Having got sucked into the F.E.A.R. universe a bit out of order, I'm still really enjoying this installment. It's sort of a "F.E.A.R. 1.5", meant to tide over series fans between the first and second installments. For me, it'll have to tide me over until F.E.A.R. 3 comes out, sometime in 2011, probably.
This is basically two full games plus a multi-player mode. It's not actually an add on to the original F.E.A.R., which you don't need to play Files. It continues the story exactly from the cliff hanger where F.E.A.R. left off.
This installment definitely has more polish than the first F.E.A.R., especially in graphics and creepiness. The default difficulty is also more reasonable than the first game, harder but not unfair. Frankly I enjoyed dying a few more times and trying certain areas a different way. I also enjoyed the direction in which the story is moving.
It's still lots of closed space fighting, with some areas that have a lot of vertical areas as well. This also has decent scripted moments that I felt added a lot to the overall enjoyment.
And again, for the retro gamer, this is a cheap thrill. The release price was only $30, and it can be had new for barely more than $15. If I recall I bought it used for around $11.
And I do think that people will remember this game fondly when they're playing their PS5 and Xbox 1024.
2011 ben langberg, all rights reserved.