It's even more FEAR except this time it's super boring because the combat feels slow with how spongy the new enemies are, the lighting is gone making the game look like shit, and the story and horror is somehow even worse then it already was. If it says anything on how boring it was I've also completed Postal 3 and the Sega CD version of The Lawnmower Man game without even thinking about maybe abandoning them. Not outright awful but maybe it should of been so it was at least interesting in any way shape or form, would not recommend.

If I could use one word to describe Perseus Mandate, it would be "chore". The story is just kind of pointless, the pacing is stilted, the characters are mostly unlikable (Chen was the only one that got beyond indifference from me), the relatively subtle and eerie horror from previous entries is replaced with cheap jump scares, creatures/enemies that were scary and/or difficult now appear so frequently that they lose all novelty. Then, there's the combat. One of the series' strengths thus far is also just overplayed in this expansion. There's more fights than Extraction Point, with each fight having many more enemies, and the fights themselves seeming almost constant to the point where I was wishing for a dull moment just to break the tedium. The new weapons are mostly lackluster, the new enemies are just old ones but stronger (meaning bullet sponges and unreasonably fast), combat was already exhausting by Interval 3 (less than halfway through the expansion), not because of difficulty, but simply because of the frequency. By Interval 5 I had fully stopped caring what was going on and just kind of waltzed through what was left with no real regard just to simply wrap it up. While it has a few good moments, Perseus Mandate is mostly an underwhelming follow-up to FEAR and Extraction Point and kind of hard to recommend unless beating your head against a wall for 5 hours sounds appealing. The final stretch of the game is an absolute joke, it's a meatgrinder just for the sake of being one and individually breaking each of your own fingers with a hammer may unironically be a more fun experience.

I'm not quite sure what happened during development, but the magic that made FEAR enjoyable was lost somewhere along the way.

:/

If Extraction Point's like going for seconds after a meal, this is the leftovers after a few days. It's fine, it's more F.E.A.R. but the main part I didn't like in Extraction Point was the construction site since it focused on these more open areas that didn't work as well with F.E.A.R.'s combat and this feels like it leans into that. A ton of the arenas are these big open areas with a couple enemies who you just kind of pick off from the other side of the room, it doesn't play into the cinematic sandbox or tacticity of the game's combat and so just feels kind of weak.

I'd usually rate something like this as a 3 star since it is more F.E.A.R. and more F.E.A.R. is good but since Extraction Point was already doing that I don't really need more and would've preferred if they tried something slightly different. I thought it was maybe going for a more Soldier-y Call Of Duty tone with the open exterior areas and your wee squad which would at least be interesting to see but it very quickly goes back to the labs and offices of the base game, just open and big and not as good.

There was one fight which was just lit by red flares. That was cool.

Perceus MAN-date??? heh no thanks, i prefer women.

This second expansion goes surprisingly hard to the point where i think some parts of it surpass the original game

(note: i could just think this because i played it immediately after playing extraction point which was fucking terrible)

A masterpiece DLC for the F.E.A.R. series.

F.E.A.R. is an exceptionally good game in every possible way. It got a great story line, horror elements, a perfect AI, intense action and beautiful graphics and sound, even to this day. The same goes for this DLC: Perseus Mandate.

Back in 2008, when I first bought the first game, I did not know what to expect. I thought it would be a horror game in which you need to run constantly from some girl. I was half right. When I first played it, I immediately got a sense of dread and discomfort and when the first horror elements came to play, I pooped my pants. I could not play this game without someone sitting next to me. It was just to damn scary, and for that it will always have my deepest respect.

The story is powerful and interesting, I am not going to spoil it, this is something you need to experience for yourself. It has kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole game and made an impression on me that lasts forever. The story of F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate is a separate story that takes place alongside the original story of the first F.E.A.R. game. It blends in beautifully and every level, action and event are linked to the first game.

The graphics in F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate are the same as the original game and still beautiful. The same goes for the sound, and like I said in my F.E.A.R. review, it is still perfect.

F.E.A.R. has some of the best AI I have ever seen in a video game, even to this day. The AI is simply perfect. Enemies communicate with each other; they react to your every move and adapt their strategy on it. Also, when you encounter a squad of four enemies and obliterate three of their buddies, the fourth one panics and his accuracy and will to fight drops instantly. Comments like “We can’t stop him” gives you a feeling of power, you are in control of this fight. Enemies can lose sight of you in a battle, giving you back your edge. They are definitely are not the bullet sponges in games today. Especially the newly added assassin units which are a absolute chore to kill.

