F.E.A.R. Extraction Point

F.E.A.R. Extraction Point is an expansion pack for the psychological survival horror first-person shooter video game F.E.A.R., published by Vivendi Games and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by TimeGate Studios (rather than Monolith Productions, the developers of F.E.A.R.). It was released in October 2006 for Microsoft Windows and requires the full original game in order to be played. Also, a stand-alone single player demo has been previously released. The expansion was ported to the Xbox 360 and released as part of the F.E.A.R. Files package in November 2007.[1]

F.E.A.R. Extraction Point
Developer(s)TimeGate Studios
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Brett Norton
Programmer(s)Denis Papp
Artist(s)Zachary Forcher
Writer(s)Richard Pearsey
SeriesF.E.A.R.
EngineLithTech Jupiter EX
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: October 24, 2006
  • AU: October 26, 2006
  • EU: October 27, 2006
Xbox 360
  • NA: November 6, 2007
  • AU: November 15, 2007
  • EU: November 16, 2007
Genre(s)First-person shooter, survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

This expansion owes its name to the game's ultimate goal for the player, to reach the extraction point and leave the city where the adventure takes place. Extraction Point adds new weapons, enemies, and single-player levels, but no new multiplayer content. Additional improvements were also made to the enemy artificial intelligence.[2] The sequel to F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, ignores the events of both expansion packs.[3]

Plot
A fallen Replica soldier with Alma in the background

The plot of the expansion starts off exactly where the original game left off; while the huge explosion of the "Origin Facility" has flattened the Auburn district and devastated the city, the helicopter evacuating the survivors of the F.E.A.R. team crash lands in the midst of the chaos.

The Point Man is reunited with Delta Force operator Douglas Holiday and F.E.A.R. technical officer Jin Sun-Kwon at the crash site. While trying to regroup, the survivors find the city to be mysteriously empty after the explosion. The Point Man meets Fettel in a nearby church, who notes that the circumstances do not make sense since he had been killed. Angered by his own death, Fettel reactivates the dormant Replica soldiers and sends them after the Point Man. Holiday mentions that an extraction point has been established at the roof of Auburn Memorial Hospital, informing the Point Man that he should proceed there as well. Meanwhile, Kwon is captured by Fettel's Replicas, but she is later able to escape while being transported via the subway; from there, she proceeds on her own to Auburn Hospital. The Point Man and Holiday eventually meet up and navigate through the warehouse district of the city, facing Replica resistance along the way. Eventually Alma, through her apparitions, violently murders Holiday.

The Point Man is forced to proceed alone toward and through the subway system, which leads directly to Auburn Hospital. During the Point Man's journey through the winding tunnels, Alma, in her younger form, clears the way for the Point Man multiple times by killing Replica soldiers impeding the Point Man’s path. Replica forces eventually become desperate and place demolition charges in the subway tunnels with the hope that the resulting explosions will kill the Point Man. While initially unsuccessful, the Point Man is eventually caught in one of these demolition explosions and is ejected from the tunnels onto a nearby parking structure. From here, the Point Man proceeds to the hospital which neighbors the parking structure.

Upon reaching the hospital, the Point Man attempts to find and rescue Jin only to find her murdered at the hands of ghostly apparitions. Now, with nothing to fight for but his own survival, the Point Man proceeds to the service elevator. Suddenly, a power outage occurs and the Point Man must find a way to restore it, being taken to the hospital's morgue in the process. While walking around the dark basement, the Point Man witnesses several hallucinations which include a series of prison cells, containing the dead ATC victims of Alma's murders in the previous game. Eventually, the Point Man witnesses a hallucination that involves the older and younger Alma reuniting in a blue light. After that hallucination, the Point Man returns to the hospital and notices there's no longer blood on the floor, walls and bathtubs.

