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F.E.A.R. 2 Demo

B

Barrett2

Member
Just played PS3 demo, this game has so many cool elements, but the section with the white, blurry ghosts was absolutely horrible.

I am really tempted to buy this, but I need some reviews. Shooting enemy soldiers outside while the plane was coming in for a crash landing... that was awesome. Corridors filled with blurry, disappearing ghosts... not so much.
 
E

Easy_D

never left the stone age
Yeah this game is starting to feel more and more like a Day 1 purchase for me.
Really happy you can register the retail game on Steam as well considering how it's cheaper in retail than on Steam
 
C

ClovingWestbrook

Banned
Easy_D said:
Yeah this game is starting to feel more and more like a Day 1 purchase for me.
Really happy you can register the retail game on Steam as well considering how it's cheaper in retail than on Steam
Click to expand...

Not for all of us. In the states, I have only found it retail for $49.95. However, in the UK it would be equivalent to about $36 US dollars. Speaking of which, anybody here from the UK who wouldn't mind discussing a transaction for said game via Steam? My steam name is
"Nomoresoup4u!"
 
P

Pojo

Banned
Is the PS3 version supposed to be a cruel joke or something? Are there any comparison shots of the three versions? I just downloaded the demo and was appalled by how shockingly awful it looked. Grainy, bad geometry, framerate hiccups, you name it. I'm not being dramatic when I say the majority of Xbox (1) games I own look much better.

Oh, and like someone else said, the ghost gameplay was really irritating. I see no redeeming qualities about this game, at least in its current state. :( The demo was also way too in your face with the horror stuff to the point where it just got irritating. Flashing red lights at me and having stuff shake ALL THE TIME makes you immune to it all. And finally, the little sisters in BioShock make Alma look like one of the Rugrats.
 
T

Tylahedras

Banned
What. The. Fuck.

FEAR 1 was awesome, this shit is shit.

Visuals = more color diverse but it almost looks worse then FEAR 1
UI = Ugly Sci-Fi garbage
Framerate = buggy bullshit. (Will probably be fixed)
Guns = fucking nurfed, especially the shotty
Flipping over objects = stupid and sometimes stops me from reloading
Controls = All garbage, crouch on right stick? Slow motion on triangle? Are you fucking kidding?
Movement = Slow and has weight, perhaps some will like, I don't.
Enemy AI = boring? WTF? That's what made the first game... Now they sit behind walls and poke their fucking heads out? W-T-F?

What happened, I LOVED FEAR it did that whole 30 seconds of fun so damn well, how could they fuck it up so badly? This was one of my most anticipated games of 09... :(
 
N

Neiteio

Member
Did the sound fade out for anyone? It might be a glitch. I restarted the demo twice before finishing it because of it.

The first time I was going slowly, and when I got to the corridor with the disappearing ghosts the sound went out nearly completely, save for the muffled sound of the gun reloading. I thought this was intentional, but after a while I suspected it wasn't, so I returned to the title screen and started over. This time there was sound the whole time in the corridor, but when I got to the city streets with the snipers, the sound faded out again. When I figured it wasn't coming back, I tried a THIRD time, and this time the sound stayed on the whole time, although I played through it quicker than the first two times.

Anyone see anything like this? I've never seen this happen before, and I think it's something to do with the demo, as I played the Siren demo four times (yes, four!) in a row before FEAR finished downloading, and Siren was fine.

As for general impressions...

I never played the first FEAR, and yeah the framerate was slow at times (never chuggy, though), but I liked this a lot for the most part. It has a very dark sensibility to it, almost depressingly so, and I thought it was very scary (Alma's spindly silhouette is chilling). All the whizbang actions evens it out, though, and keeps it fun rather than frustrating. That ghost corridor pushed it, though, with it being so scary and dangerous and downright confusing that I just plowed blindly ahead trying to survive.

There's a LOT in it for a demo -- six firearms (including sniper and rocket launcher), several gernade types, a mech, a variety of indoor and outdoor environments, several enemy types (with awesome AI and dismemberment), some good jumpscares, a cutscene and a couple scripted events. Hell, there's even a full trailer that loops in the thumbnail on the XMB. For a free sampling it's got a lot to it, way more than other PSN demos. It's like a free minigame. :D
 
W

WyndhamPrice

Member
I fucking loved the first FEAR and this demo has confirmed that FEAR 2 will be a game I must play. They're doing Alma a lot better this time around, I think. I really felt like I could not stop moving because she was always right around me. At one point she was and that scared the fuck out of me. I really got a sort of Akira-ish vibe, especially from the school, and that was awesome.

