The demo version of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin was released on PC, Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network as a free download, and provided an interesting look at several sections of the game.
Synopsis[]
Demo video.
This would normally be watched from a warehouse just after escaping from the hospital.
The demo begins with a voiceover by Paxton Fettel explaining who Alma Wade is, followed by a view of the Origin Facility Explosion from a slightly different angle than that seen in the final game. The player is then given control of Michael Becket; just as in the final game, he starts out in Alma Wade's realm, a devastated city under a hellish sky, and follows the young Alma as she makes her way towards a swing suspended over a molten pit. Falling into the pit, he finds himself back in the real world again.
Instead of waking in the Dark Signal APC, however, he finds himself next to the crashed Hind D Gunship in Wade Elementary School; a trick intended to imply this is Dark Signal's mode of transportation. Unlike the final game, he starts with no weapons at all, but quickly acquires an Andra FD-99 Submachine Gun and SHO Series-3 Combat Shotgun from a squad of Replica Soldiers in the school's library. Making his way through the school, he encounters Specters just as in the final game, though in the demo the lights don't completely go out, then jumps backwards in the narrative, witnessing the death of James Fox, which actually occurs in the Hospital. The demo then jumps even further forward with Becket finding himself in the subway, fighting powered-down Replica Soldiers equipped with the Patten PK470 Assault Rifle as he makes his way to the surface. Here he can acquire the Raab KM50 Sniper Rifle and possibly a Seegert ACM46 Pistol if a Replica drops one, and faces Replica Snipers near the cinema. A major alteration is made to the weapons in this area to make fighting the Replica Heavy Armor easier; the nearby weapon cache contains an Andra SR5 Missile Launcher rather than the Shark FL-3 Laser found in the final game.
In the cinema, Becket is ambushed by Alma, and as he steps outside he witnesses the airliner crash that occurs at the very start of the finished game's city stage, seeing it from a totally different angle. He then encounters the Elite Powered Armor and is able to play through most of the second EPA section, the demo finishing with a gameplay footage video just as he destroys the enemy EPA at the end of this area.
Differences from the final game[]
As well as the differences outlined above in terms of events occurring outside their actual order, there are several other things in the demo that are not seen in the final game, mostly bugs that were fixed prior to shipping.
- There is a serious sound glitch in the demo that can lead to many weapon-related sound effects failing to play or functioning intermittently.
- The EPA's thermal vision doesn't work.
- Replica Soldiers are seen carrying the SHO Series-3 Shotgun, while in the final game they carry the Vollmer Ultra92 Automatic Shotgun instead.
- Several Reflex Boosters have been added to areas which do not normally contain them.
- Most enemies are substantially weaker.
- Alma's child form is seen walking upside down on the ceiling briefly.
| Media and Promotional Content | ||
|---|---|---|
| Media | Both Timelines | Alma Interviews • Dark Horse Comic Book |
| Monolith Timeline | DC Digital Comic • Armacham Field Guide | |
| Non-Canon | F.E.A.R. "Making Of" Documentary • P.A.N.I.C.S. | |
| Promotional Content | F.E.A.R. E3 • F.E.A.R. 2 Demo | |