Monolith has revealed a couple new trailers for the upcoming sequel to F.E.A.R., Project Origin. As you can expect, the two videos show off some more of the impressive graphics and atmosphere of the game. The first trailer demonstrates one vehicle you’ll be able to command, called the “Elite Powered Armor.” It’s essentially a mech suit that you can use to rain destruction down on your enemies. The second video shows off some of the environments in the game, which are naturally pretty creepy. Sadly, they’re both behind age gates, so you’ll have to check them out here and here.

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Monolith has unveiled a new batch of screens from Project Origin to go along with that new trailer. This sequel to F.E.A.R. s already starting to look a lot like its predecessor, but in a good way. These screens show that the game will contain the usual creepy crawlies, insane physics, and…uh, robots…and lasers? Yeah, the new screens show a weapons that fires a laser beam, plus something that looks like a Transformer (the cartoon kind, not the crappy movie kind). That’s a little more sci-fi than the last game, but I’m sure there’ll be an explanation for that at some point in the story. You can check out all the screens here.

Monolith has unveiled a new trailer for Project Origin, their upcoming sequel to the smash hit, F.E.A.R. This new video shows some actual gameplay for the FPS, which looks, well, almost exactly like F.E.A.R. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing with that game’s tenacity for jaw-dropping visuals and some real scares. It basically shows someone trying to shoot a little crawly guy, who is sure to give me nightmares at some point. Unfortunately, this being an M-rated game, you’ll have to go through an age gate here to view the full trailer.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Developer: Monolith
Publisher: SEGA
Price: $59.99
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Category: Action/Adventure, Psychological Horror
ESRB: “M” for Mature
Release Date: 3/12/2008

When I first heard that the folks over at Monolith were making a sequel to Condemned: Criminal Origins, I was both excited and leery at the same time, because let’s face it, sequels are not usually up to par with the original. Granted, the God of War titles seem to do justice to our favorite Spartan, but that cannot be said of the majority of sequels sitting on shelves. My initial disquiet over another offering of Ethan Thomas and the maimed world in which he resides seemed to mitigate slightly when I viewed the first set of screenshots from the game, and the more I saw, better I felt. The trailers looked great, the weapon selection was both pacifying and hilarious at the same time, and the overall ambiance the trailers portrayed finally allowed me to let my guard down completely for Condemned 2: Bloodshot. However, before I get too far ahead of myself, I would like to point out that while this was indeed a very fun and entertaining game, it was far from perfect. So far, to be quite honest, that afterwards when I had played through it a second time, I started to feel extremely let down.

Read the full article

Sierra has many titles in the works right now, and the ones scheduled for release sometime this year will stay on schedule. However, the titles that are currently in development and scheduled for a 2009 release are to have their fate decided soon by Activision.

Those of us who are eagerly anticipating The Bourne Conspiracy, Prototype, Brutal Legend, or Ghostbusters should just sit back, relax and wait for our games to hit shelves - they are safe. Sierra titles for 2009 though will have to be resubmitted to Activision and go through the approval process all over again.

Changes always happens when a new company buys your old one, and gaming is no exception. Hopefully all of the hard work that Vivendi’s Sierra line had put into these projects will not have been in vain, but you know something has to go and it may just be something you have looked forward to, so be prepared. One example of a conflict of interest may be Activision’s sequel to F.E.A.R. and Warner/Monolith’s Project Origin  -  I would sincerely hope that Activision is not dense enough to waste the time and money spent on these two massive projects - they may put them on  hold, but I doubt they feel the headsman’s axe any time soon.

When corporations merge, loads of changes happen and it is not always for the better. We will just have to wait and see how this goes down.

Source: Ben Fritz, Variety Online

SEGA announced today that gamers can now play a demo of Condemned 2: Bloodshot via XBL. The demo starts half-way through the first level and will reacquaint players with the game’s hero Ethan Thomas and if you have not downloaded it already you need to do so right away.I bought Condemned 2 the day it came out, and while I was a bit shocked to see some of the changes made to the game, my initial feelings of “what the hell have they done” went away very quickly. While I am still not too keen on the overabundant hazy and blurry special effects that flash across the screen - they could have left those to a minimum and still maintained the creepy feel of the game - there is nothing really to complain about.