Can't wait for the game!
 
N

Neiteio

Member
Yes, AKIRA is a dead-on comparison. The psychic phenomena really impressed me, especially the fate of your comrade, the one that grabs you after the ghost corridor. I don't know anything about the story, though. Who are these enemy soldiers? And did anyone else experience the sound glitch? Would deleting and reinstalling the FEAR demo possibly solve it?
 
M

Mrbob

Member
I didn't get the sound glitch. I would try reinstalling the title to see if this helps out. I'm using 5.1 headphones and the ambient sound is fantastic.

Tylahedras it sounds like you played the demo on PS3...do yourself a favor and play it on your PC.

I had the same control issues playing the game on 360. Movement felt floaty, aiming felt imprecise. Everything just felt off. Downloaded the demo on steam and everything is much better. Not only does it look a ton better, but my movement is now intact and my aiming is right on key to where I want to shoot.

I still have some quibbling issues with the demo, but my main complaint is now over with.
 
godhandiscen

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
Tylahedras said:
What. The. Fuck.

FEAR 1 was awesome, this shit is shit.

Visuals = more color diverse but it almost looks worse then FEAR 1
UI = Ugly Sci-Fi garbage
Framerate = buggy bullshit. (Will probably be fixed)
Guns = fucking nurfed, especially the shotty
Flipping over objects = stupid and sometimes stops me from reloading
Controls = All garbage, crouch on right stick? Slow motion on triangle? Are you fucking kidding?
Movement = Slow and has weight, perhaps some will like, I don't.
Enemy AI = boring? WTF? That's what made the first game... Now they sit behind walls and poke their fucking heads out? W-T-F?

What happened, I LOVED FEAR it did that whole 30 seconds of fun so damn well, how could they fuck it up so badly? This was one of my most anticipated games of 09... :(
Click to expand...
Did you play the PS3 version? The 360 version is at least on par with FEAR 1 graphically.
 
W

Winterblink

Member
PC demo had considerably fewer glitches for me than the console ones, thank god for that. The mech bit was disappointing, but by and large the game's got a pretty impressive engine.

The developers had better take a cue from Dead Space though, in that if the whole game is the same old standard fare FEAR type of scares (flashing imagery, etc.) it will definitely get old fast. I'm also with others in that the weapons don't have anywhere near the punch as the first game's. I remember my first real firefight in FEAR, where the area LOOKED like there'd been a huge gunfight -- debris, dust in the air, bits of my enemies, holes in the walls, etc. Just doesn't feel the same this time around.

Granted this is a demo, of course. I'm still looking forward to this one, just slightly less so than before.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Pojo said:
Is the PS3 version supposed to be a cruel joke or something? Are there any comparison shots of the three versions? I just downloaded the demo and was appalled by how shockingly awful it looked. Grainy, bad geometry, framerate hiccups, you name it. I'm not being dramatic when I say the majority of Xbox (1) games I own look much better.
Click to expand...
I think you should go back to your XBOX games as you're memory is a bit off. ;)

That said, the PS3 version is the worst of the three, but it doesn't really LOOK all that different. It's slightly jaggier than the 360 version and the framerate isn't quite as smooth, but overall, it looks pretty much the same. It's not a bad port.

I'm still going for the PC version, but the console versions are not that far off (main differences being image quality and framerate).

Visuals = more color diverse but it almost looks worse then FEAR 1
Click to expand...
Are you serious?

What about the original looks superior to you? The first game relied very heavily on ultra simplistic, boxy geometry and ridiculously repetitive environment designs. FEAR 2 presents more geometrically dense worlds, more texture variety, vastly superior post processing (player weapon and camera motion blur), superior animation, and an all around more polished presentation.

FEAR was a very stiff, plain looking game. Despite its later release date, I always thought games like Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 looked much better overall.

The average FEAR scenes basically looked like this...

920744_20051010_screen008.jpg

fear-20051009094923070.jpg


Even things like the player modeling are crap. Look at the players arm, for instance. That ugly thing is on screen throughout the game. The weapon models aren't very good either and everything floats around in a very unnatural way.
 
