More than a month has passed since the release of the previous part of the series history. During this time I received many comments and feedback, for which I would like to say a big thank you to the community StopGame.ru for edits to the previous issue.

Before I tell you about two of the most controversial additions to the series F.E.A.R., we will make some corrections and clarifications for the first release.

Any project, passing through the production workshop, loses some details of the plot and original concept. And such a big and grandiose project as F.E.A.R. simply could not remain unchanged during development.
In the original version of the script it was assumed that in addition to Paxton Fettel there was another villain named Konrad Krieg — he was discarded at the very beginning of development, so there is no detailed information about this character.
Alma, instead of a girl with paranormal abilities, was just a ghost who “scared” the main character, and Fettel was responsible for the paranormal performance.
Douglas Holiday – one of the squad operatives F.E.A.R. in the original script he received much more screen time, in the initial version F.E.A.R., Holiday was a member of Team F.E.A.R., who had the ability to pick up objects and gain insight into their creators. He also knew how to handle explosives and perform various types of manipulations with them. However, the lack of opportunities to feature him in the game forced the game’s lead designer to move his role to the commander of Delta Force, as well as remove part of the storyline. In promotional images for the game, Douglas is shown wearing an F during the shootout.E.A.R.oval uniform D-12. However, directly in the game and in the add-on Extraction Point, Holiday is an explosives technicianDeltas".
While Jin Soo-Kwon – was originally a sniper and could determine the position of opponents by ear. These two characters will play an important role in our story today.
Among other things, the original version of the game featured a car chase for the daughter Harlan — Alice, but due to the technical features of the engine Lithtech this scene had to be removed, but you can see the model of that car at the very beginning F.E.A.R., when the protagonist arrives at the place where Fettel’s presence was discovered.

This car, from the beginning of the game, was supposed to become the protagonist’s vehicle

The corrections are over, which means we are once again plunging into a dark universe F.E.A.R. and this time we will talk about two additions that prompted Vivendi sell the rights to the series, about two additions that made the publisher regret hasty decisions, about two additions that once again proved its superiority Monolith Productions in the genre!
After release F.E.A.R., Sierra And Vivendi received a huge profit from the sales of the game, and immediately thought about continuing the series. So why did the conflict occur with Monolith? You and I are unlikely to know how it really happened, but judging by numerous rumors, Vivendi was going to carry out the merger procedure and become part of Activision, Monolith obviously having thought about what this could mean for the series, they decided to leave the publisher, however, one problem remained – the trademark.
Rights to the name "F.E.A.R."What with dots, what without them – remained behind Vivendi, therefore, to call a full-fledged sequel – F.E.A.R. 2 the developers of the original game could not. The studio’s original plans were not just to break away from the publisher in search of creative freedom and start a sequel, but also to choose a new title, so that players would understand that this project is connected with F.E.A.R. and moreover, is its canonical continuation.

The solution was found quite quickly, the developers simply held a vote on the Internet and asked their fans what the name of the future game should be.
As a result of the survey, three name options made it to the finals Dark Signal ("Dark Signal"), Project Origin "Project Source" and Dead Echo (“Echoes of Death”, or “Echoes of Death”). Ultimately, due to the fact that Project Source played a key role in the events of the first game, Monolith decided to choose the name “Project Origin” and start developing a sequel, which we’ll talk about next time.

Still from the first trailer for the sequel. Initially, the game was called Project Origin and only then received its full name.

Bye Monolith working on a sequel without having the rights to the original title, Vivendi decides, on the wave of popularity, to find an apprentice studio that would develop add-ons, given how much everyone was waiting for new information about the development of the series.
And such a studio was found. The developer of the add-ons was appointed TimeGate Studios. Why Vivendi did not aim at a full-fledged continuation, because the rights to the series belong to them?
The point is that TimeGate Studios had no experience in developing shooters, and first-person shooters in particular.
At the beginning of my creative journey TimeGate Studios was a developer real time strategy in the universe Conan the Barbarian. In total, two full-fledged games and one expansion were released.

Screenshot of the first game from TimeGate Studios – Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns. In 2001, it was hard to imagine that the studio would radically change its direction.

