.

Do you actually play and enjoy games or do you write lists about things you dislike in them?

You have to have a hater for absolutely everything. They're best ignored.

 

[Eagle156]

What a disappointment. I thought the first game was much better. First off, the mech scene. WTF were they thinking? It was not fun at all and it was like being in a shooting gallery. The combat does not feel as good and tight as the first game. When you shoot someone in the head with a shotgun, it no longer blows their head off like in the first game. There is less gore. You get very powerful weapons WAY early. Although the game looks good inside, the moment you step outside the limits of the graphics engine become obvious.

 

[F.E.A.R.]

I'm using a MX Revolution and I could not map mouse buttons until I added the demo to the Logitech Setpoint software. After I did that I was able to assign keystrokes to the buttons and then map them in the game. It's clunky but it works! Your mouse should work the same way.

Hmmm...I will have to try that. Thanks.

 

[next-Jin]

You remind me of the guy complaining about the bananas in Crysis.

Do you actually play and enjoy games or do you write lists about things you dislike in them?

Oh I have a pretty large library believe me and I enjoy a number of games ranging from RTS, FPS, RPG, MMO's, Arcade Racing and Simulation.

This game is no where in the same league as Half-Life 2, CoD 4, The Witcher, Left 4 Dead, GRID, WoW, CoH, Fall Out 3, and quite a few others. It's just a really bad game.

And to be fair I have Fallout 3 and hate it, but I can see that it has a ton of value and game play to be had it just was not my cup of tea. FEAR 2 however should just be released at 19.99 and 6 months later be dropped to either 9.99 or 4.99.

On the console it might actually have a shelf life of a year maybe more but on the PC its at best Value-Ware.

 

[meatfestival]

You get very powerful weapons WAY early.

The demo contains a selection of different areas to give a taster of the whole thing. They did something similar with the first Fear.

 

[Mr. K6]

Saw the FEAR 2 demo played on a PS3 today, two things I noticed:

1) The FOV is correct for wide screen on the PS3, and it is a lot less claustrophobic, so the current lack of FOV seems to be a porting issue

2) It runs very poorly on the PS3. There are some points where the FPS easily dipped below 10 (e.g. in the bus waterfall room).

Anyway, a lot of the issues with the game are simple fixes, and with luck they'll be able to change them in the game or have a patch available on release to address them. I definitely want to see the FOV corrected and mouse buttons able to be mapped.

 

[|Tch0rT|]

I'm standing by my remarks and a hell of a lot of other people agree with me. This isn't one person saying OMFGWORSTGAMEEVER it's about half of the entire community. If you seriously do not think this game was extremely limited by consoles you need to seriously consider selling your PC and just buying an Xbox. Bottom Line

I could "quote reply" old dude that thought it would be cute to break down the flaws I listed but then it would take me 30 pages to try and explain to him "why" it looks cartoony, or why the flashlight is terrible or any number of other things. So I'll just let my post stand and simply say the direction that the developers have taken this game is plain bad. Saying it was the developers choice to do it that way is the same thing as saying Ubisoft's choices in Farcry 2 mission development was a good choice just because they thought it was the best route.

The Bottom Line is you don't like it. Uninstall the demo, don't buy the game when it comes out. Stop wasting your time on shit you hate and go play something YOU like. End of story.

 

[Ron FTL]

I went trough the demo last night with all settings maxxed out.
The game played wonderfully.

I thought the graphics fine. Nothing pushing hardware but acceptable for 2009.
I liked how it felt similar to FEAR1.
Controls felt fine. I just had to switch melee with the zoom buttons.
and the creepiness was great. I can see it being way better then the first.
Made me jumpy at parts. Especially in the theater near the end.
Its exactly what I expected FEAR to feel like.
Ill be getting this game.