F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Review (AymericTheNightmare)
FEAR Extraction Point is developed by TimeGate Studios and released in 2006.
This is the first expansion of FEAR.
However, it is considered non-canonical.
and part of the “Vivendi Timeline”.
Extraction Point is intended to be a direct sequel to F.E.A.R..
The helicopter that comes to the Point Man's aid at the end of F.E.A.R. crashes into a building, after an appearance of Alma.
Point Man, Jin Sun-Kwon and Douglas Holiday escape unscathed.
The streets being in poor condition, and littered with vehicles obstructing all access,
you have to go through a church to find your teammates.
Oddly enough, Paxton Fettel appears to be still alive, and re-establishes his telepathic link with the Replicas.
You will have to fight against Replica soldiers and various strange creatures,
in order to find an Extraction Point to leave this hell.
The gameplay of Extraction Point is identical in every way to the base game.
And that's not bad, as the shootouts are really dynamic.
The AI is perfect, and sometimes reacts in surprising ways.
The paranormal is heightened and the violence is completely unleashed.
More inexplicable things happens,
some of which are quite stressful, even frightening.
The game is much darker, more spectacular and gore.
Enemies can be very numerous in the same area,
causing dantesque gunfights.
The settings are mainly urban and industrial, like the first opus,
but contain some new locations:
- The dilapidated basement of a church,
- A train station and its endless metro tunnels,
- A terrible hospital full of atrocities of all kinds...
Extraction Point contains some new enemies,
in addition to F.E.A.R. Replicas and Nightmares:
- The Heavy Riot Armor, with a shield and a powerful Minigun,
- The Leviathan, a colossal armored mecha,
- The Shade, a kind of ghost with red eyes, fast and agile.
Extraction Point features all the weapons from F.E.A.R. original, as well as:
- The Type-12 Laser Rifle, which fires a red beam of incredible precision and great power,
- The TG-2A Minigun, with an extremely high rate of fire and lots of ammunition,
- Deployable Mini Turrets, which do little damage but can distract the enemy.
Great new ambient and action music has been composed for the game, and is true to the spirit of F.E.A.R.
The LithTech Engine is starting to get old, even in 2006.
Some big slowdowns are to be deplored, and even crashes.
The levels suffer from a sometimes nightmarish level design.
Some scripts only work if you go back after a gunfight.
A few doors you have to open are hidden in complete darkness.
Large areas can be boring to crosss because the Point Man is slow...
Darker and more brutal, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point is a good extension,
however, it does not match the excellence of the original game.
And its many small flaws can taint the overall experience.
Better to reserve this "sequel" for the fans of the franchise.