FEAR posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Monolith hiring for new 'first-person action game'
Monolith Productions -- the developers behind titles such as F.E.A.R., Condemned, and, if you're an older gamer, No One Lives Forever -- are looking for a software engineer for a "triple-A next-generation console title," as a recent job posting on the developer's site points out. Further down into the nitty-gritty of the listing, you'll find a brief description for this new Xbox 360, PS3, and PC title: "Work closely with engineers, designers, and artists on the creation of game systems for a cutting-edge first-person action game on PlayStation 3, XBox 360 and PC."
And, sadly, that's about all of the information on the game the job listing provides. With F.E.A.R. 2 releasing this past February, we'd be hard-pressed to consider a new entry in that series, so we're crossing our fingers for a new No One Lives Forever.
[Via IGN]
And, sadly, that's about all of the information on the game the job listing provides. With F.E.A.R. 2 releasing this past February, we'd be hard-pressed to consider a new entry in that series, so we're crossing our fingers for a new No One Lives Forever.
[Via IGN]
Warner appoints former MGS exec to oversee Seattle studios
"Utilising her expertise to direct our Seattle studios in several key areas, we are looking forward to developing quality games under her leadership in the most efficient ways." That's what Samantha Ryan, Warner Interactive's senior vice president, has to say about the company's latest appointment. Former Microsoft Games Studios executive producer, Laura Fryer, will now oversee Warner Interactive's Seattle studios, which include Snowblind Studios and the FEAR-ful folks at Monolith Productions.There's no word yet on which quality games are due to be developed under Fryer's leadership in the most efficient ways, but here's one that can't be made efficiently enough: No One Lives Forever 3. We all look like we need a monkey.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin demo now in Qore, free for all next week

Those that don't have a Qore subscription will be able to get it for free in next week's PlayStation Store update. The horror-themed M-rated shooter has you fighting Alma, a girl with mysterious and overwhelming powers. You'll be able to download it on January 23rd.
[Image Credit: PSP GadgetZ]
Monolith designer blames loss of F.E.A.R. fans on expansions
The original F.E.A.R. garnered universal critical praise when it launched, but it seems like we've heard less and less about the subsequent installments in the series. In a recent interview with CVG, Monolith's Dave Matthews, lead art designer for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, blamed the Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate expansions (which were created by TimeGate studios) for "[killing] off a few" fans. Later in the interview, he did a positively heart-melting acoustic rendition of "Crash Into Me".
Matthews' main qualm with the expansions is that TimeGate took the story in a direction that Monolith wouldn't have followed -- they took the focus away from the series' young, unsettling antagonist, Alma. With Monolith behind the PC version and console ports of Project Origin, Matthews is confident that the story will continue "the way we originally intended." This is great news for fans, and terribly unfortunate news for the faint of heart.
[Via X3F]
Matthews' main qualm with the expansions is that TimeGate took the story in a direction that Monolith wouldn't have followed -- they took the focus away from the series' young, unsettling antagonist, Alma. With Monolith behind the PC version and console ports of Project Origin, Matthews is confident that the story will continue "the way we originally intended." This is great news for fans, and terribly unfortunate news for the faint of heart.
[Via X3F]
Trophies: F.E.A.R. 2

Alma is back in Project Origin. Will you be able to survive the journey?
F.E.A.R. 2 Australia ban lifted, set for 2009
Australian gamers were struck with relief last month when they learned that F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin was effectively banned Down Under, thus protecting them from evil, creepy children. Bad news then, Australian gamers, because it looks like you'll have something to fear after all. IGN reports that Warner Interactive's appeal to the Australian Classification Board was successful, thus landing the game an MA15+ rating. Even worse, the game remains completely unchanged, meaning every terrifying moment, every grisly bit of gore is intact. The game is even scheduled to hit its original February 2009 release date.
Sorry, Aussie gamers, the ACB did its best to protect you from Alma, but you will have to suffer her wrath like the rest of us.
Sorry, Aussie gamers, the ACB did its best to protect you from Alma, but you will have to suffer her wrath like the rest of us.
FEAR 2: Project Origin going digital over Steam, Direct2Drive

If that date sounds familiar, it's the same day the survival horror FPS will scare up PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 retail shelves as well. Just think, now you won't even have to leave your house to get creeped out by Monolith's spooky little girl.
[Via press release]
Project Origin bringing the F.E.A.R back