You will notice when you play it that hit combos have been added to the game, and Ethan looks more like a drunken Glen Danzig on a shower-strike than the cool, buff detective that he did in the first game, but these new changes do not take away the fun violent hell that is Condemned 2.

I do not want to give away too much of the game because I really think you should play it, but you will be pleased with the storyline, the extra amount of environmental interaction, and the cool gadgets you get to wield. You also get to explore a demented doll factory with exploding babydolls and fight an insane clown lady - clowns, dolls, oh the horror!- its like my two biggest phobias brought to life. Thanks Monolith for the nightmares, I couldn’t love you any more!

For more information on Condemned 2: Bloodshot check out our previous posts.

Via: Press Release

The new Project Origin Community site has opened and is kicking it off with a new trailer.

The trailer contains apocalyptic scenes straight out of nightmares and features Alma heavily. However there are also new strange enemies encountered inside like the disintegrating madmen. Outside has the ultimate tease, mechs, which I hope means you’ll have a shot at driving them. The content is not suitable for young impressionable folks, legal minors or those with no stomach for terror.

Click here to visit the age-gated video.

viaProject Origin Community

If you like the idea of having an almost unlimited arsenal of normal weapons mixed with ones that border on medieval when hunting down baddies, then Condemned 2 will hopefully not disappoint you in that department. With an array of weaponry at your disposal ranging from handguns to a 2×4 with rusty nails, any enemy that crosses your path is sure to meet his demise.

Actually, one of the handguns depicted in the screenshots reminds me of the 357 Smith and Wesson with laser scope that my Uncle Chuck bequeathed me in his will. Oh no! A gamer with a gun, run for the hills and get JT on the phone right away! Please, that thing kicks so hard I couldn’t hit the side of a barn door let alone a moving target.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot will be shipping to stores on March 11th and should be on shelves the following day - normally I never reserve a game but I absolutely had to with this one. To get ready for it, I even pulled Criminal Origins out of the cabinet, blew the dust off it and started playing it again last night. So, like the rest of the gaming community, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Bloodshot will be all the previous installment was and more.

REVEL IN MORE WEAPONRY HERE

We got two short trailers for Condemned 2: Bloodshot for you today, and when I say they are short, I mean that 30 seconds is really pushing it. The first one is a “Finishing Move” trailer which is pretty self explanatory, but still does not really show you much. The second one, on the other hand, is an “Enviro Kills” trailer which basically means that you can use the environment as a weapon. Nothing is more fun than dragging your enemy over to a television set and smashing his head into it - which is exactly the scene depicted in the trailer.

Unfortunately, according to ESRB guidelines, anyone who wishes to watch the trailers has to go through a wonderful age gate - therefore I cannot post the trailers on the site, but you can view them yourselves here and here.

Look for Condemned 2: Bloodshot in stores March 11th for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Thanks a lot Sega and Monolith for scaring the living daylights out of me this morning. Nothing starts your day off better than drinking a nice cup of coffee, typing away on your computer and enjoying the sun shining through your windows - only to click on an email link and see your biggest fear staring you right in the face. Yes, Sega, thanks for the psycho clown picture you sent us of Condemned 2: Bloodshot. Thanks for making my day just a little bit brighter you bunch of sickos, and I mean that in the most loving and sincere way; because I cannot wait to see what the newest installment in your twisted franchise has to offer.

Next time though, no man eating clowns please.

This morning, Xbox owners got some F.E.A.R. love with a demo for F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction Point. Luckily, TimeGate isn’t leaving PC owners out in the cold and has released a new demo for the newest stand-alone expansion in the series, Perseus Mandate. The expansion with give a new perspective to the event at Armacham, as the story runs parallel to that of the first game and Extraction Point. You’ll also get a chance to use some new weapons and fight even creepier enemies. Just click the link below to check out the demo.

(Update: Edited for incorrect info. Thanks, Death Dream )

Here at Gaming Today, we always welcome the opinions of our readers. After all, we possess a very opinionated staff. And as far as news sites go these days, equally opinionated in content. I feel if you’re going to give some love, why not accept some love in return? So you can imagine our pleasure when one of our companion sites joins in on the fray.

