To extend the life of one of the best shooters, Extraction Point hit the shelves just in time for the season. The question is just if you really want to wait that long since you're probably anxious to get your hands on it much quicker. In fact, if you played the original, you probably already snatched your copy (like I did). For everybody else, there are plenty reasons to give this a try. (Remember that you need the actual game to play the extension!)
IN A NUTSHELL As an expansion (which requires the original game), Extraction Point picks up right where the game ended -- literally. Once your helicopter is brought down by the supernatural, it's all about survival and finding an alternative way out. There is a lot of deja vu involved as even the one you thought you had killed, is now back ... just more dangerous despite much less physical in nature.
I have been longing for this expansion the moment I seemingly escaped the first time (finished the game). Picking up the game gives a strong feeling of satisfaction since changes are mostly visible in the new story line (duh) and updated graphics and physics. At the same time, speed seemed to have improved too (which could also be an effect of the updated video drivers for my x1900 XT). Overall though, F.E.A.R. is mostly about careful evolution rather than revolution.
Extraction Point makes none of the technological promises like the upcoming
Far Cry follow-up
Crysis -- a highly anticipated showcase for PC Gaming excellence (and the first implementation of DX10). Yet, it's a solid choice and a must-have for the fan of the original game. Besides, there are no DX10 cards available yet. A minor let-down is the missing support for PhysX, since F.E.A.R. made a strong point in providing realistic physics and while the implemented software is good, it's no match for the hardware.
Overall it turns out to be a worthy expansion by retaining the good and refining it for a great game. Biggest complaint by some gamers may be the length of the expansion -- or rather how short it is. Though clearly released to extend the life of 2005's best shooter into the 2006 season, it is an excellent choice if you're yearning for more FEAR. If your A.D.D. ridden mind is already bored of the same thrills, you might skip this one and wait for Crysis or Bioshock. (But that's a few months out!)
DETAILS Story: [****-] - Instead of coming up with new episodes, Extraction Point is all this expansion is about. It's like reliving the agony to escape all over again. In fact, the cliffhanger ending of the original game pointed towards Extraction Point, and instead of safety you're thrown right back into the fight for survival. Seamless you find yourself battling hordes of replica soldiers (again), just this time in larger environments and essentially more of them -- only to be interrupted by "Alma" taking center stage for the usual "boss fight puzzles" (in a way). In general, Extraction Point feels a lot like
Half-Life 2 - Episode 1: a vehicle to keep you interested until the next major release.
Game Play: [*****] - Good ol' FPS shooter greatness that didn't need much improvement from the original game. The captivating story line continues seamless and for some that may be too little, but frankly that's why I got my copy the day it was released. (Don't change a winning team.) All in all, Extraction Point nicely retained the creepy feeling of entering rooms and areas with unknown forces present. Lighting, sounds and music all play nicely together and the intercom chatter gives vital hints.
Graphics: [*****] - Excellent within DX9 limits and sure one of the best looking shooters at the end of 2006, though depth of focus (i.e. Call of Juarez) and other novelties are nowhere to be found in Extraction Point. Yet, it feels polished, mood appropriate and textures are simply excellent. HDR didn't make it into F.E.A.R. either which indicates rather minor changes in the graphics engine. Yet, overall graphics is done so well that the few missing things really don't stand out as a negative. (At the same time, the really steep system requirements of the original remained the same and gamers don't have to worry about another upgrade before enjoying Extraction Point.)
Physics: [****-] - In light of the emerging PhysX solution, the physical model in Extraction Point is less sophisticated, but does an admirable job faking real life with sometimes prerecorded elements (like paper sheets gliding through the air) and basic particle physics that can be managed by the CPU. (The level of effects is adjustable to match the processor.) The limits are visible upon closer examination and what appears to be extreme physics power often turns out to be a recording (non-interactive).
