Project Origin

By Lucy O'Brien

Alma’s baaaaack in the sequel to the horror FPS blockbuster F.E.A.R, and she’s gonna touch you. Developers Monolith have promised a more visceral experience the second time around, and that means creepy child fiend Alma isn’t going to be limited to singing off-key lullabies in the shadows.

Project Origin takes a departure from the F.E.A.R franchise due to a shift in publishers - F.E.A.R was originally published by Vivendi - and Monolith are keen to stress that although not technically a sequel, Project Origin is most definitely the next game to play for F.E.A.R fans.

Project Origin’s story begins thirty minutes before the big bang at the end of its predecessor. You take control of protagonist soldier Michael Beckett, sent in to arrest Genivieve Aristide, the (previously unseen) president of Armacham. There is a thrill to be had in re-experiencing that climactic explosion and being flung into the burnt out streets of ground zero, a huge departure from the samey samey office blocks and warehouses of the original. Fire-ravaged streets and big wide spaces give the game an action-movie feel, but the intense horror elements, thankfully, still promise to come thick and fast.

The enemies in Project Origin are schizophrenic fiends transformed as such by Alma’s influence. They move with a graceful fluidity that looks to be both dangerous and shockingly mesmerizing – think Bioshock’s Splicers with a smarter AI. This remarkable intelligence is most apparent when the enemies react to decisions the players make in the game. Monolith have introduced a new cover system, for example, where the player has the ability to create his own cover by interacting with the environment, i.e. flipping over a bench leaning against the wall. These actions don’t go unnoticed by your enemies, and they can use this bench to hide from your bullets later on in the action. The disturbing thing is, they remember what you do, and react to your own unique style of gameplay. As a consequence of this, you will never play the same game twice.

Gorehounds will also be thankful that Monolith have not skimped on the splatter. Kill an enemy at close quarters and blood will gush over your camera (or ‘visor’), blurring your vision for a few moments. Check out developer Mark Wood’s online blog to get a sense of just how gory this game is going to be – the dude has spent a considerable amount of time perfecting the art of the ‘blood spray’. It’s nasty, juicy stuff. Details on new kinds of weaponry are scant at this stage, but at the very least we can expect a return of the aggressively named ‘Penetrator’, a firm crowd pleaser from the original. Like F.E.A.R’s ‘Point Man’, Michael Beckett also retains the ability to slow down time, however once again details on the reasons behind this are scarce.

At its heart, Project Origin is all about that little girl called Alma, whose power has laid waste to an entire city. As previously mentioned, she will be far more active in the sequel, taking a focused and immediate interest in destroying Michael at all costs. She is older, her rage has intensified, and it is up to you to defeat (or save?) her. Monolith have promised that some of the more obtuse plot points in F.E.A.R will be explained in the sequel, and Alma’s storyline will be resolved. Keep it locked into NZGamer for a pants-wetting review later on in the year.

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Posted by BlinK on 16 July 2008, 09:49PM

OOOOOOOO cant wait for another F.E.A.R

Posted by paddy01 on 17 July 2008, 11:36AM

This looks brilliant. Was less than impressed by the two add ons for the original F.E.A.R. Can't wait to get my hands on the new 'penetrator'. Gives a new meaning to 'balls to the wall action'.

Posted by nightmarishrequiem on 17 July 2008, 10:46PM

ooooooo