Project Origin - Previews - The Armchair Empire


	Platform 360, PC, PS3 Genre Shooter Publisher Warner Brothers Developer Monolith ETA Fall 2008
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Project Origin

In what should become a text book case for all developers on the importance of maintaining and holding their own intellectual property, Project Origin is actually a sequel to F.E.A.R., which involved a cloned army, mind control, and homage to Japanese horror films, but I didn't even know that before actually sitting down to a demo at E3 but I had good reason to be caught unawares.

Monolith's original F.E.A.R. was published by Vivendi, which retained the rights to the F.E.A.R. name, so the F.E.A.R. branding can't be used on this Warner Brothers

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published sequel. (Who know where the license goes since the Vivendi / Activision merger.) However, this is still a full-fledged sequel with a continuation of the story setup in the original game (like Perseus Mandate and Extraction Point didn't happen). The original protagonist is replaced by Michael Beckett, a Delta Force solider, but players will still have access to the super natural reflexes (i.e. slow-motion ability) seen in the first game.

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Taking a reductionist approach, Project Origin is more of the same. However, with the overall acclaim of the single-player portion of the original title, this isn't a bad thing and if the E3 demo is anything to go by, the spirit and style of the original game (with some refined graphics) is consistent with the original.

What isn't so consistent is that Project Origin is supposed to feature more open-ended environments than F.E.A.R., after all the city has been pretty much reduced to rubble. That doesn't mean that Monolith won't be trying to direct players with scripted moments and "funnel" areas where player will have to explore. The linearity of the original game was probably its biggest failing, so it's good to at least hear the developers are attempting to open it up a bit.

As far as first-person shooters go, I'm looking forward to Project Origin. I liked the original F.E.A.R. and Monolith is one of those developers that has yet to produce a real stinker and they know how to make an unnerving gaming experience (see Condemned and its sequel).

- Omni

(August 20, 2008)