FEAR Perseus Mandate Demo

As if the terrible name wasn't enough, the Perseus Mandate demo turns out to be a shambolic outing for the ailing FEAR series. You can download the 734.82MB sampler from here. Once installed and playing, you'll probably find yourself saying: "woooOOOooo" in that sarcastic way that you do when things just aren't scary.

It's still trying to deliver the proven FEAR formula (there's some cryptic information about spooky goings on, you see some stuttering ghosts down the end of a corridor, and then you fight a load of marines) but it's nevertheless drained of life. The environments are makeshift and absurdly dull, the action is obvious and predictable - even the NPC voice actor sounds bored, rather than however it is you are supposed to sound when being attacked by psychic marines and pursued by diaphanous ninjas. Presumably TimeGate, who are now handling the series, have got better things to do. Or perhaps this disappointing demo is somehow unrepresentative of the full game. Whatever the reality: get back to making Kohan, TimeGate. And I guess genuine fans of the original game will just have to wait to see what Monolith come up with for 'Project Origin'. (Why DID they choose such an insipid name?)