Controls: [*****] - Same old greatness and PC gamers will feel right at home. (The expansion actually includes a reminder sheet in case you have trouble remembering the WASD scheme or wonder why pressing "b" results in throwing your weapon away.) F.E.A.R. is best played via mouse and keyboard since the accuracy of the mouse pointing is hard to beat.
Progress: [*****] - Unlike
Call of Duty 2, F.E.A.R. maintained PC style game save and allows to not only use check points but also quicksave at any time. Thanks for not falling into the console trap -- despite the upcoming PS3 hype! (The repetitiveness of checkpoint save based games often takes all the fun out of the game.)
Sound: [****-] - Despite the original game working flawless with my EAX HD (5.0) sound card (
X-Fi), Extraction Point initially did not recognize the sound hardware.
-> see end of review for updates Yet, sound effects are great. The balance between some sounds like walking and the shooting is a little off, and you're left with the feeling that you're stomping all the time or the weapons are muffled -- depending on the overall volume. Yet, the most annoying sound "glitch" is the extremely loud dropping of a weapon even compared to gun fire.
Weapons: [****-] - Only a few changes here and having a deployable turret and the ability to wield two pistols may add a little to the game. Yet it's nothing revolutionary nor was it really necessary to change. The new laser gun is a neat variation of a flame thrower -- in away that is. The chain gun is a nice thought but only effective on close range (due to the inherent inaccuracy). Overall, F.E.A.R. sports a realistic arsenal that's both fun and well balanced.
Artifical Intelligence: [****-] - F.E.A.R. has always impressed with strangely intelligent yet lethal enemy replicants. Once in a fight, you need to watch out not to be outsmarted by enemies teaming up on you. (Yet, none of them will actually throw grenades back at you.) In the lower difficulty levels, however, you will find them often staring at you for a second of two -- just enough time to gain that vital advantage. Other than that it's fun to watch soldiers to even move objects like tables or sofas to use them as cover. New enemy types have new "technology" which makes them even scarier and they're not afraid to use it. (Being in a dark room with stealthy yet hostile creatures should keep your heart rate going.)
MultiPlayer: [n/a] - As with the rest of the game, nothing much new (in the sense of "different") here. While that may be significant for some players, it didn't have any impact on me (good or bad).
HARDWARE OBSERVATIONS Despite minor graphics updates to an already great looking game, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point offers slightly improved performance on similar hardware that runs the original. With high resolution (1600x1200) and nearly every parameter set to maximum the most obvious hesitation is when entering a new room (scene loading). However, load times are relatively short and much faster than CellFactor and Prince of Persia.
Case:
Termaltake Tsunami VA3400SNA Monitor:
Viewsonic VP201s Motherboard:
ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe Processor:
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 Memory: Kingston HyperX DDR400 (C2), 2 GByte
Graphics card:
ATI Radeon x1900 XT Sound Card:
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Physics:
BFG Ageia PhysX 128MB Hard drive:
Western Digital Raptor 74G SATA 10k Operating System: WindowsXP Home SP2
DirectX: 9.0c (Oct. 2006 release)
Video Driver: Catalyst 6.9
Chipset Driver: nVidia nForce v6.86
Resolution: 1600x1200
Too steep? Stop whining, and upgrade already! ;-)
RELATED REVIEWS -
F.E.A.R. *****
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Call of Duty *****
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Call of Duty 2 ****-
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Half-Life 2 *****
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Half-Life 2 - Episode 1 ****-
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Pariah ***--
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Far Cry ****-
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DOOM III ****-
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Quake 4 ****-
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Painkiller ****-
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Unreal Tournament 2004 ****-
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Ageia PhysX -
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi UPDATES [11-Nov-2006] - The described EAX sound problem turned out to be a driver issue with the X-Fi. Somehow, the hardware acceleration has been set to basic and none of the settings in the console seem to change that (typically the use of the Game console does). To fix this, simply start the dxdiag.exe tool and set the sound acceleration to maximum (from basic).