It is not known for https://gamesnotongamstop.co.uk/blackjack/ certain why TimeGate decided to change direction. However, already in 2006, the first addition was launched into production – Extraction Point. And already in October 2006, it hit store shelves, and in December of the same year it crashed onto the shelves of our country’s stores entirely in Russian, not without the participation of the already well-known “Soft Club" with the subtitle "Evacuation Point».
The add-on required the original game to run. Fun fact, but the demo that many players of that time could watch on magazine discs "Gambling addiction" or "PC Games", could work quite well and without leaning to the original game.
The add-on added new types of weapons, allegedly improved the artificial intelligence of opponents, but for some reason there was no online game, which in the original was presented in two versions, the second of which was the ability to download a free version F.E.A.R Combat on the website Sierra and play multiplayer absolutely free with all the features of a single player company.
There are only three new types of weapons – a machine gun, a laser weapon, and an AP-5 firing point. New locations have been added, for sure if you have played Extraction Point, then remember the level in the Metro – one of the most memorable in this add-on.
The plot of the game starts immediately after the events of the original F.E.A.R., we are shown the jump again Alma Wade to the rescue helicopter squad F.E.A.R. and his downfall. As we remember from the previous part, there are Douglas Holiday, Pointman And Jin-Soo Kwon.
Despite the crash, all three survive, connections with the detachments Alpha and members F.E.A.R. no, however, the heroes decide to move towards Auburn Hospital, where, according to intelligence data, there is an evacuation point for the Alpha squad from the affected area, which was created by the explosion of the Sarcophagusfrom the first part.
Telepathic Commander Paxton Fettel eliminated and the army of clones, logically, should not oppose our heroes.
Alma clearly thinks differently, she revives Vettela in the form of a ghost in a church (a very creepy place), and he in turn awakens the army of clones again. They take prisoners Gin, but she manages to escape and continues her movement towards the hospital.

Most likely, it doesn’t look so scary now, but just imagine how this picture influenced fragile minds in 2006.

Pointman And Holiday After several long battles with the clones, they are still reunited, but then Alma sends mystical creatures, which were previously encountered in the game as opponents, to attack Holiday, attacking both the main character and the clone soldiers, after going through most of the warehouses together, Douglas And Pointman enter a room full of blood and dead bodies. Holiday determines that some of these people killed each other, while others committed suicide. Then Douglas steps on a strange symbol drawn in blood on the floor, after which the room is filled with manifestations. Holiday tries to fight them off, but he is lifted into the air by an invisible force and starts his body from side to side until, in the end, she drags him into a room full of paranormal creatures. Before that Douglas manages to grab onto the doorway and shout to the hero to find Gin.

The hero has to go alone through the labyrinths of the metro, where he discovers colossal enemy forces (Clones), as well as the Delta special forces detachment, but does not have time to save them. Here for the first time in the game, Alma decides to help the main character by destroying clone troopers. It is worth noting that in this supplement Alma Wade most often appears before us in the form of an adult girl (in the manner of the ending F.E.A.R.) while in the Metro, Alma takes on the form of a child.

Here in the Metro, Pointman experiences hallucinations in which he sees Gin and missing in the first part Spencer Jankowski, and also observes the dialogue Paxton And Gin.
The clones, in a panic, blow up the subway, and the protagonist is thrown by the blast wave to the nearest parking lot.
In fact, this is the culmination of events Extraction Point – we wake up in a pool of our own blood and head to the wing of Auburn Hospital, where Gin.
She contacts the pointman more and more often and hints to him that he was not indifferent. At the end, when the operative almost reaches her, she contacts him one last time and tells him "You won’t come, yeah? I’ll die here alone. I don’t want to die, do you hear??».

Frightened by the advancing clone army, Gin accidentally falls into a teleport, which opens Alma, in order to send manifestations into the real world. When the hero finally gets to the girl, he discovers only her corpse in a blood-stained room.

If you are wondering how Jean appeared in the third part after this, then do not worry, all additions are not canonical.

