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For years I’ve wanted to have this game in one of my Top 11’s. Yet oddly I’ve always found myself forgoing it. Instead I usually go with the other games in the F.E.A.R. series or forget about it altogether. It’s a real shame too. This is a game that shouldn’t go unnoticed, be forgotten or worse, be rejected like how it was by the original makers of F.E.A.R. Because despite this game being made by a different developer, it still holds that same F.E.A.R. feeling that the original offered but adds new weapons, better AI, more focus on action and offers a better plot than F3AR in my humble opinion. For me this game makes up my unofficial F.E.A.R. “Thrillogy”. So let’s dive in with my number 4 game this year: F.E.A.R. Files.

 

F.E.A.R. Files is the console equivalent of the two expansion packs offered on PC for the original F.E.A.R. game. Titled Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate, they continue the story where F.E.A.R. left off, complete with the final level cut scene replaying for you with Alma climbing into the helicopter.  If you’ve played the first F.E.A.R. game then you’ll know what to expect out of this stand-alone offering in Extraction Point. The graphics, level designs, weapons and control are basically the same in the first part of F.E.A.R. Files. For some this might not be a good thing, expecting something a little more out of this package, but for me this is exactly what the FPS horror fan in me wanted. More of the same can be a good thing, especially when you came to enjoy what was offered in the first game. You get the same familiarity from what you got in F.E.A.R. but with some added perks to make things interesting. Even the supernatural moments get a bump up in the expansions. You’ll still get the same level of jump scares and run-ins with Alma Wade but they add a little surrealism to her encounters.

Story wise in Extraction Point you continue to play as “Point Man” as you and SFOD-D Douglas Holiday and F.E.A.R. medic Jin Sun-Kwon make your way out of the crash site of your destroyed chopper and begin the journey to the new Extraction Point  within the Auburn disaster zone. As you progress thru the expansion you’ll run into Paxton Fettel who mysteriously is back from the dead and reactivates the Replica Soldiers for an unknown mission. Though your task is to make it out of the city, you end up fighting the newly reactivated Replica force as they capture Jin Sun-Kwon and do all they can to stop you from escaping the city. The plot doesn’t do much to help the continued narrative about Alma and the Project Origin experiments but it does give you something more out of the original characters in the first title. It might mean little consequence in the overall story but you at least get to learn the fates of those that you came to know during the first game, something that was sorely lacking in F3AR. ( I have to admit this aspect falters a bit in the WTF moment on finding Norton Mapes) You even get to learn what became of F.E.A.R. operative Spencer Jankowski who kept popping up in the most oddest of places despite him going missing at the Sullivan Shipping and Receiving yards.

Even if the level design hasn’t changed very little in this game they make up for it in the sheer scope of the levels themselves. Instead of having just corridors and tight outside alleyways, you get big almost multiplayer style areas for levels to play through. You can almost get stuck in these levels if you’re not too careful. More than once I got stuck in an area because I didn’t know I was supposed to inspect a certain air vent or hang out near a fence to proceed to the next level. Because of these bigger levels, there is a more centered focus on combat itself. Replica forces have a few new tricks with some new weapons and gear. We see the return of basic troops but we also see upgraded variants of power armored troops and troopers with heavier weapons. You thought it was bad enough to face off against a Replica Heavy armor trooper with an HV Penetrator nail gun but how about when they bring a mini gun into the mix. Even the REV6 Powered Armor units get a variant with a more armored like “ED-209” model. Couple that with a new laser gun and enhanced combat tactics, the Replica forces are even more deadly this go around. But thankfully you have same access to these weapons (expect for the REV6 Powered Armor of course, we don’t get that till F.E.A.R. 2) along with a new secondary weapon in the form of the mountable gun turret. Think of it like the laptop turret from Perfect Dark and you’ll get the right idea. Because of this and the bigger level designs you’ll have a greater chance to actually set up defensive perimeters when the Replica soldiers come for you, making for a more robust and action oriented game this go around. Even ATC Special Forces and the newly introduced “Nightcrawler” group in Perseus Mandate have a few new tricks and weapons at their disposal. Knowing that Nightcrawler elite troopers having the same “Slo-Mo” features like the main characters you play add a new level the opposition.

Now I know what you’re thinking: if this is the case then what became of the horror aspect that made F.E.A.R. a captivating series. You’ll be happy to know that the horror themes found in the series is still ever present in F.E.A.R. Files. Both Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate have Alma and all the supernatural trappings one can expect. If anything the Alma encounters can get more visceral and surreal with each encounter. You’ll still get the instakill Alma moments if you’re not too quick and careful, but you’ll get the feeling that at times she might just be toying with you. You see that in action when you learn of the fates that befall both Douglas Holiday and Jin Sun-Kwon, being completely helpless in trying to prevent their fates. But at the same time Alma helps out in clearing out certain areas infested with Replica forces. Her encounters border on from what you’d expect in past games to messing with reality induced visions. I’m still can’t wrap my head around the “hallway shuffle” scene that seemed more like a scene from the movie “Inception” than in a F.E.A.R. game. But I have to admit I was mesmerized as Alam’s apparitions’ took form during specific scenes in game. Even after knowing all we know about Project Origin, it still can be terrifying that Alma still has a few tricks up her sleeves that would make her flesh burning trick a simple novelty.

