Community reviews....

[Shmuck]

Wow, Monolith. I've been playing this game for a couple of weeks, and I really am impressed.

First off, the storyline of F.E.A.R. 2 is great, better than the first game. I enjoyed the PDAs as a storytelling device, although that may be because I'm too impatient to stand around and listen to a phone for too long. The ending was shocking, unexpected, and I loved it.

However, there were definitely many missed opportunities storywise. Jankowski's younger brother was a big waste of an intriguing side-story, and Wade Elementary, although creepy, was pretty much needless in terms of story revelations. You don't see any sign of Becket having ever been part of the school.

The environments are great, more varied than the first game and better detailed. I love roaming the city and examing the sheer destruction caused by both Alma and the Origin Explosion. The EPA segments are great, they fit perfectly in the action-oriented F.E.A.R. series, and I just like the sense of power you get in them.

However, I do feel that a lot was missed out in the usage of the city. It was stated that a destroyed city opened up a vast range of possibilities, but for the most part, we're simply roaming through a ruined ghetto. I would have liked for the street parts to be more wide-open and varied, wandering through museums, neighbourhoods, warehouses, freeways, and perhaps a downtown area. As it is, the street parts simply feel more like I'm in a linear, closed-in arena, not a destroyed city. The Subway section was also a little short too.

In terms of combat, I'm impressed, I had more fun with this game than in the first one. It may be a little too generous with the health and armor it gives out, and the AI doesn't respond well to an aggressive approach, but I had lots of fun. My gripe is that ATC and the Replicas don't really seem to have much of a difference in terms of behaviour, since it'd be nice if the mercenaries panicked and were less competent than the Replicas.

The graphics are an improvement, even though there were signs that it could have been better (dynamic shadows seem to come and go, and the fire effects are weird.) The sound is good, along with the voice acting (the Replicas seem to have downgraded from the rather robotic, convincing chatter of Fettel's battalion, though.)

I really wish that there was newer music, since I found the music of the first game to be dull in comparison, and the remixes of the old ambience made me feel...odd...still, the music is excellent, Nathan Griggs did a great job.

All in all, Monolith did a great job in this game, I am impressed. However, I would like for them to develop F.E.A.R. 3 for the PC first, and then port the game down for the consoles, since F.E.A.R. 2 did waste some potential by having been developed for multiple platforms. Please bring back quicksaving, too.

[DarkGlaive88]

Finally, finally I can actually post my thoughts of the game because I finished it yesterday during a gruelling, exhausting 8 hour session that lasted until nearly 6 in the morning (I got my 360 back and it works right now, but how long it works for is anyone's guess).

Firstly, I'd like to say it is now my favourite game (and I've played some incredible games over the past year) and thanks Monolith for putting what I regard as a gaming masterpiece together.
Why? Well, I'll state of course:
Gore: I love it, it's the best in game gore I've ever had the chance to witness/spill. It's so satisfying all the way through the game. Watching a spinal cord poking out of a bisected body flying through the air is immense, as is kicking body parts about lol. Every aspect of the gore is me friendly . Shame about the short length of time the blood decals litter the environment, but oh well.
Gameplay: Well what can I say? I am astonished. Controlling Becket is a breeze, the shooting mechanics are great and the weapons are very fun to use. Enemies were a fair challenge and kept me on my toes (I'm not the best gamer in the world but nor do I care), especially the Remnants where many epic fights took place. They're some of the best gaming enemies I've encountered, that's for sure.
The EPA was also a very fun piece of kit, just being able to sit back, relax and watch as I unleash bloody hell on the Replicas, I enjoyed it very much.
Graphics: They were great. Not the best I've ever seen, but they hold their weight well for the majority of the time. The only levels I thought that needed more work were the Lab/Underground Facility level (where Snake Fist is) and the Still Island level which were both repetitive and were confusing to navigate in due to that, and maybe it needed a little more polish, but I remember Yurei's statement well (the one where he said they needed to scale back in some parts to improve upon others). The first level and the school level were very well designed. I did notice the lack of shadows but only because I'd read it on here before, but I really don't care at all about that.
Horror/Atmosphere: From my point of view the scares were sadly lacking, where only a couple of parts did it for me (the flashy bit in the school level where the Specters and Alma mess with your mind and Alma making me jump on the odd occasion). The atmosphere was excellent though and every bit as good as the original F.E.A.R. and Dead Space.
Story: I liked very much. It was well told and I felt sad  when I saw little Alma being dragged away by the ATC Guards from her swing to where she ended up for the rest of her life and when Keegan regained his senses just before you shoot him in the final battle and he begged for help . The characters were pretty good, but the overall telling of the story took centre stage over them.

