F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point

The Good
Extraction Point is the first expansion pack for F.E.A.R. and it takes place right after the finale to the original. The opening cut-scene serves as a recap of what happened: you escape in the chopper with your two fellow teammates - Holiday and Jin-Sun Kwon - just in time to survive the destruction of the Origin facility. Everything seems fine, but then Alma, in her teenage form (who you saw at the end of F.E.A.R.), manages to climb aboard and causes the chopper to crash. You, as Point Man once again, have to eventually make your way to the church where things take a turn for the worse. All I can say at this point is it concerns Paxton Fettel, your arch-nemesis from the original game.

The gameplay is basically the same as F.E.A.R. You explore each location fully, listening to phone messages and trying to accomplish your mission objectives and shooting down any enemies that get in your way. If those think those Replicas were a nasty piece of work, they are nothing compared to the new ones that you encounter. One of these are the ninja monkeys. They have glowing red eyes and are difficult to kill since they are somewhat invisible. There are also new robots that are quite bigger than what you saw earlier. And I'm sure that you'll encounter huge robots even more sinister than the EVE robots.

Most of the characters that you get involved with are friendly. Holiday and Jin-Sun, as you know from the original game, are there to help you get through each location. Of course, there is young Alma, this time helping you as well while she is destroying forces that get in your way. Betters has a minor role at the end of the game. Fettel can be seen throughout the game as well, but only during hallucinations.

You can still use the Slow-Mo function to help you out. As I said in my review of F.E.A.R., you can get one step ahead of your enemies by using it, and you can see a lot of blood spray when you make a kill. Slow-Mo eventually runs out of juice, so it is important that you don't use it all at once. What I forgot to mention was it is interesting to hear dialogue in slow motion, and my favorite ones come from the original Replicas.

Extraction Point still has its scary moments. You have the hallucinations and the nightmares coming at you. There are only six intervals in the game, and almost in each interval you can see a lot of blood on the floor indicating that some gruesome murder took place there. The real threat is teenage Alma, and when you see her, something bad always happens. At some point in the game, Holiday accompanies you until she uses her apparitions to murder him, and what you'll witness of this is not pleasant.

You can still carry up to three weapons at once, so it's best to know which weapon you think is the most effective against different types of enemies. Three new weapons are on offer, in addition to the weapons that you used in the original game. My favorite is the laser gun, which is capable of burning enemies to a crisp. Also I think there is something that you place on the wall and it blows up enemies if they approach it.

The soundtrack in the game is well composed, and it often reflects the situation you're in. I really like the music at the beginning of the game as you are trying to reach the ground floor of a building. Also, as soon as enemies start filling the room, a powerful soundtrack plays and doesn't end until you kill all the enemies you see.

The graphics are on par with the original game. Throughout the game, you mainly go through dark areas, exploring the catacombs of the church and run-down apartments, as well as certain industrial areas and warehouses. You'll continue to search dark areas until after the finale, where there is finally light. I enjoyed exploring Auburn Hospital near the end of the game and see what was inside each room, with the operating theaters more interesting than others.

The Bad
As well as the “you can carry up to three weapons” rule, young Alma trying to help you doesn't make any sense. Why would she try to kill you in the original game, only to help you here? Seems like she suddenly has a guilty conscious.

The Bottom Line
For those who haven't played F.E.A.R. for ages, Extraction Point recaps what happens at the end of that game. You explore each location fully, trying to accomplish your objectives and bringing down anything that stands in your way. You must know that you have to deal with two versions of Alma: child and teenager. And it is the teenage Alma who is the real threat here.

The excellent soundtrack gives the game atmosphere, and the different locations are worthy searching, because you never know what you'll find. The game is rated 18 in most territories, meaning any minor cannot see the intense violence in the game.