"A Completely Pointless Expansion"
I'm going to come out and say it - this is one of the WORST expansions for any FPS game I have ever played. I'll keep this review short and sweet for those scrolling past.
The level design is insanely ugly. Colors are mostly a mix of brown and gray, and textures are lacking in detail. Arenas are pretty much boring and empty (except for ONE instance where some larger enemies smash through walls in order to attack you).
The story is actually ridiculous - you play as a replica-type soldier who is essentially brainwashed by Paxton Fettel (yes, he apparently isn't dead now) and forced to betray his squad in order to resurrect him. Once you reach Paxton (after an hour of bad gameplay), he uses your body in order to come back to life because (SURPRISE) you are a copy of him. Ridiculous. What's even more shameless is that Monolith decided to resurrect him SOLELY for his inclusion in F.E.A.R. 3, which was to be released a few years later. It completely rids of all logical continuity as well, since in the third game he is just randomly reintroduced to the player character (Point Man).
The gameplay is also completely unaltered from the base game - no new weapons or substantial enemies, and the game devolves into a generic shooter yet again! This lack of improvement is shocking. It feels as if these were throwaway levels for the base game, all being squished together with a terrible forced plot.
Overall, this DLC is pretty shameless. It provides nothing new or substantial to the base game's experience, and only serves as a confusing addition to the flawed F.E.A.R. series. I would Not Recommend coming close to this expansion. If you enjoyed it (or managed to stomach it), good for you, but it is unarguably unoriginal and uninspired in all facets.
Final Verdict: 2/10 (Bad)
I'm going to come out and say it - this is one of the WORST expansions for any FPS game I have ever played. I'll keep this review short and sweet for those scrolling past.
The level design is insanely ugly. Colors are mostly a mix of brown and gray, and textures are lacking in detail. Arenas are pretty much boring and empty (except for ONE instance where some larger enemies smash through walls in order to attack you).
The story is actually ridiculous - you play as a replica-type soldier who is essentially brainwashed by Paxton Fettel (yes, he apparently isn't dead now) and forced to betray his squad in order to resurrect him. Once you reach Paxton (after an hour of bad gameplay), he uses your body in order to come back to life because (SURPRISE) you are a copy of him. Ridiculous. What's even more shameless is that Monolith decided to resurrect him SOLELY for his inclusion in F.E.A.R. 3, which was to be released a few years later. It completely rids of all logical continuity as well, since in the third game he is just randomly reintroduced to the player character (Point Man).
The gameplay is also completely unaltered from the base game - no new weapons or substantial enemies, and the game devolves into a generic shooter yet again! This lack of improvement is shocking. It feels as if these were throwaway levels for the base game, all being squished together with a terrible forced plot.
Overall, this DLC is pretty shameless. It provides nothing new or substantial to the base game's experience, and only serves as a confusing addition to the flawed F.E.A.R. series. I would Not Recommend coming close to this expansion. If you enjoyed it (or managed to stomach it), good for you, but it is unarguably unoriginal and uninspired in all facets.
Final Verdict: 2/10 (Bad)