FEAR 2, the sequel to the critically acclaimed PC first person shooter, puts you in the role of Sgt. Becket, a special operative much like the other characters of the series. Your mission was to rescue an Armacham executive by the name of Genevieve and prevent other special forces from eliminating her. But of course the mission doesn't go according to plan after the huge explosion that went off at the beginning of the first game. It is now your mission to take down Alma and destroy the replica forces that stand in your way of uncovering the truth of Project Origin. So what sets this game apart from its predecessors? Well for one thing it's a slower paced game to that of the others and the enemies aren't as intense as before. You won't be completely reliant on the slow-mo ability either but it's still fun to use never the less. The AI remains smart, they will take cover, they will run and flank and won't just stand still for you either. And unlike the other games you can create you're own cover by flipping over tables and other interactive cover although it's not always necessary. Guns are also a key focus of the game and there definitely are some returning favorites. The penetrator as most fans know pins the enemy against walls and the shotgun can rip apart an enemy at close range. But some new and fun ones are the laser cannon that will fry anybody in 2 seconds and the napalm cannon that will incinerate enemies as you watch them run around attempting to put out the flames to no avail. With most guns you can aim down the sights which takes a leaf straight out of Call of Duty's book. Cooking grenades also comes in handy and there are different varieties of them like the fire grenade that will please the little firebug in most of us. There will be times in the game where maybe you're a bit tired of slow-mo shooting and you want something different. Well for anyone who wished they could ride a mech suit from the expansions will have fun roaming around in these. These sequences are mainly set out doors for a nice change of scenery and at you disposal are four missiles that simultaneous launch and machine guns on the arms. Other times you'll be manning a turret mowing down replica soldiers. Some of the environments do get repetitive after awhile. They mainly consist of offices and computers and the occasional rubble that is the the result of the giant explosion. But if you can imagine some scary locations to be like hospitals and schools and they're in this game too. They are key story locations and the developers have intentionally put in some scares here and there. After all what is a horror game without scares especially when Alma occasional jumps out of nowhere and grabs hold of you or when ghosts are flying at you. While I don't thing this game is as scary as the first there definitely is some scare for the faint hearted. Graphically it's a step up form the others. There's this nice bloom effect and the character models look a bit better as well as the lighting effects. Not too sure if it's the same engine being used but never the less it looks good. The blood however I didn't think looked that great. It didn't seem real enough and I have to say the first game had better looking blood especially when it sprays against the wall. The sounds are what you would come to expect from a FEAR game. The replica soldiers have the same voices from previous games but the voice acting is top notch from the main characters. Your stereo won't get a huge workout and there weren't any times where the back speakers of a 5.1 were used to scare the player like the developers could have done. All in all the sounds get the job done and there are some nice battle music of spooky music here or there. Multi player is fun and gives you a good break from the main quest. It's much more faster paced than the single player in what I would believe to be an attempt to spice the action up amongst players. All the guns from the single player are there and there are different modes to choose from especially the ones where both teams have a mech unit to use to capture control points. However it does feel a little one side when one team has a mech suit after destroying the other team's and so I would have liked to see something else done with the mechs. Maybe an all out war where everyone has one and are duking it out on a large playing field rather than crammed up streets. This game was more single player focused anyway so anybody coming in thinking the multi player will be great should stick to modern warfare or halo 3 So is FEAR 2 worth playing? Sure for series vets and anyone else although the story is a little steep for newcomers. Not as intense as the first but it does offer an 8-10 hour experience and a revisit months after you've beaten it.