I did something last night that I have not done before. I exited out of Halo 3, I resisted the temptation from the all powerful Peggle and I even suppressed my inner desire to play Half Life 2 for the hundredth time. Instead, I put F.E.A.R. 2 into my console to test out multiplayer before the new DLC map pack Toy Soldiers is released on April 16.
Now, I played multiplayer maybe once when I first bought this game but really only wanted it for the single player campaign. Just like the Condemned series, the single player story is where the game is the strongest. But maybe I should give multiplayer more of a chance? I know it won’t be perfect but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun. Well for me last night, it was more of an issue of actually finding a game. Doing a quick search or a custom search each time was met with ‘server full’ or ‘can’t connect’. So I decided to Host my own match and that seems to be the way to go. I played a few games and it wasn’t too bad. I think I’ll keep giving it some more time.
So what’s the deal with F.E.A.R. 2 online? Are there not that many people playing? I guess that’s possible, which is why I am looking forward to these new Toy Solider maps being released. Once they are out, and everyone finds out they’re free, maybe then it will be easier to find a good online game to take part in. The maps look fun and look totally different than anything anyone has ever released before, so I give Monolith credit for that. These maps shrink you and your enemies down to small soldiers and place you inside a Pinball Machine (FullTilt), a Hospital Room (Cockroach) and of course a Giant Sandcastle (Recess). How can any of these maps fail to be fun? I’ll check them out when they are released and let you know what I think. Until then, stop teasin‘ us with these trailers and bring it already!
The Gamer Report 