Interview: F.E.A.R.2, Exclusive Interview with Warner Brothers.
By: Reece Heywood
Posted: Feb 3, 2009
Comments Off
1) Will there be a co-op mode, will it have online to play with friends or off line split screen?
There isn’t a co-op mode in FEAR 2. Early on in development, we tried to create a FEAR experience in a co-op environment. Ultimately the end result felt less and less like FEAR, so in the best interest of staying true to the essence of FEAR we decided to not to pursue it, however, we do have a fully featured multiplayer mode with the incredibly cool addition of the EPA. Armored Front puts players into teams, and each team has access to an EPA which they can use to defend their control points and wreak havoc on their opponents. It’s an incredibly fun mode, and we can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on it. The multiplayer mode supports up to 16 players through locally linked systems and online.
2) How many hours is the single player campaign, will it have much replay value?
It’s tough to say. Depending upon how you played the first FEAR will be a good gauge. Some people are the slow more methodical creepers looking to take advantage of all the cover the world has to offer and other run through guns blazing. Being able to play FEAR the way you want to play it has always been one of its strengths. I can tell you we have about 35% more content than the first FEAR. If you missed any of the items on your first playthrough, then we encourage playing again because there is some really cool information that is only available through the intel items located throughout the game.
3) What are the different multi player modes? will we see any kind of ranking system or matchmaking?
There are 6 modes, including standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. There is also Control and Failsafe, and our own take on capture the flag that we call Blitz. As mentioned before, there is also Armored Front which is a variation on the Control game type, and also lets player control the massive EPA walking battle suit.
4) How difficult will the achievements/trophies be this time? The original title had some of the hardest ones found in a game.
I don’t think the achievements are as hard to get as the first game, but for players who love getting everything, there are definitely some challenges.
5) Is the Playstation 3 hard to work with, or did you find it to the similar level with the PC and 360?
Every system has its own strengths and its own challenges that you have to overcome. The PS3 has certain challenges that are unique to that platform, but so does the Xbox 360 and the PC. We basically tried to develop to each of the platforms strengths and worked very hard to ensure that the user experience on each platform was excellent.
6) Do you have any plans to bring downloadable content in the future, if so has Sony or Microsoft offered any exclusive deal?
We do have plans for DLC, but we can’t discuss all of the details quite yet. Sorry to be such a tease 
7) Will we be seeing a collectors edition of the title, if so which countries will it be available to?
There will be a collector’s edition for Europe that will feature a copy of FEAR and FEAR 2 packaged together.
8) Will we be seeing more of Alma this time around?, any new faces which will join her side or be a nemesis?
FEAR 2 is all about Alma, and she will be very present in this game. She takes some new forms for the sequel, because presenting the scary little girl again will not have the same impact that it had in 2005. As far as new antagonists are concerned, there is Genevieve Aristide. While she was present in the first game, players only learned her story through the phone messages and laptops scattered throughout the world. This time she is a major character who will cross paths with Michael Becket and his team several times over the course of the game.
9) F.E.A.R. had some of the most best guns I had seen in a game such as the Nail Gun, have any new weapons been removed, added or changed/modified?
The nail gun is certainly making a return appearance, but we’ve also added several new weapons which are very cool as well. One of my personal favorites is the flame thrower. Not just because of how much damage it causes, but because of the way enemies react to it when set on fire. They yell, stop drop and roll, and even look for a source of water to put themselves out. Their reactions are different every time and a lot of fun to watch.
10) The original was quite a corridor shooter throughout most of the game, are you expanding into more open areas?
FEAR 2 will have the player exploring a wider variety of environments. While the intense corridor sections that made the first game so successful return, we’ve opened the world up significantly to add variety to the places players will do combat in. Throughout the game, players will be able to see the havoc and destruction that Alma has created because of her release, even getting view of where she was released from the first game.
11) Part’s of the game really did freak us out, can we expect to see more shock & jumpy moments.
Absolutely. FEAR was a frightening game, and we’ve done a great deal of work to make sure that players are just as terrified this time out as they were when they played the original game. I think people will be surprised in the new ways that we bring horror to the experience. Although we still take a lot of our influence from J horror, we have selectively picked some new great inspiration to add to our formula for Horror and we are excited to let people experience it.
12) One of my most favorite things about the original was the matrix style grenades, how they rippled into the environment before exploding. Will we see new effects for weapons to environments?
With the expanded technology that we are using for FEAR 2, there will be a great deal more effects and environmental damage. You’ll see this in great detail when get you inside the EPA and start literally tearing away at the walls of building as you walk down a ruined city street. The list of technical advancements is long; needless to say, it provides a great palette of tools that we can use to really push out visuals over the top and accentuate the gameplay experience.
13) Xbox 360 has been more known for being an FPS console with it’s better controller, which version feels more comfortable and which looks visually better? (PS3 or 360)
We haven’t taken a port mentality when developing FEAR 2. Our goal was to make sure that regardless of what platform you played the game on, you are guaranteed to get the best experience. Everything from optimizations to the graphics engine, and how the controls are implemented on the various controllers and input devices have been taken into account when developing the game.
14) Can you tell us about the vehicles, do any have advantages or weaknesses over the player, weapons or opposing vehicles.
The only vehicle that the player has available to actually drive is the EPA, and those sequences are designed to be set piece moments where the player is able to take the fight back to his foes rather than the constant tension of not knowing how you are going to survive the next encounter.
15) Will the PC version be released with more extra content than the console versions? Such as a map maker or the ability for gamers to make mods?
At launch, the PC version will support the same features as its console counterparts.
