Fear 2: Project Origin
| FEAR 2: Project Origin | |||
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| Studio |
 Monolith Productions
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| Publisher |
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
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| Senior Developer | Nathan Hendrickson, Peter Wyse | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
February 13, 2009 | ||
| platform | Windows , Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 | ||
| Game engine | Lithtech Jupiter EX | ||
| genre | First person shooter , survival horror | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard , gamepad | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | DVD-ROM , Blu-ray Disc , download | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
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| information | For the German market, FEAR 2: Project Origin has been defused. | ||
FEAR 2: Project Origin ( English for "fear" and acronym of First Encounter Assault Recon ) is a first-person shooter and the sequel to FEAR from 2005, also developed by Monolith Productions . Development of the game began under the working title Project Origin . FEAR 2 was released by Warner Bros. Interactive on February 13, 2009 for Windows , Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 after lengthy licensing disputes with Vivendi Universal over the naming rights . In 2011 the successor FEAR 3 was released , but it was no longer produced by Monolith.
action
As in the previous game, you slip into the role of a hero, Michael Beckett, who doesn't say a single word throughout the game. However, this time one does not belong to the eponymous special unit FEAR, but to Dark Signal, a subgroup of the Delta Force , a special unit of the US Army. His team is sent on a search for Genevieve Aristide, the incumbent president of the Armacham Technology Corporation, in order to evacuate her due to the current events. Aristide herself determined the meeting point in her private apartment, where she hides behind a shelf in a secret laboratory. After a few fights against the ATC, you learn from Aristide that you and the rest of the Delta Force team are the only ones who can stop Alma Wade. However, during the conversation the world blurs into an illusion and you follow the leading Alma to a window when suddenly the explosion takes place at the end of the first FEAR part and you pass out.
You go to a hospital and get treatment. When you wake up you are alone and have to work your way back to your team. Meanwhile you learn that the team is part of the Paragon project. A sub-project of the Harbinger project, in which experienced soldiers with telepathic skills are supposed to control the replicants. Project Paragon is the search for potential candidates with such psychic abilities. You learn that Beckett has a particularly high affinity for telepathy, the others on the team are partly also receptive, but never as high as Beckett's. Keegan, a member of the team, however, has the same illusions as Beckett in some situations, so probably comes closest to his affinity. You come to the secret labs where the replicants are developed and also come across projects that went wrong and ended in mutants that are more animals than humans. Furthermore, Snake Fist, an employee of Armacham, who does not want to reveal his identity, hacked into the radio and warns everyone about Alma, especially Beckett, as he is very vulnerable to her telepathy. According to his information, however, this is also the reason why Alma is persecuted like a predator that has smelled blood. The goal is now to stop Alma and prevent the apocalypse announced by Snake Fists. For this you not only have to protect yourself from Alma's psychological attacks, but also assert yourself against ATC and replicant units that are sometimes fighting against each other.
Paragon project
In this project, experienced soldiers are observed and their affinity to supernatural is categorized. The goal is to find experienced soldiers who have a high affinity in connection with a certain level of intelligence and to bring them into the Harbinger project. The result of Project Paragon is the Dark Signal team. The team was put together by Armacham, it is noticeable that not all members either have sufficient affinity or the intelligence. This is also discussed in some in-game logs and, as you can read, met with incomprehension from some scientists. The reason for the Paragon project is the "accident" with Paxton Fettel from the Origin project, which the scientists attribute to the lack of experience. Experienced soldiers should have fewer problems with telepathy and thus fulfill the original plan of the perfect commander.
Harbinger project
The project in which almost the entire Dark Signal team should be involved. The main focus here is on their supernatural affinity, which should be developed. The goal is that the soldiers can control the replicants in the same way as Paxton Fettel, with the difference that they do not get out of control in the same way or are controlled by Alma.
Characters
Michael Beckett
Beckett serves as the player's avatar and is an inexperienced sergeant in the Dark Signal unit. In the search for Aristide one finds clues that one is being observed by Armacham and that Harbinger was selected for the project because one has a very high affinity for the supernatural. Again and again there are illusions and flashbacks in which Alma appears and the HUD flickers. In Aristide's secret laboratory you can see some photos of the members of the Delta Force, it is possible that they were not chosen by chance for this assignment as they are part of Project Paragon. After the explosion in the Vault, Beckett is injured and taken to Armacham Hospital. There it seems that the doctors and Aristide are trying to save his life, but one quickly learns that Beckett has been injected with something. When the effects kick in, Beckett gets reaction speeds similar to the player from the first part, but the connection to Alma is much stronger now. From Snake Fist we learn that Alma has now become aware of the player and is following him. She tries again and again to mentally wear Beckett down, and in return he tries to resist her telepathy, which gradually succeeds less and less. Alma is always on the verge of killing him, but keeps holding back at the last moment until she even helps Beckett at some point. Her lust for murder seems to give way to more and more sympathy. In the end, Alma even shows him to be pregnant and trustingly places his hand on her stomach. This suggests that Beckett may be the father, but it is not specified.