Then begins a whole string of hallucinations and attempts by screenwriters to close plot holes. Our hero, wanting to get to the roof of the hospital, enters the elevator, which, according to the classics of the genre, stops and we have to find out what happened. We find ourselves literally in hell, a morgue, a prison, rusty bars and creatures. The final chapter of "Evacuation" rules out any confrontation with a flesh-and-blood enemy. Only manifestations and ghosts.
At the end of a rather long vision, Pointman still comes to his senses, the elevator suddenly starts working, and he is contacted Rowdy Betters – coordinator and director F.E.A.R., you could see him at the beginning of the first game in person.
Having reached the roof, the player watches the final scene of this add-on.
A helicopter flies for the main character, but Paxton Fettel knocks him down and UH-60, and also a pilot Black Hawk fall onto the roof of the hospital, carrying the operative with the blast wave and him losing consciousness.
Last shot Extraction Point is the operative’s look at the dilapidated and burning city, and the voice Vettela, who gloatingly repeats his words spoken back in the first part of the game.
The operative closes his eyes and loses consciousness.

All that remains of the city, following the results of Extraction Point.

To be honest, the plot in F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point hardly more than in the shooters of the 90s. The script suffers from logical holes and assumptions, such as the sudden revival Vettela Alma, as a ghost. Love line Gin And operative, which in the first part, if it was there, was far from in the foreground, and Alma sends deadly manifestations and numerous hallucinations devoid of any logic to his son.
A living example is the scene in the subway, where Alma seems to be protecting Pointman‘ah, but at the same time she is capable of killing him if he decides to get closer to his mother.

The impotence of the script ideas of the authors from TimeGate Studios The ending also confirms this, or rather its actual absence. Fetell, as a character, he is not revealed from a new side, but is a completely cardboard villain with no obvious motivation.

Critics, in general, rated the project very highly, but almost all reviewers noted very few new gameplay elements. Somewhere in the background, the game engine was tightened up, as a result of such plastic surgery, computers that easily digested the original F.E.A.R. at the highest settings, could show only average performance in Extraction Point. The main elements of the gameplay remained unchanged. TimeGate I didn’t dare add or change anything. The studio only simulated a few levels that are similar to locations from the previous game; obviously, the developers used assets that they inherited from Monolith Productions.
The only thing the developers have partially managed is to convey the oppressive atmosphere, the atmosphere of hopelessness, the game still causes unpleasant sensations as you progress, the scene in the church and the subway are the best in the entire add-on.

The financial success of the first big ad-don prompted Vivendi to launch production of the second addition – "Perseus Mandate».
Its events unfold parallel to the events of the original game and Extraction Point, Perseus Mandate as planned, is a kind of alternative view of the events that took place.
Perseus Mandate came out a year after the release of Extraction Point, November 6, 2007, and just like the previous addition, it was delayed in Russia. Our players got acquainted with the second addition authored by the same TimeGate Studios only in December 2007. The game went on sale with the subtitle "Project Perseus».

The expansion traditionally included new locations and new types of weapons in addition to those that exist in Extraction Point – a rifle with night vision, a grenade launcher and an electric arc weapon. In addition, this time a second squad comes to the player’s aid in certain scenes F.E.A.R. with whom the passage campaign will have to interact. As well as new variations of opponents, including new creatures Alma, squad "Night"and others.
For the first time for the series on personal computers, bonus missions were added – they are small locations from the story campaign with the task of repelling the advancing waves of opponents.
Multiplayer also became available again in this expansion, and included all weapons from the original game and the two expansions. At the moment the Perseus Mandate servers are not officially active.
Story F.E.A.R: Perseus Mandate starts approximately from the middle of the events of the original game. Here we see the coordinator and director F.E.A.R. — Rowdy Betters, who, together with the team, flies to Auburn in order to find at least some documents confirming the government’s participation in the Perseus project. The district senator immediately sends a second detachment to Auburn to hide all the incriminating evidence discrediting the authorities.
We are given a nameless character as the main character Sergeant. All we know is that he is not related Paxton and operative. Therefore, it is in no way connected with paranormal forces.
After some time in Pointman kills Vettela and this directly affects the development of further events. Despite the shutdown of the clones, our heroes will have to face the military police Armacham Technology, Mercenaries, and the mysterious “Night” squad sent Senator. They, like the hero, have accelerated reflexes.
The Night Ones themselves are pursuing a very clear goal, to find a plant for the production of clones and DNA, with the help of which they are grown.
Our hero is entrusted with the capture and interrogation Gavin Morrison – the main agent of the Senator, who knows what goals he is pursuing.
While Steve Chen and the Sergeant is interrogated Morrison, an explosion of colossal force occurs (this ends the events of the original game) and he escapes.
Our heroes descend into the subway almost just before the explosion (from this moment on, the actions develop in parallel Extraction Point), and Steve falls into the trap of the Scarecrow – a new creation Alma. The sergeant has to travel alone.
As a result, the Sergeant finds Morrison locked in a cage – he is betrayed by the Night Ones. He agrees to show the way to the island where the main testing ground for the project is located Perseus, but soon dies at the hands of Alma (In the original script, he was killed by the Shadows).