V

VaLiancY

Member
Neiteio said:
Yes, AKIRA is a dead-on comparison. The psychic phenomena really impressed me, especially the fate of your comrade, the one that grabs you after the ghost corridor. I don't know anything about the story, though. Who are these enemy soldiers? And did anyone else experience the sound glitch? Would deleting and reinstalling the FEAR demo possibly solve it?
Click to expand...

Replica soldiers. They're pretty much clones, they were made to be controlled by a physic commander(they make fun of that in game),
which is the guy you're trying to kill through out the first game
. The second game is about your squad attempting to arrest a person of interest from the first game.
 
R

rhino4evr

Member
just want to say I never played FEAR 1, but I thought the FEAR 2 demo was outstanding. It had everything a good FPS should have, intense fights, a smart AI. It also included a lot of scares, as well as a cool mech section. This one just went on my must play list.
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
Did the devs ever go over the potential play time? ....can't see myself dropping $49.99 for a 6-8 hour campaign =/

That said, I played the demo again this weekend and outside keymapping issues mentioned in an earlier post, I'm really into the package as a whole now and can't wait for next week!

This truly is a step up from FEAR1 in every conceivable way
 
K

Kolgar

Member
Is the PS3 version of FEAR as bad as I've heard?

I picked it up for $10 at TRU today (they were out of the 360 version) but I may do some hunting if this port is that bad.

Any suggestions? I thought the FEAR 2 demo rocked hard and would love to get caught up on the story. Thanks in advance!
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
Kolgar said:
Is the PS3 version of FEAR as bad as I've heard?

I picked it up for $10 at TRU today (they were out of the 360 version) but I may do some hunting if this port is that bad.

Any suggestions? I thought the FEAR 2 demo rocked hard and would love to get caught up on the story. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

From what I understand, it's just the most technically inferior of the ports. Longer load times, blurrier visuals. Gameplay is still intact though as well as the story...

I'd say pick up the PC version if you could, but play the PS3 version if you must ...you could always just read the wiki entry on the plot of it anyway....
 
A

aasoncott

Member
Neiteio said:
Did the sound fade out for anyone? It might be a glitch. I restarted the demo twice before finishing it because of it.
Click to expand...

Yup, happened for me on the PS3 when I was fighting the snipers. Suddenly, I realized that the sound effects were gone -- no gunshots, no explosions. Reloaded from the last checkpoint and everything was back to normal.
 
A

AndersTheSwede

Member
... wtf is this bullshit? How could the gameplay and "feel" take such a step back from the first? The atmosphere is at least close, but the shooting and time control is utter bullshit compared to the glorious storm of destruction that was the first game.

It is now nothing more than a mediocre shooter with time slowing and some forced creepiness.
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
AndersTheSwede said:
... wtf is this bullshit? How could the gameplay and "feel" take such a step back from the first? The atmosphere is at least close, but the shooting and time control is utter bullshit compared to the glorious storm of destruction that was the first game.

It is now nothing more than a mediocre shooter with time slowing and some forced creepiness.
Click to expand...

This is just incorrect...

The only thing the first had over FEAR2 is the smoke puffs that would erupt with bullets hits. That and the strobe light effect of muzzle flash because you were constantly shooting in dark environments.
Other than that, EVERYTHING is improved over FEAR1. The animation, the weapons models, the scares, the visuals, the sound, the pacing, the enviromnents, the art direction, etc...

Seriously, go back and play FEAR1 for 20 minutes then go play FEAR2.
 
U

ultim8p00

Banned
I just played this. I dunno, I felt really weird playing it. I was so disconnected from the game. I couldn't aim worth shit for some reason.
 
B

Brakara

Member
AgentOtaku said:
This is just incorrect...

The only thing the first had over FEAR2 is the smoke puffs that would erupt with bullets hits. That and the strobe light effect of muzzle flash because you were constantly shooting in dark environments.
Other than that, EVERYTHING is improved over FEAR1. The animation, the weapons models, the scares, the visuals, the sound, the pacing, the enviromnents, the art direction, etc...

Seriously, go back and play FEAR1 for 20 minutes then go play FEAR2.
Click to expand...

