F.E.A.R. EXTRACTION POINT (preview)

Warning: This preview contains tense, confusing situations

PUBLISHER: VU Games DEVELOPER: TimeGate Studios GENRE: First-Person Shooter RELEASE DATE: October 2006
HANDS-ON PREVIEW

A MERE 30 SECONDS SEPARATE THE
explosive ending of F.E.A.R. and the back-from-black beginning of its first expansion, Extraction Point, but in that short time, big events have transpired outside the bounds of the game box. In 2004, original F.E.A.R. developer Monolith (after being purchased by Warner Bros.) divorced publisher Vivendi Universal Games and split the FPS estate as follows: Vivendi keeps the
vestige of the prenuptial agreement—a VUGpublished expansion pack agreed upon before
the breakup that uses every asset except Monolith. The new developer? A house called
TimeGate (known primarily for strategy games such as Axis & Allies and Kohan), constructing
this encore with Monolith’s guidance and story approval. Bizarre, no? acronym name; Monolith keeps the IP (intellectual property), including the characters, story, and right to make games in the universe it created. Extraction Point is the last anomalousBut it might explain why Extraction Point follows the letter of expansion-pack law to a T. New weapons. New areas. New monsters. Check, check, check. For those who couldn’t get enough of F.E.A.R.’s dodgy, camouflaged assassins, Extraction Point brings you shadow creatures. “They’re like poltergeists,” says producer Tim Hall. “They’re created by [series paranormal girl-villain] Alma’s increasingly unstable mind. They have a penchant for pulling people apart limb by limb. The only warning the player will get is to catch a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of his eye…and the only way to combat the shadow creatures is to use slow-mo.” For
those who quickly tired of F.E.A.R.’s endless cubicles and office spaces, TimeGate offers up a few new canvases to paint with bullet holes: a subway, some sewerlike catacombs, a stately church (and its cheaply decorated rectory), and an outdoor construction site if you’re C.L.A.U.S.T.R.O.P.H.O.B.I.C. In all of these locations, the key word is “destructible”—doubly so with EP’s new minigun, gun, carried by Extraction Point’s new heavy soldiers. Not exactly the most novel weapon, but in practice, it’s ideal for F.E.A.R.’s trademark scenery-chewing firefights—TimeGate packs its levels with plenty of suspiciously placed plate glass windows, loose books, and canisters to shred to pieces.

The A.I. is up to its old honor-roll standards, too—and then some, according to Hall. “The units are more aware of their environments than ever before, and they do everything in their power to make sure they utilize those environments.” We spotted more than a few soldiers knocking down crates for cover. And if you don’t blow up that steel support beam yourself, there’s a good chance the giant missile-firing mechanoid will do it for you. Given the behind-the-scenes circumstances, it seems natural that Extraction Point would play it safe—don’t mess with the darling original, give players a little bit more, and save the big, huge leaps for the honest-to-goodness sequel, whatever its name may be. A textbook setup for wherever Monolith, Alma, the acronym, and the IP go next.