Gavin Morris in custody.

For general understanding. Project Perseus (as it was dubbed in Russian Localization) is DNA Paxton Fettel or Alma, on the basis of which the government plans to grow clones again in the future.

As a result, the Sergeant ends up in a storage facility where the clones were grown. There he meets the Night Commander, who has already received Alma’s DNA and is about to leave the island. The sergeant stops him and leaves the island by helicopter – at the end the ghost of the commander of squad F appears.E.A.R— Steve Chen, who died in the subway, and Rayence addresses the Sergeant with the following words: “We will need a new lieutenant. I think Chen would like it to be you…".
In the post-credits scene, we see one of the Nightcrawler members bring Paxton Fettel’s DNA to the Senator, hinting at a possible sequel that never came to fruition..

The gameplay again remained unchanged, and there was no point in pushing the game engine any further, as critics have repeatedly noted.
Project Perseus looks, unlike Extraction Point, which did not shine with anything unique compared to the original, an outright exploitation of the idea. Still the same ragged plot, which does not affect the overall picture of events and ends in fact with nothing, if in Extraction Point evil has won, then Project Perseus it seems not, but the scene after the credits again returns everything to its original position, but with the participation of other characters.

The project’s ratings were noticeably lower than those Extraction Point, and sales are weak, but with output F.E.A.R: Files – collection for the console Xbox 360, where all these additions were included in the publication, which brought additional sales Sierra And Vivendi. By the way, this collection was not officially released in Russia.
All the current circumstances, including low sales and player dissatisfaction with the latest addition, as well as the publisher’s precarious financial position in the market, forced Vivendi sell the rights to the series and trademark F.E.A.R. back Monolith Productions, resulting in a canon sequel F.E.A.R. acquired its final name – F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
Sierra shortly after the release of the add-ons declared itself bankrupt and was completely absorbed Vivendi. Already in 2008, the company finally disappeared from the fields of the gaming industry..
In the next part we will talk to you about what it is F.E.A.R2:Project Origin and why it generated so much controversy on the way to release, and also finally touch on the comic book whose heroes are Jin Soo-Kwon And Douglas Holiday.
We will also try to understand the reasons for transferring the series to another studio and much more..

Due to my age (I wasn’t even born yet when the game came out), I had never played Duke Nukem 3D before. However, when I saw the DNF trailer in 2007, something clicked in my head and I began to follow the project with interest. I was saddened when I heard the news about the cancellation of the project in 2009, I began to look forward to it unrealistically after the trailer that was released in January 2011 and was very pleased with the game after finishing it, despite the fact that I was not familiar with the original.

And suddenly, a few days ago, the release trailer for Duke Nukem 3D Megaton Edition came out – another re-release of the famous classic on steam, after which I decided to install it and, so to speak, join the great.
And so, the game is completed, the gaze is fixed on the monitor and the only thought is “Wow”. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine that a game that’s older than you can captivate you and keep you glued to the screen until the end credits! I experienced similar feelings when I first completed Max Payne 2 years ago.

