Posted July 02, 2024
Perseus Mandate is the weakest F.E.A.R. expansion. It's not the weakest F.E.A.R. game (that honour going to F.3.A.R. and Online), but Perseus Mandate is more than worthy of being called the former.
And to be honest, that's because there was a ton of potential here.
Not in plot (it was doomed to be weaker than its predecessors due to its violation of the lore of F.E.A.R. and Extraction Point), but in gameplay and level design.
The outdoor areas, whilst lacking and bland, are a good idea, and actually did get its time to shine in the far superior F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, which made use of outdoor environments to a better effect than Perseus. However, the indoor environments are utterly stunning, and the Perseus facility boasts some of the best visuals of the series. Not only that, but it's home to two genuinely good levels: Interval 02, and 04.
02 introduces us to the Nightcrawlers and with them, the new VES Advanced Rifle, which make a good change of pace from the Replicas and Armacham security of the base and Extraction. This is bolstered by some solid Close-Quarters environments which result in some fantastic combat. And 04 (which takes place during the final cutscene of the base game) not only features some genuinely brilliant scares, but can best be summed up as a full survival horror game where The Sergeant has to fend off Alma's spectres. It's intense, nerve wracking, and solid.
However, between those two levels and after, Perseus Mandate ends up being a cheap, frustrating chore to get through. Highlights include:
-The final ATC fight in Interval 03 where you're constantly swarmed by elites
-Being deprived of Health and Slowmo boosters throughout
-The level design going from "built around the CQC gameplay" to "Half-Life 2/Doom 3 spaces with barely any cover" with disastrous results.
And of course, Interval 07. The final level and the bane of my existence.
All of the sins committed by Perseus through out its playtime all culminate in Interval 07, which is pain to the max. And not in a good way. The Nightcrawlers end up by the dozen, with one area in particular being utterly frustrating. The Heavies are somehow being capable of using G2A2 and use it like they would a chaingun with an insane amount of fire, and in the moment that cemented that this game is mid, after the very difficult final boss battle... They force you to do two more difficult firefights with Replicas. When that happened, the swearing and screaming I did just had to be believed.
And THAT'S why Perseus Mandate doesn't work: It starts with potential, is home to some good frights, and two of its levels are fantastic. But it all gets drowned out beneath a sea of cheapness, frustrating level design, odd choices, and terrible enemy placement. Unlike F.3.A.R., I do think people should play it just for the bits of brilliance it boasts. But I have to warn them to beware of one of the cheapest, most badly designed exercises in anger I've ever experienced.
And to be honest, that's because there was a ton of potential here.
Not in plot (it was doomed to be weaker than its predecessors due to its violation of the lore of F.E.A.R. and Extraction Point), but in gameplay and level design.
The outdoor areas, whilst lacking and bland, are a good idea, and actually did get its time to shine in the far superior F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, which made use of outdoor environments to a better effect than Perseus. However, the indoor environments are utterly stunning, and the Perseus facility boasts some of the best visuals of the series. Not only that, but it's home to two genuinely good levels: Interval 02, and 04.
02 introduces us to the Nightcrawlers and with them, the new VES Advanced Rifle, which make a good change of pace from the Replicas and Armacham security of the base and Extraction. This is bolstered by some solid Close-Quarters environments which result in some fantastic combat. And 04 (which takes place during the final cutscene of the base game) not only features some genuinely brilliant scares, but can best be summed up as a full survival horror game where The Sergeant has to fend off Alma's spectres. It's intense, nerve wracking, and solid.
However, between those two levels and after, Perseus Mandate ends up being a cheap, frustrating chore to get through. Highlights include:
-The final ATC fight in Interval 03 where you're constantly swarmed by elites
-Being deprived of Health and Slowmo boosters throughout
-The level design going from "built around the CQC gameplay" to "Half-Life 2/Doom 3 spaces with barely any cover" with disastrous results.
And of course, Interval 07. The final level and the bane of my existence.
All of the sins committed by Perseus through out its playtime all culminate in Interval 07, which is pain to the max. And not in a good way. The Nightcrawlers end up by the dozen, with one area in particular being utterly frustrating. The Heavies are somehow being capable of using G2A2 and use it like they would a chaingun with an insane amount of fire, and in the moment that cemented that this game is mid, after the very difficult final boss battle... They force you to do two more difficult firefights with Replicas. When that happened, the swearing and screaming I did just had to be believed.
And THAT'S why Perseus Mandate doesn't work: It starts with potential, is home to some good frights, and two of its levels are fantastic. But it all gets drowned out beneath a sea of cheapness, frustrating level design, odd choices, and terrible enemy placement. Unlike F.3.A.R., I do think people should play it just for the bits of brilliance it boasts. But I have to warn them to beware of one of the cheapest, most badly designed exercises in anger I've ever experienced.
Post edited July 19, 2024 by BenCrichton78