The elevator is then reactivated and the Point Man is able to make contact with Commissioner Rowdy Betters, who tells him to get to the roof for pickup. Fettel tells the Point Man does not understand the situation and proceeds to unleash a squad of Replica Elites. A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter proceeds to evacuate him but Fettel, through unknown methods, destroys the helicopter, sending the Point Man into unconsciousness. When he awakens, he staggers to the roof railing, to witness the entire city in flames. The credits roll, ending with Fettel's line from F.E.A.R. "A war is coming, I've seen it in my dreams. Fires sweeping over the earth, bodies in the streets, cities turned to dust. Retaliation..."

Canonicity

The expansion packs takes place in an alternate universe from the original F.E.A.R., the game's sequel, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, disregards the storylines of both Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate. Only the games developed by Monolith Productions are considered canon.[3]

Gameplay

Gameplay remains essentially the same as in the original F.E.A.R., though Extraction Point touts some new additions, including 3 new weapons (a minigun, a laser weapon, and a deployable turret), a few new enemies, as well as new locales (though frequently similar to the original game's environments, a common complaint of reviewers).[4][5] Firefights are still cinematic and usually on a grander scale than in F.E.A.R. - there are frequently a larger number of enemies to deal with and lengthier battles. Another new feature of Extraction Point is the ability to bash open doors by using the melee function, as well as blast them open with explosives. The 'hallucination' sequences are notably more gratuitous and frequent than they were in the first game. In addition, certain supply crates bearing the ATC logo can be bashed open, revealing weapons or health packs.

Extraction Point also has higher system requirements than the original F.E.A.R., and users may notice signs of system overload (such as graphical slowdown) if they run Extraction Point using the same minimum performance settings as the original game.

Reception

Extraction Point received "generally favorable reviews", while F.E.A.R. Files received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6][7] Jason Ocampo, writing for GameSpot, praised the atmosphere and gameplay but found the story and replay value lacking.[15]

The editors of PC Gamer US presented Extraction Point with their 2006 "Best Expansion Pack" award.[23]

References
  1. Brudvig, Erik (November 6, 2007). "F.E.A.R. Files Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  2. thankeeka (October 31, 2006). "'FEAR: Extraction Point' (PC) QA - Tim Hall". Killer Betties. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  3. Yurei (October 15, 2007). "Connection to the expansions". F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Forums. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  4. Onyett, Charles (October 24, 2006). "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  5. D'Aprile, Jason (2006). "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point". X-Play. G4 Media. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  6. "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  7. "F.E.A.R. Files for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  8. Neigher, Eric (October 31, 2006). "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point". 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  9. Lee, Garnett (January 16, 2008). "F.E.A.R. Files". 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  10. Bramwell, Tom (November 6, 2006). "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  11. Reed, Kristan (November 13, 2007). "F.E.A.R. Files". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  12. Biessener, Adam (December 2006). "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point". Game Informer. No. 164. GameStop. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  13. Biessener, Adam (January 2008). "F.E.A.R. Files". Game Informer. No. 177. GameStop. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  14. Tackett, Tim (November 13, 2006). "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Review". Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  15. Ocampo, Jason (October 26, 2006). "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  16. Ocampo, Jason (November 27, 2007). "F.E.A.R. Files Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  17. Hopper, Steven (October 25, 2006). "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  18. Zacarias, Eduardo (November 16, 2007). "F.E.A.R. Files - 360 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  19. Lynch, Casey (December 25, 2007). "F.E.A.R. Files". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. p. 80. Archived from the original on February 6, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  20. "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point". PC Gamer. Vol. 13 no. 13. Future US. December 25, 2006. p. 56.
  21. Marsicano, Dan (December 14, 2007). "F.E.A.R. Files (Xbox 360) Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on December 15, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  22. Herold, Charles (November 2, 2006). "On-the-Job Training, and a Creepy Little Girl's Return". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  23. "The 13th Annual PC Gamer Awards Reveals The Best Of The Best For 2006". Future US. South San Francisco, California. February 2, 2007. Archived from the original on June 17, 2007.
  1. Released under the Sierra Entertainment brand name
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