I don’t know what exactly this is connected with. Perhaps this game became for me a breath of “fresh” air in a series of dull, gray games of recent months, where dull, but skillfully stretched out, are dumped on your head through the same dull (but technologically advanced, whatever) videos. At the same time, the game itself does not give you the opportunity to turn around, and forces you from the prologue to the final credits to walk along a gray corridor (albeit disguised in the jungle/city, etc.).d.), sadly shooting at enemies who can’t even really oppose you.
Perhaps some of this goes back to the games of the 90s and Duke in particular, but current developers forget about one thing BUT – this is what makes you play the game. Whether it’s the whirlwind gameplay with enemies that can give a serious rebuff to the player, or the charismatic main character, or the varied and imaginatively mind-blowing levels… In general, today’s games lack what is called “interest”.
Of course, all sorts of maizes 3 and residents have various features, but all this is completely killed by the general dullness and soullessness of the authors. Add to this that before you start playing normally, the developers will definitely add “drama” (which you absolutely don’t care about because of its implementation) and boring, “empty” videos about nothing (albeit WITH GRAPHON).

Of course, not all modern games are bad and dull. Among the games of recent times, several masterpieces have come out for me personally that really touched my soul. But there are only a few such games in the general flow of conveyor slag. And I would like to say that most of today’s games have almost completely lost that attractive force that kept us glued to the screen from the beginning to the end of the game, that “soulfulness” and sense of freedom that they gave us before. And let there be hundreds of fans of modern cornucopias and the new Larisa Kroftovna (for games, like any other form of art, are a subjective concept), but I personally am sad to see what is happening to games now.

p.s. All of the above is my subjective opinion (to some extent, just a cry from the heart), which may coincide with yours or be completely different from it.
p.s.s

Best comments

If you dig deep into the current situation with the gaming industry, you can understand that everything is just fine with games. They simply evolved, adapting to the preferences of the new generation. There are still good games coming out, but they are good for different reasons than those that came out ten years ago. The problem is that releasing a good game these days is like condemning it to death. Because if the game is successful, the publisher will immediately want to make a sequel. And when? In the shortest possible time so that the game, God forbid, is not forgotten, does not lose fans and sells with a bang. They don’t care about the quality of this sequel. They’ll still churn out lousy sequels as long as the revenues cover the expenses. And yes, I know this is another comment about “conveyrrrrrr!111" and all that, but this is a real problem. Almost any good game will eventually be trampled into the dirt by money-hungry publishers who are essentially businessmen, not creators. And can you blame them for that?? Of course not. They are simply trying to squeeze as much money as possible out of a popular product, as all businessmen do.

Who is to blame, you https://sportsbettingmedia.co.uk/latest-news/live-betting-esports-counter-strike-2 ask?? And you have to blame yourself. Yes, yes, exactly yourself. For buying these countless lousy DLCs and half-baked identical sequels of once good games, while complaining about how bad and uninteresting they are. Once you stop throwing money into the pockets of publishers, they themselves will start making games the way you want them to be, if only you start buying them again.

So don’t complain that "games aren’t the same anymore"!“Either learn to appreciate what you have, because the current market is still replete with good projects, or stay in the past, which, even if it was great, has already passed, as you might guess, and remain silent!

Just now I thought – but condensed milk really was tastier before! You can write a blog about this, you never know… what if they give you a mower O_o

What kind of question? Previously, the grass was greener, the trees were larger, condensed milk was tastier, and the games were cooler! What’s unclear: 3 don’t take it as trolling, there are simply dozens of similar opinions on the Internet, for some reason people think that Fallouts used to be released every day, 3 at a time.

This used to happen in games: You walk along the corridor, exterminate evil spirits in some shooter, and then there’s a five-ten minute lull. You walk, there are cartridges scattered everywhere and there are a lot of them. And then you think – I’m fucked! And it’s true – a boss appears, whom you take down for about thirty minutes. Just like that.

Serious Sam was even cooler. When you picked up a small thing that gave 1 unit of shield, several biomechanoids appeared (2 red and a handful of blue ones, emnip), one four-armed tipus and other little things.

