Horror videogames are difficult to get right. What makes something scary? Blood on the walls? Spooky sound effects? Dimly lit corridors with blinking lights?

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin , a new first-person shooter for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC (reviewed), delivers all those standards of the genre. But Origin‘s scares come mostly from the game’s frightening atmosphere, not cheap shocks.

It’s a classic sort of horror, and succeeds in actually being scary by leveraging a player’s psychological reactions to the environment — you’ll be jumping at shadows, not at creatures routinely popping out of them. But the game telegraphs these sequences so much that they lose a lot of their fear power.

Origin kicks off moments before the previous game ends, and provides little in the way of exposition: If you didn’t play the first F.E.A.R., you’ll be a bit lost. Let’s play catch-up: Armacham Technology is building an army of telepathically controlled clones, but Alma, the 8-year-old psychic who was forced into a coma, trapped in a vault, impregnated and then abandoned all those years ago is apparently still alive — and pissed.

As Sgt. Michael Becker, it’s up to you and your squad of elite military operatives to arrest Armacham’s president, a mission that devolves into chaos when a massive explosion vaporizes most of a city.

Origin ‘s creepy levels gave me a nagging sense of paranoia. Strolling down one of the many dimly lit corridors, an uncomfortable silence crept in. My visor began to flicker, as it would do in regular intervals throughout the adventure. I heard the haunting cries of a young woman. More psychic apparitions? Perhaps a few boxes flying about? Five minutes of foggy vision and uneventful silence later, I turned a corner, and an entirely new sound blasted through my speakers, causing my heart to leap into my throat — it’s the radio chirping, a comrade wondering what I’m up to.

That Origin‘s greatest scares come during totally danger-free moments is a testament to how well developer Monolith has sculpted this horror experience. But it’s a shame that scenes of abject terror are just that — scenes, which begin and end with clear lines of demarcation, giving players ample time to brace themselves.

While you’re technically part of a squad of six, your silent protagonist is quickly separated from the pack and usually fights alone. Your status is relayed by health and armor bars; power-ups littered about the generic offices, subway stations and ravaged neighborhoods that you’re trudging through keep you in tiptop shape.

You’ll only be able to carry four weapons at a time, though every weapon has its merits. You might be inclined to immediately dump the pistol, but lighter weapons will allow you to sprint faster, which will aid you in getting the jump on enemies so you can pummel them with your barrage of deadly melee attacks — or run away, if things get dicey.

Your character will eventually gain heightened reflexes, granting you the ability to slow down time. The ability is limited, but recharges fairly quickly, and more collectible power-ups will allow you to extend its duration. While entertaining, this has the drawback of eliminating much of the terror of combat: The reasonably intelligent enemies are left with very little time to react once you’re dancing circles around them.

As if your foes didn’t have enough to worry about already, there’s the mechanized power suit — a self-repairing, nigh-invincible juggernaut, spewing death from twin mini-guns and rocket launchers. Entertaining? Sure. But playing Giant Robot Whac-A-Mole in a game that’s ostensibly about being afraid simply doesn’t fit.

Once you’ve made your way through the single-player campaign (I finished in just over nine hours), the online multiplayer mode is waiting in the wings. There’s no cooperative play and no local multiplayer, but competing in multiplayer games lets you earn experience, which will increase your rank, granting you achievements and insignias you can flaunt for bragging rights.

Before starting a match, you’ll have to choose or design a loadout — the equipment you want to carry into the match with you. First, you’ll pick one of three armor types — scout, grunt or tank. Scout armor will grant you the most loadout points, but the least protection, while the grunt and tank armor types provide more defense but fewer equipment slots. There’s always the option of looting weapons from fallen foes, if you can’t afford the gear you really want.

I didn’t find Origin‘s multiplayer offerings especially noteworthy. There are six modes in all. "Deathmatch" and "Team Deathmatch" are exactly that. "Blitz" sees teams alternating between capturing and defending a pair of canisters of goo. "Control" is a king-of-the-hill mode, where teams fight over three different control points. "Armored Front" is a variant of Control, but the aforementioned mechanized power-suit is thrown in. Finally, "Failsafe" — a mode I did not get the chance to play — sees one team attempting to detonate a bomb while the other team tries to defuse it.

F.E.A.R. 2 : Project Origin is a contemporary classic — but not necessarily in a good way. Yes, slightly antiquated design elements like health and armor packs give it a familiar feel. And quite a few genuinely scary moments are guaranteed to make you feel a little silly for being so freaked out. But the game tries to be too many things at once, and the transparent, jarring transitions from horror to next-gen action sequences break the otherwise carefully executed atmosphere.

Images courtesy Warner Bros.

WIRED Genuinely scary, clever enemies and combat mechanics

TIRED Blend of horror and action causes ambiance to suffer, overpowered abilities can make for dull combat

$60, Warner Bros. Games

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