Monolith Guy: Expansions, Ports Sunk F.E.A.R.

Dave Matthews (not this guy), the primary art lead for F.E.A.R. 2, has an idea what tanked the franchise: expansions and console ports — ones not made by Monolith.

Talking to CVG, Matthews said the Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate expansion packs, made by TimeGate Studios, may have brought some new people to the brand — “and killed off a few.”

Says Matthews:

“[TimeGate] took the story in a direction that we didn’t intend. We look at Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate as an alternate universe, a ‘what could have been’, and because of that it doesn’t necessarily diminish the story that we were trying to tell. F.E.A.R. was about Alma, F.E.A.R. 2 is about Alma, and we wanted to continue the story the way we originally intended.”

Less-than-fawning reviews of those expansions, plus some mehs for the console ports of original F.E.A.R., might have the brand in a slump, Matthews suggests in chucking Day 1 Studios under the bus. Day 1 built the 360 and PS3 versions of F.E.A.R., which didn’t do as well as the PC version. Matthews vows that 360 and PS3 versions of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will be closer to their PC counterpart (also due in 2009) than was the case with the original.

Ports and Expansions “Killed Off a Few” F.E.A.R. Fans [CVG]