Console Port Trash
Also, what you'll notice immediately upon starting is that the menu is also consolized for a gamepad instead of quick changes that comes from a mouse. The graphics are a slight improvement in texture from the original but certain aspects of the game is far worse than the original which is also unacceptable in a sequel. The game uses an effect known as film grain which just looks terrible on the pc and can't be disabled. There is also a complete lack of smoke, debris, sparks, physics, & volumetric particles, ie chaos during a firefight which was found in the original and contributed in large part to the excitement and thrill in the original game and lacking in the sequel. In the original game after a firefight the room would look f**ked up beyond all recognition (FUBAR) with clouds of smoke hanging in the air, pieces of paper floating about, chunks of plaster blown off the wall, and body parts and blood splatter all over the place. It's all GONE in FEAR 2. Blood now come out in unrealistic over the top chunks instead of spraying out of bullet wounds. On top of that, enemies now glow in the dark upon slow motion to help casual console users aim with their gaypad and looks unbelievably UGLY! Furthermore, the HUD is entirely intrusive and takes up most of the screen and just plain hideous as well and creates an uncomfortable effect of looking behind a bowl. To make the game even easier for casual gamers, items like health packs and ammo have a giant highlighted box around them. You can even see them behind walls. Lastly on the topic of graphics, the number of dynamic lights has been considerably reduced thus the number of real time shadows which helped tremendously with the atmosphere in the original is also gone. Even the bloody flashlight doesn't produce shadows. The flashlight from Doom 3 produced real time shadows and that game is 5 years old. Apparently the xbox360 couldn't handle all these graphical effects which were expected from pc gamers and fans of the original game so they either reduced it or just plain took it out.
They've also taken out the lean feature, not that you need it anymore because the game is excessively easy where you can just stand still and fire away like the Terminator. On the original you couldn't last more than a few seconds out in the open but here there is no challenge, ie. no fun. Also, the AI has been considerably dumbed down where they no longer flank, take cover, etc but are more concerned with rearranging furniture and blowing themselves up with their own grenades. Another feature which was removed was the slide kick and bicycle kick which caused enemies to fly into the air and was supremely satisfying to pull off. The funny radio chatter from the AI are also gone and the cool scream they made when they died is also gone. The sound effects for weapons has been reduced and lacks the oomph from the original. Also, they have taken out quicksave feature present in nearly every FPS and in the original which reeks of being a console port. Another omission is the support for extra mouse buttons which are somehow nonfunctional which is another example of bad console porting and further evidence that this game was made for the xbox360. Multiplayer is completely broken as well with no dedicated server list or anti-cheat software. Modes consists of typical deathmatch and team deathmatch, sometimes with the addition of the mech. Also, they took out the slow motion feature from the multiplayer as well which were present in the original. Finally, the single player campaign is far too short and will last only about 6 hours.
The only pros for this game was the storyline which continues from the first game and there are some scare moments, but honestly both features were better done in the original and relied less on cheap scare tactics. Other pros consists of more varied enemies than the original and different environments other than office settings, both of which were minor complaints from the original. And operating the mech during small segments of the game were also fun albeit short. Another welcomed feature is being able to kick over tables and create cover, but this becomes unnecessary and you'll rarely ever use it.
Lasting impressions is that this game literally screams console port and if you liked the original on the pc you will hate the sequel. There is almost no replayability since it is way too easy and firefights no longer have that intensity from the original due to toned down graphics and dumbed down AI and multiplayer is also a mess. Monolith has already stated that they will make a patch to fix all the issues with the pc version such as letterbox, highlighted enemies, HUD, etc. which clearly shows that they never tested this game with pcgamers or even fans of the original game. For a more accurate representation of this game instead of reading console reviews which are more lenient and don't even bother discussing any of the issues in the pc version, go to their official forum and see the number of hate mails and complaints from pcgamers. It's so bad that they had to censor and ban people who were critical of the game. You know a game is a stinker when they have to resort to censoring information. Had Monolith made the game FIRST for the pc then ported it over to the consoles like they did with the original this would have been a truly epic sequel deserving of the FEAR name, but instead we are left with a lackluster average game that was limited technologically from the start by the xbox360 and will probably soon be forgotten within a few months. The FEAR franchise on the pc is officially dead with this half baked poor port and the hype for the next installment in the series for pcgamers has waned considerably after this mediocre effort or betrayal by Monolith. It is a shame since Monolith was a well known and trusted competent pc game developer but unfortunately this game will leave a black mark on their stellar record and reputation. Five years in the making and so much potential. All I can say now is what an utter waste!