Initially I didn't realize F.E.A.R. had expansion packs, so after finishing F.E.A.R. 2 I circled back and began clearing these out. I was hopeful - F.E.A.R. 2 sucked, so surely these would at least be passable.
Unfortunately, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point is a time-waster and nothing more.
The initial half-hour is actually pretty fun. But the expansion falls apart when it comes to level design. One of the highlights of F.E.A.R., to me, was the environments. Most of them were office buildings or apartments. Repetitive, but immaculately designed for fun combat encounters. You'd have multiple ways to flank and be flanked. Enemies had plenty of cover but so did you. It was a balancing act that worked wonderfully.
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point puts you in winding, endless hallways and tunnels. You normally have one way to progress, and you just alternate between tight corridors and giant battle-rooms for the entire two hour experience. It's not engaging, especially when (it feels like anyway) enemies do significantly more damage than before. And nothing new is really added to make up for this. There's some gimmicky weapons, three new enemy classes (two that hardly show up and one that's just not a threat), and overall I was just disappointed.
The story isn't much better. No spoilers, but it's a story where you practically end up exactly where you started. It doesn't feel important to F.E.A.R.'s narrative, beyond introducing a few concepts and updating you on how everyone's doing.
Also...I'm sorry, but the horror is awful. If you're the kind of person who gets scared by GMOD horror maps, or finds hallways with bloodstains and random ghosts floating around to be scary, then sure maybe it'll do something for you. But more often than not, I was laughing at the scares. Not a single one landed, and this couldn't even manage to get a creepy atmosphere going.
I'm glad I didn't skip this expansion in my series playthrough, but it wasn't really worth the time. I'm happy I can say that I beat it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
Unfortunately, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point is a time-waster and nothing more.
The initial half-hour is actually pretty fun. But the expansion falls apart when it comes to level design. One of the highlights of F.E.A.R., to me, was the environments. Most of them were office buildings or apartments. Repetitive, but immaculately designed for fun combat encounters. You'd have multiple ways to flank and be flanked. Enemies had plenty of cover but so did you. It was a balancing act that worked wonderfully.
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point puts you in winding, endless hallways and tunnels. You normally have one way to progress, and you just alternate between tight corridors and giant battle-rooms for the entire two hour experience. It's not engaging, especially when (it feels like anyway) enemies do significantly more damage than before. And nothing new is really added to make up for this. There's some gimmicky weapons, three new enemy classes (two that hardly show up and one that's just not a threat), and overall I was just disappointed.
The story isn't much better. No spoilers, but it's a story where you practically end up exactly where you started. It doesn't feel important to F.E.A.R.'s narrative, beyond introducing a few concepts and updating you on how everyone's doing.
Also...I'm sorry, but the horror is awful. If you're the kind of person who gets scared by GMOD horror maps, or finds hallways with bloodstains and random ghosts floating around to be scary, then sure maybe it'll do something for you. But more often than not, I was laughing at the scares. Not a single one landed, and this couldn't even manage to get a creepy atmosphere going.
I'm glad I didn't skip this expansion in my series playthrough, but it wasn't really worth the time. I'm happy I can say that I beat it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.