Category

I came across a second sequel to the amazing fear today entitled Perseus Mandate. The official trailer is below. It is unclear at this stage whether this game will pick up after extraction point, however I hope it is a completely new instalment albeit in the same universe.

The problem is, whilst fear was an excellent game which made stunning use of particles, slow down and a creepy little girl called alma, that was a couple of years ago. The original game tied up the storyline quite nicely, however leaving a beautiful opening for a sequel with Alma's stunt at the end. I eagerly awaited a continuation of the storyline only to be presented with Extraction Point, a game that answers very few questions and just serves up a few extra hours of game time in the same environments as the original. Whilst some new bad guys and weapons were added, recent game sequels have shown that this is not enough, particularly with a cinematic game like F.E.A.R. Needless to say I was bitterly disappointed with Extraction Point. Now we have Perseus Mandate that, on the surface, looks like another cheap effort to use the F.E.A.R engine and content to sell a few more games.

It should be noted however that in the original, you (the player) are a hapless member of F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assault Recon) and that you are charged with investigating strange occurrences and circumstances. The fact that, right from the moment go, you are thrown into the twisted universe of Fettel and Alma almost makes the player forget this and take up the time honoured, if tired, role of unlucky bystander #1 who surprise surprise is either unknowingly the answer to the game or unsubtly, a human tank that bulldozes through the levels.

I think the key to Perseus Mandate will be treating it like a completely new game rather than as a sequel. The problem is that games have moved on considerably since 2005 and coupled with the rather unique engine of fear means that this game will have to do something or offer something very new or different in order to achieve its potential. Thankfully the trailer shows several interesting new events/ways in which the game plays with the player's mind. I hope that whatever story the developers choose to tell, they generate the atmosphere as well in the original.

There are so many 'horror' games on the market but most use the over used system of dark corners and imps/zombies jumping and lurching around. F.E.A.R was one of the few games that attempted to get under your skin by constantly putting you on edge and it worked remarkably well. As such I am quietly optimistic, as I dearly would love a game that matched the original in terms of atmosphere and immersion.