Regardless, that which we call a Refined Ominous Sequel Experience by any other name would smell as sweet...or something. The now thoroughly-mangled point we're trying to convey here is that the game looks to be strongly building upon the concepts first introduced by the original title, notably enhancing the cinematic presentation and expanding environmental interaction in combat. As Skinner puts it, these are important steps in Monolith's slow-mo shot at producing the "best FPS combat ever."
The gun battles here are every bit as impactive and destructive as they were before, with even the briefest of encounters leaving tiles shattered, paper strewn about and the light obscured by erupting steam and smoke. "We want the destruction an inch from your face," notes Skinner, surveying a visibly wrecked room that hosted a shootout moments prior. It's just as well that the quiet protagonist finds himself waking up in a lifeless hospital -- the enemies don't have far to go after being perforated with your remorseless bullets.
Gone are the identical clone squads, instead replaced by unmasked human enemies who are just as quick with their tongues as they are with their trigger fingers. It adds a literal face to the opposition in this part of the game but, at the same time, downplays the threat that emanated from F.E.A.R.'s faceless extermination teams. Skinner points out that the enemies are even better coordinated this time though, and reminds us that there's no leaving a first-person shooter demonstration without hearing the term "dynamic A.I." at least once.
Artificial intelligence that can look after itself is all part of the "combat sandbox," explains Skinner, jokingly expressing some concern that the A.I. may not behave as expected and force him to veer off his planned demo path. Though we did spot one unexpected instance of A.I. behavior (a soldier foolishly running towards a grenade), enemies did appear to make a concerted effort to dart behind cover and find less direct ways of getting closer to you. Cover is obviously equally important to your survival and can now be created with a swift kick to a nearby bed or desk. It's about as useful as it is cinematic.
Another word you normally hear when dealing with upcoming shooters, "cinematic" is still the most efficient at capturing the game's dark presentation and gruesome visual composition. Stunning bloom lighting further enhances the contrast between light and dark, with grenades or poorly aimed bullets jolting hanging lights and causing shadows to flit across the walls. The horrific visions you receive (prompted by Alma, the creepy little girl villain introduced in F.E.A.R.) are saturated in color and occasionally precede meetings with some nasty creatures that are just as skilled at traversing the ceiling as they are the floor. Watching them through a new curved, Metroid Prime-like HUD proves to be quite thrilling.
Clearly, Not F.E.A.R. 2 is set to continue and enhance the dramatic firefights and rapid-fire pacing of its predecessor. The lack of melee combat in the demonstration and Skinner's sealed lips regarding the matter may indicate that more distinguishing changes are afoot, but in its current state, Not F.E.A.R. 2 thankfully delivers what fans were hoping for: F.E.A.R. 2.