Fear Files‘ Death Dream has given a most excellent break down of the new Project Origin Trailer. I covered news of the trailer earlier, but in all honesty, I simply jotted down the first few things that came in my mind within my first couple of viewings. The F.E.A.R. storyline is somewhat vague and confusing, even for me. In fact, the only events I can properly recall in the F.E.A.R. expansion Extraction Point were meeting a seemingly resurrected Paxton Fattel in a church, blowing up a bunch of pillars in a subway, being freaked out in a maternity ward, and having an anti-climatic battle on the rooftop. Perhaps I need to have a second go?

Death Dream, however, has taken it to the next level (and perhaps more) by dissecting the near minute of gameplay footage given in the Project Origin Trailer. Here is an excerpt taken from Death Dream’s critique:

For the time being let’s say that it is someone from the past and the guy on the bench is the main character you play. The only reason I say this is that both the arms of this guy on the bench and the arms holding the gun in the first person view look the same. Then half way into the trailer we see the guy kick over a bench and you see his knees, again these are the same knees as the guy on the bench. This is a real long shot since there are many white guys in the game but it is worth throwing the idea out there. Then this leaves open the question who is the guy watching over the surgery and Alma as this goes on? It shouldn’t be Fettel because the younger version of Alma seemed to be against him in the Extraction Point expansion. This doesn’t leave many options open and could be a new character watching over the whole situation. With that out of the way let’s say the main character you play is now the guy watching the surgery, this really leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Why are they working on that guy? Who is he? What importance does he serve to Alma? There are just to many questions to try to answer with what little information we currently have. So for the rest of my review I will go from the view point that the guy on the bench is the main character.

Quite a perceptive observation there. I certainly took the trailer more at face value. I think I’ve been inspired to have a second go at F.E.A.R. & expansion.

So if you are F.E.A.R. fan, definitely check out Death Dream’s compendium to the Project Origin Trailer (link below).

Project Origin Trailer and Tear Down @ Fear Files

Gametrailers have just put up an exclusive trailer to the F.E.A.R. sequel showing off some of the first in-game footage we’ve seen. Not to be confused with the expansion F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate, Project Origin represents a true sequel to F.E.A.R.

Since Vivendi Games owns the rights to the title F.E.A.R., Monolith was forced to rename the sequel after deciding to change publisher. The title Project Origin was actually taken from a contest directed by Monolith to dub the F.E.A.R. sequel. You can read all about the origins of Project Origin at the game’s official website. The game (for PC, Xbox 360, & PS3) won’t see light of day until 2008.

Don’t know about you, but so far the game looks just like the PC version F.E.A.R. with all the graphics settings cranked and some next-gen effects (motion blur) thrown in. Kind of a disappointing trailer in that regards. Let’s hope the gameplay differs enough to not seem like just another expansion.

Here’s a new trailer for the upcoming sequel to F.E.A.R., now called “Project Origin.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t show any gameplay or reveal any new information about the game itself. It does however show one of the review sessions the team had to choose among the many submissions for the name to the sequel. It’s actually pretty funny to watch some of the ridiculous names that were rejected; many of which were obviously meant as a joke.

Awhile back, Monolith announced they were accepting submissions from fans for a name for the next F.E.A.R. game. Well, they have apparently pored over the 10,000 ideas they received and narrowed them down to three selections. And now they’re asking fans to vote on their choice from these possible titles:

I’m wondering if these choices could hint at the story for the next game (”Project Origin” stands out in that regard). If you’d like to put in your opinion, then head over to this site by August 10 and cast your vote.

SEGA today released some new character and environment art for the upcoming sequel to the Xbox 360 launch sleeper hit, Condemned 2: Bloodshot.  As you can see from the character art above, you can assume the enemies will look crazier than the ones in the original Condemned.  I mean, the dude has a needle!  Anytime a crazy person has a needle with blood stained jeans, you can be sure he isn’t going door to door selling cookies.

Check out the rest of the character and environment artwork below to hold you over until SEGA releases some in-game screenshots.

We all could’ve guessed that a sequel to F.E.A.R. was in the works, but it looks like even the Monolith knows what it’s going to be called. It seems the original name is trademarked by Vivendi, who is not involved with the sequel. So they’ve just announced a contest for fans to name the new follow-up. The 3 finalists will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Monolith to tour the studio and meet the development team. They’ll also get their likenesses put in the game. The site has some tips for coming up with a name (no acronyms this time, for one).