I picked up a very cheap used copy of F.E.A.R. (360) to play through before the sequel arrives, and I couldn't agree more. The graphics (textures and models) are worse than HL2, the animations are poor, the weapons have absolutely no punch and the aiming mode is a fucking joke. All in all, the F.E.A.R. 2 demo just blows it out of the water.
 
T

Twix

Member
Game Informer review:

http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/B5650CF1-9A64-4157-A8D1-347CA6BB6840.htm

After the embarrassment of The Perseus Mandate, F.E.A.R. 2 should be in consideration for comeback player of the year. While the multiplayer is weak and the mood won’t make people forget Dead Space any time soon, the solid action core makes it worth a play.
Click to expand...

8.25 / 10

Ultimately, the game never escapes feeling like a re-hash of the original, with the same ideas, themes, and gameplay elements repeated throughout. Nonetheless, F.E.A.R. 2 does what it does with great skill, and successfully delivers one of the better single-player FPS experiences around.
Click to expand...

8.5 / 10 ( second opinion )
 
K

Kingpen

Member
Twix said:
Game Informer review:

http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/B5650CF1-9A64-4157-A8D1-347CA6BB6840.htm



8.25 / 10



8.5 / 10 ( second opinion )
Click to expand...


No instant action mode, no day one buy. One of the biggest FEAR fans around, but I have other things to buy in this shitty economy and am only going to buy the cream of the crop games in the short term. I can see the writing on the wall on this one. Lots of used copies in a month, and probably a price drop pretty quick a la condemned 2....

I'll keep playing my 2 other FEAR games if I need the fix. I never got the negative comments about the expansions. It was the same quality as FEAR, just they didn't up the graphics, so everyone shit on it as a standard. It was fine to me, and added more of what I wanted so I was good with it.
 
D

Dabanton

Member
Broadbandito said:
So a rental for me. FEAR's mp was awesome (on 360, pc version was standard) but lacked a good online setup. Looks like they didn't learn :/
Click to expand...

So an 8 is a rental for you, what about a 7?

Anyway the game is getting good reviews, i loved the demo and will definitely be purchasing.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
Cold. :lol

Anyway I wasn't very impressed by the demo, although the slo mo + Ragdoll was consistently entertaining. I tried the PC demo maxed out and it wasn't all that different from my PS3 demo, so if I do get this it will probably be marked down or a rental. I really liked the horror elements, but the gunplay itself seemed under developed and the AI< while not bad, never challenged me.
 
J

Joseph Merrick

Member
Kingpen said:
I'll keep playing my 2 other FEAR games if I need the fix. I never got the negative comments about the expansions. It was the same quality as FEAR, just they didn't up the graphics, so everyone shit on it as a standard. It was fine to me, and added more of what I wanted so I was good with it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, have to say the expansions are quite ok. Using the same assets and just adding a couple of enemies/guns and 5-6 hours of new levels is completely standard for first person shooter expansions, I don't even remember anyone shitting on it because of this though? They got however, just like the odd numbered Call of Duty releases, a lot of negativity just because they were by a different developer. Every site and publication out there seem to love talking up and spreading this kind of word, the tangible negative difference another developer made on your beloved game series. I think it's bullshit in both these cases, but it's like they've kept repeating it over and over until it was true. Surprised Perseus Mandate was mentioned in that quote up there actually.
 
N

NIN90

Member
Just beat the PC demo.

...

FUCK AWESOME.
Great visuals, great sound, weapons feel great and I was literally shitting my pants in that corridor.
And I was actually sad when the demo was over, something that rarely occurs these days for me.
 
Tieno

Tieno

Member
Just played the Fear 2 demo and found it rather uninteresting. Didn't really enjoy the combat and the enemies. Found the environment unexciting and the psycho stuff obtrusive. Don't feel like touching it ever again. I guess it's competent, but ultimately not my cup of tea.
 
P

Pojo

Banned
dark10x said:
I think you should go back to your XBOX games as you're memory is a bit off. ;)

That said, the PS3 version is the worst of the three, but it doesn't really LOOK all that different. It's slightly jaggier than the 360 version and the framerate isn't quite as smooth, but overall, it looks pretty much the same. It's not a bad port.

I'm still going for the PC version, but the console versions are not that far off (main differences being image quality and framerate).
Click to expand...
No, The Chronicles of Riddick, Splinter Cell CT, and Conker definitely look better, and none of them have that nasty grain filter. Did FEAR have the grain filter?

