F.E.A.R 2: Reborn
Written By Stephen Heller
Horror FPS veterans Monolith come back to their latest title F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin with the first single player DLC pack titled F.E.A.R 2: Reborn. It’s worth a pricetag of $9.99 USD on the STEAM Store, or 800 Microsoft points, but are you getting bang for your hard earned cash?
Reborn runs paralel to the main story of Project Origin and puts you into the shoes of replica soldier Foxtrot 813, who ha been awaken from his zombie like state by paranormal psychic calls from one Paxton Fettel. It’s then your mission to reach the Origin facility, where Fettel awaits.
Those expecting a radical change of gameplay from Project Origin with this DLC are going to be sorely disappointed. It’s the same weapons, the same style of gameplay and the same features, but it’s the little things that make Reborn truly stand up. A new HUD is in place due to your new role which is nice, but still functions the same. The enemies consist of the Armacham forces, the usual paranormal oddities and more and more soldiers with guns. The AI seems to have ramped up a little, always working together, sliding behind cover and attempting to flank you. Thankfully Foxtrot 813 has the uncanny ability to slow down time like the other lead characters in the F.E.A.R series, which provides some of the coolest, bloodiest and stylish kills in video gaming.
While Reborn still features those long, dank corridors that have plagued the level design of the series since it’s origin (no pun intended), Reborn has some fantastic level design, most notably a rather disorientating segment through a falling office building. The level design still has a long way to go, but some variety goes a long way, and Reborn manages to deliver something different, yet somewhat familiar.
Unfortunately the ride just begins to get interesting and it’s cut short by a rather lame cliffhanger before the plot actually really goes anywhere. The campaign can be finished from 2-4 hours of gameplay depending on what difficulty you are playing. In those short hours you are given a fully distilled experience, having some of the hardest enemies from Project Origin from the get go. The story runs alongside that of Sargent Beckett from Project Origin, and doesn’t actually have much at all do to with Alma. She still rears her ugly, demonic and frightful head every now and then, but she is not the main item of the agenda which is a welcome change. Just as the story picks up the game is cut off, a cliffhanger, and promise of another DLC pack to come. If you are looking for further insight into the main story from Project Origin then this isn’t for you, but rather a supplement story.
The Final Verdict
So the big question: Is Reborn worth your hard earned cash or Microsoft points? For $9.99 you can’t expect too much content, and Reborn delivers another great experience in the F.E.A.R universe, albeit at tad short. It includes a slo-mo deathmatch mode which may get some more people into the online side, but ultimately if you are a fan of F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin and want to expand the story just a little further, there is no reason not to get this pack.
Gameplay
8.6/10
What we get is a very solid, straight-up shooter experience. There are plenty of weapons and heaps of enemies to get through, but we've done it all before. Still, it's good enough to experience again and it's really enjoyable.
Graphics
9.5/10
Monolith have moved-on from the office blocks to offer something a little more engaging. The lighting effects are great and the attention to detail is top notch, the motion blur and film grain add to an amazing looking game.
Sound
8.1/10
Great weapon and atmospheric effects. Ultimately, the lame voice-acting brings the audio presentation down a notch.
Value
8.1/10
It’s 2-4 hours of gameplay with some new environments, a new character and a new story. Throw in the slo-mo deathmatch mode all for a price tag of $9.99, this offers decent value.
Overall
8.5/10
System Requirements
Minimum System Requirements:
*CPU: P4 2.8GHz (3.2GHz Vista)/Athlon 64 3000+ (3200+ Vista)
*GPU: DX9-capable graphics card with 256MB (SM 2.0b). NVidia 6800 or ATI X700.
*RAM: 1GB (1.5GB Vista)
*Hard Drive: 12GB
*OS: Windows XP SP2/Vista SP1
*DirectX: 9.0c
*Sound: DX9.0c compliant
*Optical drive: DVD (boxed only)
Internet: Broadband
Recommended System Requirements:
*CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz processor family/Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (required for MP host)
*GPU: Fully DX9-compliant graphics card with 512MB (SM 3.0). NVidia 8600 GTS or ATI HD 2900 XT.
*Ram: 1.5GB
*Hard Drive: 12GB
*OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1
*DirectX: 9.0c
*Sound: DX9.0c compliant
*Optical drive: DVD (boxed only)
*Internet: Broadband (768kbit/sec upstream required to host 16 players)
Review System
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 6000+
RAM: 4gb
GPU: ATI HD4850 1gb
Perfromance: Visuals Highest, Minimal Lag