Though nothing happens on the level like the “long hallway” scene in what F.E.A.R. Files, there are enough supernatural moments that make you wonder more what is going on than instilling fear inducing terror of what’s going on. You’ll find yourself following bloody footsteps created by Alma to walking into rooms that have been painted red with the blood of your enemies. The music and ambient sound effects, though lifted right out of the first game, fit in just as well in these outings. You get the same tension filled moments during a firefight just as you would when entering into one of Alma’s supernatural traps. It may not help you generate more nightmare moments after the game is over but it’ll feed your current nightmare fears after their encounters in game.

Everything that can be said about Extraction Point pretty much remains the same with Perseus Mandate. The difference offered in this expansion is that oddly the graphics are not as good. Something you wouldn’t think possible seeing what was done with Extraction Point. (I’m even told that the PC specs to run Extraction Point were higher than the first game itself.) The second difference is that unlike Extraction Point, Perseus Mandate continues the F.E.A.R. saga story wise. Pulling a F.E.A.R. 2 when it comes to dual narratives, it tells the story of a second F.E.A.R. team being inserted in the Auburn with a mission to locate Armacham Technology Corporation's Secondary Facility to a gather information of their wrongdoing only to get caught in the middle between ATC security forces, Replica forces and a third group consisting of a mercenary group called the “Nightcrawlers” . Unlike Extraction Point where you play as “Point Man” you end up playing as a nameless “Sergeant” with two AI controller F.E.A.R. operatives as you play thru the events of the first F.E.A.R. game as well as the aftermath of the Origin facility’s explosion. As events unfold you learn of how ATC is doing all it can to cover up their misdeeds by any means they can (explaining exactly who shot Aldus Bishop during the events in the first game.), as well as the Nightcrawler’s mission in obtaining “The Source” as Replica Forces defend it anyway they can.

Though it might sound like Perseus Mandate sacrifices the horror elements of F.E.A.R. for more story focused game that is not the case. All that was offered in Extraction Point, from weapons, to enemies to the supernatural elements are all present. Even the AI partners don’t take away from the overall gameplay since you do get separated from them in game. If anything this game does a much better job in trying to tie up loose ends than what was offered in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin & F3AR. I’ll even go as far as to say that F.E.A.R. Files offers a much better gaming experience when played back to back with the first and second games altogether. (But much more on that later.)

Despite what became of the series in the end, F.E.A.R is still able to deliver the scares and thrills that can be expected of any supernatural offered videogame. Though no longer considered cannon with the rest of the game series (F.E.A.R. Files being in the Vivendi Timeline), TimeGate Studios did an excellent job in creating what Monolith Productions started. It still retains the same feel that both F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin was able to create when it came to making a horror based FPS. They were able to continue the tradition of a game that is best played with the lights off and the volume turned up. All the more a shame that very few people will get a chance to enjoy this title now. It might be easy to get ahold of for PC but good luck trying to find this game anywhere. F.E.A.R. Files is not available on Xbox 360’s Games on Demand service (the demo for this title being pulled long ago) nor was it ported to any other consoles at the time. But it’s worth trying to pick up if only to see “what might have been” with the F.E.A.R. series before it fell apart with F3AR.

I was lucky enough to find this game (complete in case) back in Connecticitia at one of the local GameStops I frequented for only $7.99. I wanted it so badly I actually bought it and kept it with me in my carry-on bag when I flew back to the great state of Nebraska. Yes it was that good. If you’ve played F.E.A.R. before and wanted more of the same then you’ll get exactly that with a bit more for the pleasure. They tried to bill this game as two games in one but given they were just expansions it’s best to consider them a full game package in of itself. But that still doesn’t take away the thrills and chills the game has to offer when it comes to a night of Octoberween gaming. Alma is just as scary and the firefights are just as intents, moreso with the online options and instant action modes provided.

So if you’d like to try out a different alternative to the F.E.A.R. Trilogy, why not try out my pick to create a F.E.A.R. “Thrillogy”. Just remember that the old methods are still the best methods when you run into Alma. I don’t care how small and defenseless she looks. If she approaches you F#$*ing RUN!

My Top 11 Octoberween Game Titles for 2014

#11) Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir – 3DS: $9.99 new

#10) Resident Evil: Director’s Cut Dual Shock Version – PSOne (PSN): Free

#09) Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth – WiiWare: 1000 Wii points ($10)

#08) Dishonored – Xbox 360: (XBLA GwG): Free

#07) Ghostbusters: The Video Game – PS3: $15

#06) Alien Breed Trilogy - PS3/PSN: $7.49 sale price

#05) Corpse Party – PSP: $9.99 sale price

#04) F.E.A.R. Files – Xbox 360: $7.99