Keira Stokes
She has the rank of 1st Lieutenant of Dark Signal and is therefore not only Beckett's superior, but also has the highest rank of all soldiers. She is most in contact with Beckett and is also the only member who is by Beckett's side until the end. Despite her status as commander, Armacham sees her only as an appendage to the elite unit. This is mainly because of her complete insensitivity to the supernatural, which is why she does not take part in the training program within the Paragon project. Why Aristide made sure that she comes to Dark Signal is unknown. However, her apparent disadvantage turns out to be a great advantage for Armacham in the fight against Alma. Again and again she can help Beckett and give the right commands without being confused and restricted by any illusions. It also makes her completely uninteresting to Alma and ignores her. When she finally turns against Aristide and doesn't want to support her, Aristide shoots her in the stomach and Stokes remains motionless on the ground. It cannot be determined whether the gunshot wound is fatal.
Harold Keegan
One of the four sergeants in the squad. Keegan has the highest connection value with Alma, according to Beckett. During the course of the assignment, Keegan kept getting headaches when Alma's presence increased, mostly at the same time as Beckett. At some point it even collapses because of the pain and from that moment on it becomes more and more absent. In a heavy fight against the replicants, Keegan falls into a complete trance and only speaks about the fact that he wants to help Alma and speaks directly to her. Probably through Alma's control of the replicants, he walks slowly but unharmed through the whole battlefield. Stokes orders Beckett to pursue Keegan, but they fail to catch up with him. Keegan must have disappeared halfway somewhere, because at some point he no longer really shows up in front of Beckett, but only illusions that Alma Beckett plays to lead him to a certain place. From this moment on, Keegan is considered lost and only appears actively twice, but in a kind of phantom form of Alma's telepathic world. The first time, when you follow Beckett up to a white glistening light behind a door and he pushes Beckett out of the world again, because he is the only one with Alma. At the very end of the game, Beckett is in Alma's world and again meets Keegan's Phantom. He's jealous of Beckett because Alma prefers him, which is why he wants to kill Beckett. His phantom is invulnerable and dissolves when shot, but he reappears immediately. The only way to end it is to activate the telepathic amplifier.
Cedric Griffin
Sergeant First Class and Squad Leader of Dark Signal. At some point, Griffin reports that a woman has turned up and needs help, and she is afraid for her child. His strange remarks about the sudden disappearance and the strange behavior of the woman make it obvious at some point that this is Alma. When Griffin noticed this, Beckett and Stokes joined him. Griffin tries to shoot Alma and just focus her anger on herself. It is pierced by tentacles in the shape of shadows and then disappears. Although he has an affinity for psychics, it is far from Keegans and Becketts.
James Fox
Sergeant from Dark Signal. Alma appears before Griffin and asks for help. He mentions that she keeps screaming that her child has been taken. He decides to help her and we don't hear from him for a while. In his vicinity, Fox suddenly attacks Beckett and screams that she is his. When he recognizes Beckett, he only has time to wonder about it. Beckett is then thrown against the wall by Alma's phantom tentacles and burned to the bone, which was her trademark in the first part of the game.
Manuel Morales
Sergeant and APC driver from Dark Signal. Only shows up when the squad goes somewhere and once at the end when he and Beckett have to stop the replicant force with the APC. Like Stokes, he has no affinity for the supernatural. He is classified by Armacham as a reserve with great doubts about his fitness.
Redd Jankowski
Sergeant of Dark Signal and brother of the FEAR member Spencer Jankowski, who disappeared and probably murdered in the first part. Although he has a high affinity for the supernatural, according to Armacham's test results, his intelligence is not sufficient to lead a group of replicants. Like Beckett, he is also treated with the syringes and the unknown green liquid. However, the ATC attack did not end his treatment. When you meet him, Jankowski is lying half dead on the couch, half mutated by the liquid, and is still being processed by the syringe machine. He dies before Beckett's eyes saying that he should help "her" (Alma).
