Monolith Productions really hit the nail in the head when they developed F.E.A.R. , as it was such an unique and interesting game, that if they ever wanted to make a sequel for it, they needed to bring their A game in order to just scratch the level of quality of that one.

Here comes F.E.A.R. 2, an ill-fated sequel that never really got a clear direction and almost killed the franchise as a whole. At one point, two different games were even developed as F.E.A.R. 2, one for consoles and one for PC. However, the two games merged, and became one entity known as F.E.A.R. 2 : Project Origin.

This game is really hard to describe. Project Origin is way more cinematic, but also absurdly janky. It is brutal, but also lacking in terms of visual. It is a lesser version of the original, seemingly sharing the name of something that it wants to imitate as it slowly rots away while you are playing, until it becomes somewhat enjoyable for what it is.

Project Origin is something that would make any fan fear what an upcoming sequel will do to their beloved original. Sadly, it is an essential experience for those who seek more F.E.A.R. content from Monolith, as this is their last game in the franchise.

Do not get me wrong, Project Origin has it's own moments, such as the mech section that is weirdly fun for example. It is just that everything feels downgraded compared to the original. At least the plot is somewhat better, and it is much more akin to a movie, than a game. Actually, Project Origin would have worked much better as a movie to be honest.

If you are a fan of videogames, you probably played at least one game by Monolith Productions, and that is for a reason. This studio made some of the best games for PC, including Blood, No One Lives Forever, SHOGO and Claw. In 2005, they managed to do the impossible: Create a game that is so unique, and fun, that it is still a reference to this day.

The mid 2000's were an era where videogames came out left and right, and some of them were mostly lost to time, as very few of them were memorable enough. Fortunetly, time was kind enough to these games, as loyal fans shared their experiences online, so these games could live on forever. In this era, comes F.E.A.R. , a game that was a somewhat cinematic, first person shooter with horror elements that features incredible lighting, particle and gore effects with a slow motion mechanic and gorgeous visuals. An instant classic, that also has similar feats to Half-Life and it even has 2 expansions featuring new perspectives.

F.E.A.R. is a phenomenal game, that needs to be played by at least once by everyone who is interested in videogames. F.E.A.R. combines elements from horror and action cinema, and it has a really, and I mean really good atmosphere. Most of the time you are walking in an office or some tight area where nothing can be heared but buzzes, lights flickering, phones ringing and your own footsteps, only to be found by some hostile forces patroling the area, and the sounds of gunfire can fill the emptiness of these spaces. Do not let the tight spaces fool you though, because F.E.A.R. offer some upgrades for those who venture deep into the darker corridors, and you can pick up some boosters that increase your health and reflex. Exploration while being rewarded, can be limited, because these boosters shine bright in different colors, and you can spot them very easily, you only need to find the way to them.

Sadly, F.E.A.R. is not without it's flaws, and some of them can be major to some, minor to others. First of all, despite the great atmosphere, the game itself is not that scary. It is more eerie, than scary actually, and some of the jumpscares are very cheap and annoying. The game even slows down at times, so you can catch a glimpse at the thing that should scare you, but I do not know how many times I watched someone else play this game and not noticing what the devs want you to see. Hell, even I fall into this group, because even after finishing this game multiple times over the years, I still miss some of these scares, even though the game even plays a notificiation sound before some of them. Second, the game does not try to mix action and horror at the same time. Spooky things happen, and after that, there will be always an enemy encounter, and repeat. This loop can be a bit tedious, because the horror wears down relatively quickly, only to become somewhat annoying at times.

Even the combat has it's own flaws, mainly that some weapons are way better than the rest, and the fact that almost every enemy dies from a shot to the head when you fire the first round, but after that first headshot, the hitbox changes, and they need several shots to the head to go down. It is a weird system, because gives you the false sense that you are in charge of a situation, but after that, it takes away that feeling from you, and the game wants you to use the slow motion mechanic in order to fully control the combat encounters

Despite these, F.E.A.R. is a phenomenal game, and a great experience, where the supernatural can be scary at times, but true fear comes from the encounters and the fact that you need to be on your toes all the time, because when you least expect it, an enemy squad will surely surprise you.

Monolith Productions changed after F.E.A.R. and it might not surprise you but the company not changed for the better. After some big studios noticed their talents, they became a shell of their former glory, and they made some big mistakes. However, this does not mean that they stopped creating good games, and I even want to talk about their other works as well.

I am a big fan of the Sniper Elite series ever since I played V2 when it was originally released in 2012. I replayed it four years ago, and I thought it was still pretty alright.

Now, I got the remastered edition, which serves as the complete version of the game, packed with every DLC and some visual changes and let me tell you, now I get it why some people hate V2.

V2 is a Call of Duty and Medal of Honor hybrid, mixed with Splinter Cell Conviction, and it does not sound bad to be honest, especially since I enjoy both COD and MOH, and I even had my fun with Splinter Cell.

Just to get this out of the way: The game does not support stealth play at all. It tries to support stealth, but it always fails, and the game becomes a somewhat enjoyable shooter, that mostly requires you to stay put, and snipe your enemies from cover, while they try to kill you or make you move to an another cover.

The stealth bits are relatively simple, janky and uninteresting. Mostly, because the enemy AI can detect you really fast, and you cannot sneak past them like in another games. You mostly need to take everyone out with a silenced pistol, or wait for a distraction so you can take them out with a sniper. You can set traps, lay down mines but you do not need to use them at all in order to complete the game.

Some sections even require you to stay in a small location and defend your position from waves of enemies, and after that, the missions just ends. The perfect way to describe it is "uninteresting", because everything stays the same from beginning to the end. You always shoot down the same soldiers, who try to make you move from a cover, until you snipe them down or die from their attacks.

The one redeeming factor is the franchise's main gimmick, the X-Ray kills, which can be really satisfying from time-to-time but it becomes shallow after a few shots. Not because it is boring, but because the game does not do anything with this system. It is only a gimmick, that can make you stay for some time, but it becomes boring.

I still love this series though, because I know that this was the first step in order for the franchise to become an alternative for Hitman, and I still enjoy some bits of it. I am just disappointed that I cannot enjoy this game anymore like I used to. Nostalgia is a bad thing I guess.