Oh yes and before I forget, the soundtrack is awesome throughout the game, but I do wish there were more silent moments utilised.
All in all though, I adore this game and I will play it for many months to come and more, hence why it's my favourite game now.

My personal score for the game is 9.9/10. You may think that's quite inflated but that's my personal judgement and it's based more on my enjoyment of the game than what's allegedly wrong with it. If you don't like it then that's your problem.
Anyway, my scores for the previous games were:
F.E.A.R.: 9.8/10
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point: 6.8/10
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate: 5.2/10
And other Monolith games I've played:
Condemned: 9.4/10
Condemned 2: 5/10
Once again, thanks Monolith for creating a game I can enjoy for quite possibly the rest of my life.

[terrywb]

i give it a 10/10 it rocks

[B2K-Ayamad]

needs more guns, more maps, faster run speed, and a competition, and if you care about cheaters on overall leaderboards, do something about boosting, don't know what.....gimmie a medal

[AROCCqer]

dayum people writing pages here lol

[B2K-Ayamad]

btw i love F.E.A.R, doesnt matter how neglected due to CoD it is. both F.E.A.Rs are my 1st and 2nd games. ive killed them both too much, alma knows 'bout B2K. yo ARROCer, gicho ass online bwoy.

[Unholy_Angel]

I'm a PS3 owner but this is my review of F.E.A.R 2

Single Player:

To make it short the single player was far superior to F.E.A.R 1's. Not in the aspect of being more fun shooting stuff but this time the game actually scared you.I found in F.E.A.R 1 there would be a lot of tension climbing moments but never a big pay off ( a scare of some kind) F.E.A.R 2 did a good job of making you startled or jumped out of your seats. So the title F.E.A.R 2 actually lived up to its name this time around. As for the action review it was solid overall, nothing special but not bad either. I find there was a lack of creativity going into the fire fights, it got pretty bland after a while. The slow mo how every was better then ever and it was extremely enjoyable to blow up a ATC guard with his own fire tank on his back. The SP was a perfect length, around 8- 10 hours long, it was not to long and did not overstay its welcome ( cough cough Bioshock cough cough) and it was not to short ( cough cough Killzone 2 cough cough) The trophies/ achievements were well done for the SP mode, and the graphics were above average, but nothing breath taking for the Year 2009. The actual story was solid especially the ending If you are to put F.E.A.R 2's SP mode into a metaphor its like a part mix, there are stuff that you like and pick out and eat ( Sun chips and cheezes) and there are stuff you don't like ( pretzels.)

The Multiplayer: They had a good idea going but it was not perfected. I find the game play and game modes are perfectly fine and fun to play especially the armored front games. I enjoy that there are still weapon spawns for the super weapons laying around to make a bad game turn into a good game. What got me the most about the multiplayer was the extremely well thought out point/class system. With the armor and weapons and perks all put together with each a cost I think this made and gave each player their own flavor and play style. My only issue about it is there is nothing in the weapon system that costs 6 points, and the zero armor set up is virtually a waste. But none the less it was a solid idea. The multiplayer how ever sucks on PSN and LIVE when it comes to being lag free, and glitch free. I think monolith should have waited a bit more before releasing because F.E.A.R 2 has the lag and glitches a beta of a game should have. So to sum up the multiplayer its like a puzzle, all the pieces look nice on the box cover but when you try to fit them together the pieces don;t fit just exactly as you would of hoped them to.

