Some games suck. That's just the way of life in the video game world. But sometimes, games that everyone thinks sucks get a bum rap, and looking back on them, we realize they don't suck as much as we thought they did. Consequently, there are other games that we once thought were awesome, but looking back, they weren't so great. And some games just suck no matter what.

As a reviewer of video games, you don't always get the great titles. Sometimes you get ones that are just crappy as hell, and I've had quite a few of those experiences in my past year at Blogcritics. But it's not always games based of licenses that suck. Sometimes, sequels or add-ons suck just as hard, as we'll find out tonight.

And so, firing a shot in the dark, it's time for...



Basic Info

F.E.A.R. Files
Developer - Day 1 Studios, TimeGate Studios
Developer - Vivendi Universal
Console - Xbox 360
Year - 2007



The premise

F.E.A.R. Files is a follow-up to the award-winning F.E.A.R. on the PC and the "not as good as the PC version" F.E.A.R. on the Xbox 360. Made up of Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate, the story picks up where the first game ends in Extraction Point and follows an alternate storyline in Perseus Mandate. Extraction Point is good because it builds off F.E.A.R.'s storyline, but Perseus Mandate flounders.

Or, as I wrote in my review: "F.E.A.R. Files is not so much a sequel as a 360 port of F.E.A.R.'s two expansions - Extraction Point and Peruses Mandate. One of these is mediocre, and the other makes me want to cry."

The game



So, here's what the game's all about: Extraction Point picks up at the end of F.E.A.R., where you have to make your way to a different extraction point, all while fighting off supernatural monsters and enemy troops. Or, it's just an extension of what you did in the original game, but with super-tough A.I. that will tear you to shreds, long reloading times, basic level designs, questionable storyline pacing, and only 4-5 hours of extra content.

Still, it's better than Perseus Mandate, a terribly-paced waste of a game that throws you into an alternate storyline for F.E.A.R. It's not well written, the graphics still look awful, the game play is still just as bad as Extraction Point, but there's nothing to enjoy here. In fact, I would rather play a long list of games on the Xbox 360, including Yaris and Kengo 9 and Tenchu Z, rather than have to try and sit through playing Perseus Mandate again. There's literally no reason for its existence other than to milk a few more dollars out of your pockets.

The controls

F.E.A.R. Files' controls are perhaps sketchy at best. Shooting feels like more of a pain in the ass than it really should be. Still, it's more of the same in the controls department, with no real innovation in this game. The sloppiness of how the controller is mapped only adds to the frustration and makes me either not want to play the game or throw my controller into the wall. I'll choose the former.

The graphics and sound

And this si where the games go straight off the cliff and into the suck bin. The graphics in this game (or games) look like they came from the Gamecube, PS2 and/or Xbox. They don't look that polished, and in fact, they look half-assed. Likewise, the sound is nothing special to write home about, but it's the highlight of the game. This is one ugly game to look at, and it might just make you go blind.

You would have thought with the 360's increased power, the graphics would be better, but I guess not...



The conclusion

A pissy port with last-generation graphics, mediocre control and a crappy shooting interface. Fans of the original F.E.A.R. will be severely disappointed in the Xbox 360 iterations of the game's two expansion packs. Boring enough that it's now buried deep in my collection.

FINAL VERDICT: Heavy suckage. Severely behind almost all FPS games this generation.