F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

(Warner Bros for Xbox 360)
By Mike Delano

The early months of 2009 brought an incredible and unprecedented glut of quality software to all of the major consoles during what is historically a barren season. Unchained from the crowded release schedules of the months before the holidays, these great games had a chance to get the gamer attention and critical praise they deserved. One game, though, kind of got the shaft since it was released in the shadow of the media hypestorm for Killzone 2. It was F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, the sequel to the excellent horror-tinged FPS that let you slow time as you blasted your way through waves of mercenaries and creepy supernatural enemies in high-rise office buildings. If you were silly enough to pass up F.E.A.R. 2 in February, now is the time to atone. It improves on the intense firefights from the first game by letting the outstanding enemy A.I. loose in carefully laid-out environments and letting you both flip over objects to create your own cover. Every firefight is truly special because of the way they spring forth naturally from these gorgeously detailed environments, not from obviously pre-determined battle areas. Taken as a complete package, the game’s online multiplayer offerings are unlikely to steal you away from your current online FPS of choice, but the single-player campaign that is the heart of F.E.A.R. 2 is simply too good to miss.
(www.warnerbros.com)