I give F.E.A.R 2 a solid 9/10 the single point deduction is for using Game spy as your multiplayer provider... which gives us lag and glitches. but other wise good job to the boys at monolith

[VenomKitetsu]

Overall, it's a good improvement from F.E.A.R. but I really missed the eerie tone. It is a lot more run and gun, which is great, but the action outweighed the horror. In F.E.A.R. there was more darkness and horror, but next to the action, it just felt more balanced. The end is an 11/10, it's amazing and I love that it's more realistic, that "humanity is royally boned" feeling you get doesn't happen often in games or movies anymore.

The lack of little Alma was also a bummer. The scares needed to be portrayed like they were in the first game and just as constant.

I love the multiplayer. Armored Core is an excellent touch. I really wanna see a level in the elementary school somewhere down the road though.

I like both games equally. Each one has aspects that the other doesn't offer but I would have loved a darker tone in F.E.A.R. 2 like we saw in the first game.

And no matter what anyone ever says. Having no Co-op is great. It's a solo game, it's meant to be a solo game. You can't be paranoid or scared when you have people helping you. Keep the 3rd installment solo PLEASE.

[SDMF_TrueBlue]

Graphics- 8/10. Solid with some nice details but could have stood a little more polish and some areas were too bright, detracting from the ambience.

Controls- 8/10. Standard genre fare. I do miss the lean ability and the melee attacks were a little tricky to execute.

Story- 7/10. Above average in the genre but not up to the standard set by its predecessor. Too much emphasis on collecting and reading intel. Would have been better conveyed in the same means as the orginal.

Difficulty- 5/10. No where near as difficult as F.E.A.R.

Replayability- 6/10. You might play it again to get intel or story points missed during the first playthrough. Multiplayer is standard fare which hurts support and longevity on consoles that run Call of Duty 4, Gears of War, Halo 3, Killzone 2, and Left 4 Dead. The multiplayer map packs add some variety. Personally, I would love to see some new campaign levels and achievements/trophies.

Overall- 8/10. Satisfying action, great use of slo-mo, the fun of the EPA, and some excellent set pieces help balance out the decreased difficulty and levels that feel tacked on. It would serve Monolith better to return to more of the style of F.E.A.R. when it comes to F.E.A.R. 3. Questions regarding the fate of Point Man and the other operatives of SFOD-D should be answered. Keep the item collecting to a minimum to maximize immersion. Overhaul the multiplayer to attract and maintain a larger userbase. Bring back some of the series signature weapons (VK-12, Type 7) to replace their more generic counterparts (pump/automatic shotgun, Type 12). Fans like myself are not disappointed and can easily be recommended this game but it offers little to attract a new audience in the saturated FPS market in the multiplayer department.

[recordman]

The shooting parts are all great, it's the scares that are a little downgraded, here's some thoughts:

You need more alone time, not just from your allies, but also their voices. You got quite a good mood building up there, until Snake Fist decided to chip in on the radio. "Oh hi, Snake Fist, the hairs on the back of my neck were just about to stand up, until you decided to start a conversation, now I can focuse on the story instead of the creepy atmosphere which will surly be followed by a scare sequence, but I won't jump too high because I would be deciding what kind of beer to bring you when we meet."

Having a teammate with you is the best way to kill the fear inside you. You will not be alone, your NPC will shout at the first sign of trouble, so why bother with the slaming lockers, when I got invencible Stokes right behind me? If anything goes wrong, I will just hide under her skirt...or bullet-proof vest.

Scary sound effects and blurry visions act more like a ghost detector than a tension-builder. After hearing those artificial screaching sounds and have my eyes teared up, a walking naked dead girl doesn't seem to be too much out of the picture. On the other hand, if I were to have a nice quiet walk in the park, enjoying all the normal sights and sounds for awhile, then suddenly seeing a disfigured creature staring at me from a window would probably freak me out. It's just my theory: you can only scare someone if you suprise him; if he's already tensed up and looking for trouble, a Boogie man would only receive a face-full of buckshot instead of a little-girl scream. Once the player started to say "here comes the scary sequence", it will not be truly scary anymore.

There is a review on a game with similar scare tatic issues here.