So why not just call it F.E.A.R 2 and have done with it? After all the effort they went to with their Name Your Fear contest, it would be a shame not to use the winning name, Project Origin, in some form or another. As a result the game will now be known as F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin. Lovely. Currently it's set for release worldwide in mid-February. That's around the same time Killzone 2 is due to hit, in case you're wondering.
Name change: 'F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin'
Monolith and Warner Bros. sure appreciate all the hard work you put in to deciding the name of the "spiritual successor" to F.E.A.R., but let's face it, Project Origin doesn't quite ring like ... F.E.A.R. 2. But, as the backstory goes, Sierra owned the franchise name and, up until the Activision-Blizzard merger, the company was supposedly working on its own F.E.A.R. sequel.
But then, well, Sierra hit a snag. Sensing that all was not well, Warner Bros. sent over a gift basket full of money, and back came the rights to the franchise name. So, here Warner Bros. and Monolith are with the original name and the name that's been used in all the marketing to date. Solution? Combine the two. And the final answer is ... F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin! In stores February 10th, 2009.
But then, well, Sierra hit a snag. Sensing that all was not well, Warner Bros. sent over a gift basket full of money, and back came the rights to the franchise name. So, here Warner Bros. and Monolith are with the original name and the name that's been used in all the marketing to date. Solution? Combine the two. And the final answer is ... F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin! In stores February 10th, 2009.
Project Origin pushed back to early 2009
Project Origin, Monolith's everything-but-the-name follow up to F.E.A.R., has slipped on all of that spilled gore, sliding back from the game's previous fall release until sometime in early 2009. The news came from Project Origin art lead, Dave Matthews, who took time during the Leipzig Games Convention to break the news -- and fans' hearts – confirming that players will have to wait until the first quarter of 2009 to find out just what Alma has been up to.
Softening the blow a bit, new details surrounding the upcoming shooter also emerged from last week's event, including news that the sequel will include more interactive and varied environments than those seen in F.E.A.R., while enemy A.I. has also been amped up as well. According to Monolith, the story itself will also be improved over the original, giving us all the more reason to think that maybe Project Origin is worth waiting for after all.
Source – GC 2008: Project Origin Progress Report, IGN
Softening the blow a bit, new details surrounding the upcoming shooter also emerged from last week's event, including news that the sequel will include more interactive and varied environments than those seen in F.E.A.R., while enemy A.I. has also been amped up as well. According to Monolith, the story itself will also be improved over the original, giving us all the more reason to think that maybe Project Origin is worth waiting for after all.
Source – GC 2008: Project Origin Progress Report, IGN
Project Origin's FEARsome E3 trailer
Video: Again, we begin to F.E.A.R. a swinging Alma

Scared stiff: Why should we care about Project Origin?

However, shortly after F.E.A.R. landed on retail shelves in 2005, Monolith parted ways with BFF publisher Vivendi, a move that left all but the game's name in the hands of the developer, forcing the studio to re-brand its IP. And in 2007, Monolith turned to the gamer community, asking for creative types to submit ideas for what the sequel should be called.
The result, as it turned out, was Project Origin. But even with a name for its new baby, the question remained, and admittedly still lingers, as to if Monolith can recapture the lightning in a bottle that was F.E.A.R. To this end, we recently cornered designers Craig Hubbard and John Mulkey to ask them both why we should care about their latest offering.
Gallery: Project Origin
New Project Origin video compares, gushes blood
While some may look to water and its undulating physics as the standard for current gen eye candy, developer Monolith's yardstick is apparently a tad more crimson. The studio has released a new video for its F.E.A.R. follow-up, Project Origin, showing off the way blood will be handled in the upcoming sequel by comparing the previous game's visceral cherry mist to what can be best described as Project Origin's syrupy goop.
On the game's recently launched community website, Monolith FX guru Mark Wood explains some of the work that went into the project's interesting, if messy, take on in-game gore. Writes Wood, the team is working to make the blood "visible from far away, while still feeling meaty and satisfying at closer range," something he concedes was lacking in the original F.E.A.R. The end result looks a bit like blasting strawberry jelly out of a bad guy, which in all honesty should be reason enough to get you to watch the video below.
On the game's recently launched community website, Monolith FX guru Mark Wood explains some of the work that went into the project's interesting, if messy, take on in-game gore. Writes Wood, the team is working to make the blood "visible from far away, while still feeling meaty and satisfying at closer range," something he concedes was lacking in the original F.E.A.R. The end result looks a bit like blasting strawberry jelly out of a bad guy, which in all honesty should be reason enough to get you to watch the video below.