It's really not about looking better than a last gen game that gets me. The whole thing looks very, very sloppy. I'm not even going to start on the me-too neon HUD that looks absolutely atrocious. And the scary stuff? It breaks up the gameplay. And it isn't tense. Maybe I need to play the game from the beginning, because the demo threw so much nonsense at you that it became very annoying. There was no downtime to make you scared.

Loved FEAR, though, so we'll see.
 
godhandiscen

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
dark10x said:
I think you should go back to your XBOX games as you're memory is a bit off. ;)

That said, the PS3 version is the worst of the three, but it doesn't really LOOK all that different. It's slightly jaggier than the 360 version and the framerate isn't quite as smooth, but overall, it looks pretty much the same. It's not a bad port.

I'm still going for the PC version, but the console versions are not that far off (main differences being image quality and framerate).


Are you serious?

What about the original looks superior to you? The first game relied very heavily on ultra simplistic, boxy geometry and ridiculously repetitive environment designs. FEAR 2 presents more geometrically dense worlds, more texture variety, vastly superior post processing (player weapon and camera motion blur), superior animation, and an all around more polished presentation.

FEAR was a very stiff, plain looking game. Despite its later release date, I always thought games like Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 looked much better overall.

The average FEAR scenes basically looked like this...

920744_20051010_screen008.jpg

fear-20051009094923070.jpg


Even things like the player modeling are crap. Look at the players arm, for instance. That ugly thing is on screen throughout the game. The weapon models aren't very good either and everything floats around in a very unnatural way.
Click to expand...
Those are the ugliest FEAR 1 shots I've seen. The game looks so much better at max details. Also, I consider FEAR 2 looks even better than FEAR 1 at max settings. The 360 version of FEAR 2 though look only slightly better than FEAR 1 PC.
 
C

ClovingWestbrook

Banned
Pojo said:
No, The Chronicles of Riddick, Splinter Cell CT, and Conker definitely look better, and none of them have that nasty grain filter. Did FEAR have the grain filter?

It's really not about looking better than a last gen game that gets me. The whole thing looks very, very sloppy. I'm not even going to start on the me-too neon HUD that looks absolutely atrocious. And the scary stuff? It breaks up the gameplay. And it isn't tense. Maybe I need to play the game from the beginning, because the demo threw so much nonsense at you that it became very annoying. There was no downtime to make you scared.

Loved FEAR, though, so we'll see.
Click to expand...

A mod has already been created to remove the grain filter for FEAR 2
 
T

TTG

Member
Will make a good rental, hopefully. The first game was very competent. There's not a lot of fluff or big budget graphics here, but if the AI and the encounter design is up to the level of the first, it will be well worth the play time for any shooter fan.

My only concerns at this point are the annoying grainy filter and the sci fi UI. Does anyone know if the filter can be turned off on the console version?
 
L

Ledsen

Member
Am I the only onw who feels that the controls are really weird (playing on 360)? There's some kind of resitance when going forward, and it seems like the dude would much rather go left or right. It feels like I'm trying to push a ball with a wooden plank. Like this:

2cscpig.jpg
 
B

Broadbandito

Member
Dabanton said:
So an 8 is a rental for you, what about a 7?

Anyway the game is getting good reviews, i loved the demo and will definitely be purchasing.
Click to expand...

thats not why. It sounds as if they messed up the mp once again. So therefore I will not drop 60 bucks on it when I can drop 60 bones on something that will keep my attention for much longer. As much as the mp was fucked up in FEAR 360, I loved it and I was ranked in the top 30 for DM. I used to play the game on 5.6 in screen :lol but it sounds like they didn't spend anytime really improving the mp experience. I would also get it on pc if anything since the 360 version doesnt look up to snuff. I am getting sick of these lazy ass pc ports.
 
F

Flunkie

Banned
I can't believe I waited this long to play the PC demo.. but wow--

There's such a huge difference between the console versions and the PC version. The console versions feel buggy, cramped, and twitchy, while on the PC they feel perfect. I knew that I couldn't just abandon my first PC FPS love. FEAR 2 just re-gained its purchase from me.. only on the PC, not the consoles. Not to mention that it ran smooth as butter with everything cranked compared to shitty framerate problems and jaggies galore on both console versions.

I know this is stating the obvious, but still..
 
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