F.E.A.R. Extraction Point
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| F.E.A.R. Extraction Point | |
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| Developer(s) | TimeGate Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Vivendi Universal |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 (Part of F.E.A.R. Files) |
| Release date | October 24, 2006 ( )October 27, 2006 (  ) |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter, Horror |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (17+) BBFC: 18 PEGI: 18+ |
| Input methods | Keyboard, mouse |
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point is an expansion pack for the horror themed first-person shooter computer and video game F.E.A.R., published by Vivendi Universal and developed by TimeGate Studios, rather than Monolith Productions, the developers of F.E.A.R.. It was released on October 24, 2006 for Windows and requires the full original game in order to be played. Also, a stand-alone single player demo has been previously released. This expansion owes its name to the game's ultimate goal for the player, to reach the extraction point and leave the city where the adventure takes place. Extraction Point adds new weapons, enemies, and single-player levels, but no new multiplayer content. Additional improvements were also made to the enemy artificial intelligence.[1] It should be noted that the sequel to F.E.A.R., Project Origin, will ignore the events of both expansion packs.[2]
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[edit] Plot
The plot of the expansion starts off exactly where the original game left off; while the huge explosion of the "Origin Facility" has flattened the Auburn district and devastated the city, the helicopter evacuating the survivors of the F.E.A.R. team crash land in the midst of the chaos.
The player is reunited with SFOD-D Douglas Holiday and F.E.A.R. technical officer Jin Sun-Kwon. They mention that an SFOD-D extraction point has been established at the roof of Auburn Hospital, informing the Point Man (the player) that he should proceed there as well. Continuing, the player meets Fettel in a nearby church. Fettel notes that the circumstances do not make sense since he had been killed. He continues by reactivating the Replica soldiers, who have been dormant since his death, and sends them after the player. Meanwhile, Kwon is captured by Fettel's Replicas, but she is later able to escape while being transported via the subway; from there, she proceeds on her own to Auburn Hospital. The player and Holiday eventually meet up and navigate through a warehouse. Alma, through her apparitions, kills Holiday.
The player is forced to proceed alone through the subway, which leads directly to Auburn Hospital. During the player's journey through the winding tunnels, Alma, in her younger form, clears the way for the player multiple times by killing Replica soldiers impeding the player's path. Replica forces eventually become desperate and place demolition charges in the subway tunnels with the hope that the resulting explosions will kill the player. While initially unsuccessful, the player is eventually caught in one of these demolition explosions and is ejected from the tunnels onto a nearby parking structure. From here, the player proceeds to the hospital which neighbors the parking structure.
After finally reaching Auburn Hospital, the Point Man hears a scream from one floor above him. He bursts into the room, only to find four ghostly figures floating around Jin's dead body. Now, with nothing to fight for but his own survival, the Point Man proceeds to the life service elevator. Suddenly, a power outage occurs and the player must find a way to restore it. While walking around the dark basement, the Point Man witnesses several hallucinations (thought to be the physical form of what is in Alma's mind) which include a series of prison cells, containing the dead ATC victims of Alma's murders in the previous game. Eventually, the Point Man witnesses a hallucination that involves the older and younger Alma reuniting in a blue light. After that hallucination, the Point Man returns to the hospital and notices there's no longer blood on the floor, walls and bathtubs. The elevator is then reactivated and the player finally reaches the roof of the hospital. Fettel tells the player he does not understand the situation and proceeds to unleash a squad of Replica Elites on the player. As the player finishes dispatching the squad, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter proceeds to evacuate him. However, when the player approaches, Fettel, through unknown methods, destroys the Blackhawk, sending the Point Man into unconsciousness. When he awakens, he staggers to the roof railing, to witness the entire city in flames. The credits roll, ending with Fettel's line from F.E.A.R. "A war is coming, I've seen it in my dreams. Fires sweeping over the earth, bodies in the streets, cities turned to dust. Retaliation..."
[edit] Canonicity
Although the expansion takes place in the same universe as the original F.E.A.R., it has been stated that the game's sequel, Project Origin, will disregard the storylines of both Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate. Only the games developed by Monolith Productions are considered canon.[3]
[edit] Gameplay
Gameplay remains essentially the same as in the original F.E.A.R., though Extraction Point touts some new additions, including 3 new weapons (a minigun, a laser weapon, and a deployable turret), a few new enemies, as well as new locales (though frequently similar to the original game's environments, a common complaint of reviewers).[4][5] Firefights are still cinematic and usually on a grander scale than in F.E.A.R. - there are frequently a larger number of enemies to deal with and lengthier battles. Another new feature of Extraction Point is the ability to bash open doors by using the mêlée function, as well as blast them open with explosives. The 'hallucination' sequences are notably more gratuitous and frequent than they were in the first game. In addition, certain supply crates bearing the ATC logo can be bashed open, revealing weapons or health packs.
Extraction Point also has higher system requirements than the original F.E.A.R., and users may notice signs of system overload (such as graphical slowdown) if they run Extraction Point using the same performance settings as the original game.
[edit] References
- ^ Killer Betties QA with Producer Tim Hall. Retrieved on February 17, 2008.
- ^ Official Forum Post. Retrieved on May 12, 2007
- ^ Project Origin Forums. Retrieved on December 21, 2007.
- ^ IGN F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Review. Retrieved on February 17, 2008.
- ^ G4 X-Play Review: F.E.A.R. Extraction Point. Retrieved on February 17, 2008.
[edit] External links
- F.E.A.R Official Site at whatisfear.com
- F.E.A.R. Extraction Point at IGN
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