Man its been a long time since I have played a decent demo. Thankfully, the new masters of survival horror, Monolith, have developed one of the most surprising demos I have ever played. Now, I have played the Condemned games and I have played the first F.E.A.R. so I thought I knew what to expect when starting this demo. Turns out, I was way off course with my prediction of the game being just that, predictable.
Monolith wastes no time playing with your head, and when I say playing with your head, I mean they totally send you on a course through “mind fuck alley.” I seriously should have reconsidered playing this at night with the lights off. Luckily I did not have nightmares but even if I did, I think it would have been worth it.
It kind of started off a bit slow as I expected to be shooting a lot more since this is a first person shooter. But Monolith had different plans and I am so glad they know how to immerse a player in this hell called F.E.A.R. 2. They first lead you through some creepy environments (no more office cubicles! yay!) like a school hallway with lockers on both sides opening and slamming shut like some possessed demon is watching your every move. Oh wait, there is a demon watching your every move and Monolith makes sure you are very aware! The best environment by far in this demo, is the destroyed movie theatre. This part made my mouth drop. So simple, so frightening how they used the theatre to haunt you and just so well done. EA? This is how a demo is supposed to be made.
A few more creepy psychological mind tricks and the first person shooter finally started to come to life. But not before one last scare that literally made me jump like I was playing my first ever horror game of my life. It made me laugh because I was so ready for it but it still scared me! It was at this point I decided this game was a must buy for me. I’ve played Monolith’s games in the past as rentals but from seeing this demo, I know I will want to keep this game in my collection in case I feel like pissing my pants for shits & giggles years down the road.
This demo was great but it did not end with a big bang like I thought it would. But now that I think about it, it didn’t really need to. I thought Monolith might have been throwing too many crazy visual effects and surprises at the player too early, too fast. But towards the end they have a Mech waiting for you to control and destroy whatever enemy lies in your path. Although I did enjoy this part, the scares are where this game is at its strongest. The weapons we’re OK but the sound effects felt weak and I couldn’t help but feel they needed to be tweaked to sound more realistic. The sniper rifle I enjoyed the most for its ease and accuracy. It was my first time playing and using this weapon but I had no trouble getting headshots every time.
So long story short, if you haven’t played this demo yet, now is the time. Grab a friend, better yet, grab a girlfriend, turn off all the lights and play this demo together for a few moments of a bloody awesome scare ride. F.E.A.R. 2 comes out February 10.
The Gamer Report 