And I was always pleased with the epic “wrong turn” in Gothic 2. When you approach the bridge and see a cave, you decide to explore it and after 5 seconds the black troll sleeping there hits you with a home run :3

Well it’s not that strange. I know one guy who is in junior high, but because of his bad behavior and grades, he sits on a half-dead third stump and plays Warcraft 2. A sort of oldfag in captivity.

Yes, dude, Duke is the pinnacle of game design, storytelling and gameplay, an industry in the dark and all that. You understand life, so here’s your mower. WITH:

No, compared to modern jokers, it’s not interesting, because there are no sensible dynamics, they don’t indulge in variability either, tactics are almost completely absent. Only variety, but who can be surprised by this now??

After the gigantomania of Year of War, the local “extensive” locations are not very surprising. But it doesn’t affect the gameplay itself, like in some kind of hello or, at worst, a rezik with Anch 3.

Hmm… No. Of course, there are restrictions on freedom of movement, but to call this game a corridor shooter… It all depends on the style of play, this must be taken into account.

For what? Warcraft 2 is the best thing in my life. And C&C. And Legends of Kyrandia. And the same Duke. And Fallout. Both. Isometric.

You know, usually I don’t watch Eurovision. And even more so create a topic for discussing this competition. This is due to the fact that the competition is often politicized, due to the fact that it is often heavily nationalized, one gets the feeling that the competition is not a song competition, to the point that people are like this: instead of our beautiful girls, someone… won something… and doesn’t look like everyone else! Phew, where is Europe going… Eh, hello, a competition about songs, like, yes, you need to evaluate the songs. Or am I confusing something?

But yesterday, after watching the broadcast of the show, I was simply incredibly impressed by the three performers, and these are three reasons, in my opinion, why the competition is worth paying attention to this year. The first two performers below are, in my opinion, simply freaking amazing!

Three reasons why I will remember this Eurovision.

Dami Im – Sound Of Silence (Australia)
It’s like "Adele from Australia". Although in fact the girl is from Korea, she plays for Australia. Her voice is incredible. I love her voice and I love this song. And this is actually one of my favorite songs now. She’s damn beautiful and the number itself is simple, well, sort of, but… oh my god, that voice. Just 10 out of 10, orgasm at the tips fingers ears.

Laura Tesoro – What’s The Pressure https://wilberforceinstitute.uk/what-are-casino-games (Belgium)
Number two for me, but actually almost number one. Very close. The dance is simply magnificent, the song too, very catchy, you know, and this body movement before the second verse is so cool and so in keeping with the theme of the performance. I really like the “disco style” in this performance. This is perhaps the best staged performance and song in many years for me, not only as part of the competition. I love this performer now. She’s cool.

Poli Genova – If Love Was A Crime (Bulgaria)
And, honestly, I don’t know what to write anymore))) I spent all the epithets of delight on “Adele from Australia” and Laura Tesoro…. So… well, look at her awesome costume! Wow! Just – Wow! Well, the song itself is also so memorable, just like Laura’s.

I also liked how Georgia performed, a group of guys with a very creative performance, and a couple of other interesting performances.

Which performer did you like the most??

Best comments

Dami Im was the best and I liked her the most from the very beginning.

I liked Jamala’s performance more than Sergei Lazarev’s.

I don’t know, I haven’t watched it for a long time and I’m not interested in this kind of thing. It seems to me that everything there is corrupt, and why anyway? I can listen to music that interests me without any competitions.

I liked Barei from Spain. And the jury voting just sucks. Although I consider Seryoga to be a pleaser of girls (of which there were many in Europe, and even in Eurovision), his performance was quite spectacular, and the song was not bad. It makes me sick that Jamala is even ahead of the Korean from Australia.
And to all those who say that Eurovision is a freak show and no one watches it, you are wrong. I for example
I almost always watch the finals and am interested in some of the compositions and performers. For example, the singer from Croatia has an interesting voice (although her accent let her down), the musicians from Cyprus also gave a lot of heat (although it seemed to me that this was someone’s plagiarism (in principle, like almost all Eurovision songs)). And the performer is from Lithuania (not Latvia!!) although at first he seemed like a handsome singer ala Bieber, he had a good song