bit-tech Shopping: Vivendi Universal F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: Can still get good framerates out of cheap GPUs; still a fun shooter, despite the repetitiveness; better battles than the original, because of new enemies

Weaknesses: Only 1-3 really good scare moments in this one; repetitveness is truly wearing after a while.

Summary: I've played F.E.A.R., Extraction Point, and now this one. It's still fun, and at many times, even more fun than the original; the new NightCrawler Elites can enter bullet time right along with you, and regenerate themselves with health kits too. They really take some planning (and strategic use of turrets, etc.) to finally take out. Bonus: they talk trash! I agree wholeheartedly that it's repetitive, but I had a great time playing this shooter, and it was, after all, cheap. Looking forward to F.E.A.R. 2.

Rating: 4

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Fun gameplay in a scary atmosphere . Does not require the original FEAR.

Weaknesses: Outdated graphics. Bland story.

Summary: This stand-alone expansion to FEAR presents a side-story to the original game but with basically the same gameplay. The player still has the ability to slow down into bullet time presented in the same dark, gloomy environment as the first. The story is forgettable and the graphics look blocky and outdated at times. There are new weapons and enemies in this game, but the difficulty is inconsistent and certain areas can be easy while others will have you loading over and over again to get through without dying.