Genevieve Aristide
She is the incumbent president of Armacham. In the first part, she was known to try to stop Wade, but also to protect her company. Alma would be like a broken neck for the company. The soldiers in Dark Signal were all selected by her and then redeployed to stop Alma. Your actual goal is to use Dark Signal to keep Alma away from the player in the first part. It should be replicated and reprogrammed in peace when it is captured, which would be impossible with Alma's influence. However, it becomes known later that Aristide has no plans to destroy Alma. She wants to use Beckett as bait to recapture Alma. According to Aristides, her skills will lead the company back to the top and save her job. She released the mutants from the failed Paragon experiments to buy time. Snake Fist always tries to dissuade her and get her to kill Alma, but she refuses. When Stokes tries to stand against her in the end, she shoots her in the abdomen, whereupon Stokes collapses senseless. When she turns to Beckett, who is sitting helplessly in the telepathy amplifier, she is shot away by the suddenly appearing Alma and her phantom tentacles. You can't see it right away, but judging by the impact, she died of the injuries.
Snake Fist / Terry Halford
Halford is one of the researchers at Armacham. He hacked into Dark Signal's radio communications under the code name Snake Fist and warns the team about Alma and her telesthetic abilities. He got the name Snake Fist from an action movie poster that was hanging on him. Halford is hiding in a laboratory under the elementary school. There are some recorded conversations between Halford and Aristide in which they quarrel. It was about Alma. Halford wants to destroy them to prevent the apocalypse; on the other hand, Aristide just wants to lock Alma away and control her. When Beckett tracks him down, he tells him how to defeat Alma. Shortly before they both want to flee the laboratory, Halford is beheaded by a replica assassin.
Richard Vanek
ATC Security Colonel is out to destroy everything that has to do with Project Origin and Project Harbinger. When he sees Beckett's fighting style, how he can hold his own against all replicants, he makes it his main goal to kill him. However, his men never manage to corner him. Vanek can be caught by Beckett by separating him from his subordinates by an airlock. In close hand-to-hand combat, he can point a gun at Vanek's head and pull the trigger.
Development history
Name Your Fear
When Warner Bros. did not yet have the rights to the FEAR brand , fans were asked what the new game should be called in a poll called “Name Your Fear”. Until June 22nd, 2007, fans could suggest names. Then three finalists were selected from the pool of names. On August 3rd, a choice was made between the names Dead Echo, Project Origin and Dark Signal. The winner of the vote on September 6th was Project Origin and should now appear under that name. Even after Monolith Productions regained the FEAR trademark rights , Project Origin continued to be used as a subtitle.
Age rating
The game got difficulties with the youth protection authorities of several countries due to the depiction of violence. In Australia, FEAR 2: Project Origin was first denied clearance, which would have meant banning the game. After a renewed examination by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC), the approval MA15 + (from 15 years) was granted for the uncut version.
On December 15, 2008, the German USK gave the rating no youth approval according to § 14 JuSchG (from 18 years). A mitigation was announced by Monolith at the Games Convention 2008 . In Switzerland and Austria, on the other hand, the game was released in the uncut version with German voice output and subtitles.
The American Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has given the rating to Mature (17 years and over). The reasons given by the ESRB included Blood and Gore , Intense Violence , Sexual Themes , Partial Nudity and Strong Language .
reception
According to the meta-criticism site critify.de, the average rating of German-language game magazines for FEAR 2: Project Origin is 81%.
- Gamers.de 84%
"The game knows how to captivate and offers more horror tension than most of the current horror films in the cinema."
FEAR 2: Reborn (Add-on)
The expansion F.EAR 2: Reborn was released as download content (DLC) on September 3, 2009 and offers four new single player levels. The game was developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment . This add-on requires the base game.
The story now takes place from the perspective of the replica soldier Foxtrot 813 : For the soldier leader Paxton Fettel, known from the first part and died in that story, Foxtrot 813 is the key to being able to be reborn. Therefore he seduces him from the hereafter by means of his still existing telepathy in order to get to him. In the end, the Fettel succeeds too: The final sequence shows the soldier standing in front of him and Paxton Fettel's spirit invading his body.
Web links
- FEAR 2: Project Origin at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Name your Fear Video. (English)
- ↑ FEAR 2 Australian Ban Reversed ( Memento from April 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.eurogamer.de/articles/fear-2-nicht-in-australien
- ↑ http://critify.de/games/pc/3844/fear-2-project-origin/
- ↑ Gamers.de: Review of FEAR 2 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.gamers.de/news/5058/fear-2-reborn/brandneue-einzelpieler-kampagne-ab-sofort-erhaeltlich.html ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was created automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://store.steampowered.com/app/16465/