The slow-motion feature in F.E.A.R. was also unique for its time and really helps you in your fights. If you are flanked by the smart AI Replica soldiers you use your slow motion to take back control of the situation. The only downside of this, is that the game is quite easy because of it. If you are having trouble with a certain part, just use your slow motion and everything will be fine. Especially when you upgraded its bar to the max. The same principle goes for this expansion.

Perseus Mandate point added some new weapons and enemies that enhanced the experience even more. Although I have to say that I did not like the new enemies that much. Especially the elite assassins which run away constantly from you. Still, it all fits and the concepts are original.

Although F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate was not as scary as Extraction point or the original game, it still had its moments of “what the heck” and jump scares that caught me off guard.

Perseus Mandate also has a special place in my black heart and will always be one of the games that I can play anytime, anywhere. The replay value is high for me. In my opinion, it is another masterpiece.

I recommend F.E.A.R. and this expansion in every way. You must have played it at least once before you grow old and senile.

never finished perseus mandate before, so i thought it was about time to do so. PM is the lowest the first F.E.A.R. can get, full of depressingly bland lighting, boring skirmishes, and weak additions. LithTech lighting is some of the greatest to be found in a game from its time and even today. Pitch-black silhouettes of enemies and deep voids accent the surfaces of F.E.A.R. to create an impeccable atmosphere. fighting in the shadows, exploring vents in a vacuum, and witnessing horrors in the dark, the stark lighting is great in the base game. timegate studios, for some reason, thought that the game should just have global illumination turned to 11, making nighttime outdoors combat incredibly drab. no muzzle flashes to light up dark corners or flashlights to cut through shadows, just plain ol', evenly lit arenas for 90% of the game. the arenas dont make it any better. many of them are boring single-floor, open rooms with boxes as the only cover. gone are the anxiously close-quarters gunfights of the original F.E.A.R. as most encounters are quick skirmishes across large rooms and halls. the verticality of the original made it even tenser when fighting enemies as they could flank from above or take a long winding path for a surprise attack. enemies in PM can barely surprise you. the new enemies arent even that interesting. the mercs are the same thing as the clone soldiers, so they're basically clones of clones. the quick ninja mercs are too tanky and quick to be entertaining fights, made worse by their usually terrible arenas. the new monster enemies are neat, made better by the area they're introduced in. that's probably the highlight of the expansion, the underground area where the invisible beasts kill your buddy chen. timegate remembered about the great lighting and puts it to great use while also putting f.e.a.r. in a new locale. it's a nerve-wracking level where you tiptoe and obsess over your flashlight battery. but good things always end and you get thrust back into the grinder of boring to decent fights. the new weapons arent even that exciting with a 'new' assault rifle (it has a scope?!?! woah..), a weaker railgun equivalent, a kinda sick grenade launcher, and a neat laser beam rifle. the placeable turret isnt really worth mentioning. Its only value is that it can distract enemies. the highs reached f.e.a.r.'s baseline, with great horror visuals and atmosphere on occasion. however, the lows were so low and more common, just dragging the expansion into a pitiful crater. it does scratch the f.e.a.r. gameplay loop at times, but it's not wholly worth getting into unless you're a big f.e.a.r.-head, which is the only reason i even decided to play it after hearing it was disappointing. a middle-of-the-road expansion, so replay f.e.a.r.

While still a pretty good game, Perseus mandate is kind of a mess: it's what happens when F.E.A.R. meets Call of Duty and doubles every enemy's health pool. The amount of medkits scattered around the world is absolutely comical, and emblematic of the focus on action that this expansion went for.

Some areas look absolutely horrible while others look great. Why? Because the good looking ones are just recycled from the far superior Extraction point, and played in reverse.

The new elite commando enemies are just plain irritating: invariably met in pairs or more, and entirely too often, they constantly hop around, throw explosives and wall turrets at you, hit for half your health and, most of all, soak up more damage than a heavy armor. They are encounters designed solely around the use of slow-mo, which is pretty much how you're supposed to play the entirety of Perseus Mandate anyway: the minute shooting starts, hit the easy mode button and reap the spoils. If not, prepare for a tough, tough slog.

It's not a horrid campaign, only lazy and kind of missing the point of what makes F.E.A.R. great.

La segunda expansión para el FEAR original no es nada más que unas cuantas horas de acción y disparos sin absolutamente nada novedoso que añadir. Sí, se explora una faceta adicional de la historia que ya se conoce, pero la verdad no hay necesidad de añadir más capítulos a una trama que ya no tiene nada nuevo que ofrecer. Hay espacio para la creación de nuevas mecánicas, pero eso no sucede en ninguna parte y al final lo que se obtiene es un FPS que debería ser de terror, pero termina siendo muy básico y simple.