Rating:

Price: $56.99

The Skinny: Psychic avenger Alma Wade's reign of paranormal terror continues, just hours after she survives the explosive conclusion to F.E.A.R.. Special Forces Operator Michael Beckett (you) has been tasked with the search and interrogation of a woman suspected of building an army of powerful psychics. The search is cut short as Alma returns, threatening to destroy a major American city in her quest for revenge.

The Good: The graphics don't rival Gears of War 2, but you won't complain. Explosions devastate stuff, enemies are ripped apart after full clips to the sternum, and weapons are even capable of destroying environments. (Yes, developers have finally realized that shooting a wall does leave a mark.) Speaking of weapons, your boom stick inventory ranges from the ordinary to the sublime: Complementing the assortment of bullet-fed guns (pistol, assault rifle, shotgun) are a flamethrower and a laser pistol that makes enemies explode on contact. We just wish there were more than 20 shots available for them in the entire game.

The Bad: It's just not scary enough, at least for something called "F.E.A.R." While the first one took steps toward the surreally creepy, Project Origin builds little on the suspense and opts to provide players with more novel action, as in the few levels that have you rampaging through the city on a rocket-firing mecha.

As for the actual plot: If you're confused by the short description we gave you above, you're not alone. We had to backtrack and read through a bunch of plot explanations before we started to understand it. If you didn't happen to catch the original, you'll probably miss a lot of what's going on, but no matter: In the end, it's still an enjoyable experience.

Yep, there's online multiplayer too, but... there are no leaderboards or stat-tracking, so it's shallow at best. Matchmaking could use some work, too: We happened to be paired up with John, the three-time defending F.E.A.R. 2 champion every time we attempted to play.

Maxim Tip: If you're a trophy or achievement whore, you can "kill four enemies with one slo-mo use" near the end of the game, when you've picked up a decent amount of reflex injectors (they extend slow-mo time) and the missile launcher.

Buy, Rent, or Disembowel: GameFly it. It's a solid rental that'll take about nine hours to complete.