A Question on Game Theory... I think.

[SkyC]

So over the weekend I expressed boredom at not having a good single player campaign to dig into. Many helpful suggestions where put forward, and ultimately I decided to commit to "F.E.A.R." What with a third coming out and all, it must be worthwhile. I've just completed the first game, and while it was a solid shooter, I'd say the "horror" elements where only so-so.

Two expansion packs have been released for the first F.E.A.R. game; the first is Extraction Point, and the second is Perseus Mandate--these expansions, however, where made by a different game company than the original. When the original game company got the rights to the F.E.A.R. name back, they released F.E.A.R. 2: Project origin.

There's your back story, here's the dilemma: Project Origin ignores the events of the expansion packs.

I started out looking for a compelling single player experience, and while the first game was just "okay" I would say there is real potential here. -MY- problem is ideological: Do I -not- play the expansions (which I got free with the first game off steam) because they are expressly considered non-canon for the series at large? Or do I play them because they are set in the same universe, and a genuine part of the history of the series, canon or otherwise?

The question I pose to those of you who care about games as an art form is this: which way is best? As a community, what do you think?

 

[Jedoro]

Go ahead and play them, but think of them as *good* fanfiction.

 

[SkyC]

Go ahead and play them, but think of them as *good* fanfiction.

I intend to play them no matter what. More importantly, do I play them by when then where made or after the whole series, and then treat them as good fan fiction?

 

[odBilal]

Play the first, second (is there DLC for the second one?) and than the third one. If you're still interested in the universe play the expansions.

 

[Jedoro]

Go ahead and play them, but think of them as *good* fanfiction.

I intend to play them no matter what. More importantly, do I play them by when then where made or after the whole series, and then treat them as good fan fiction?

See if you can find out where in the F.E.A.R. timeline they fit in, and play 'em in that order. If you can't find that, just play 'em in the order they were made.

 

[SkyC]

Go ahead and play them, but think of them as *good* fanfiction.

I intend to play them no matter what. More importantly, do I play them by when then where made or after the whole series, and then treat them as good fan fiction?

See if you can find out where in the F.E.A.R. timeline they fit in, and play 'em in that order. If you can't find that, just play 'em in the order they were made.

Ah, but now we have two different opinions on this thread.

 

[Jedoro]

Go ahead and play them, but think of them as *good* fanfiction.

I intend to play them no matter what. More importantly, do I play them by when then where made or after the whole series, and then treat them as good fan fiction?

See if you can find out where in the F.E.A.R. timeline they fit in, and play 'em in that order. If you can't find that, just play 'em in the order they were made.

Ah, but now we have two different opinions on this thread.

Flip a coin? I haven't really played more than demos of the F.E.A.R. series, so I can't offer any kind of insight, but I've found that President Washington's good at making binary decisions.

 

[SkyC]

Go ahead and play them, but think of them as *good* fanfiction.

I intend to play them no matter what. More importantly, do I play them by when then where made or after the whole series, and then treat them as good fan fiction?

See if you can find out where in the F.E.A.R. timeline they fit in, and play 'em in that order. If you can't find that, just play 'em in the order they were made.

Ah, but now we have two different opinions on this thread.

Flip a coin? I haven't really played more than demos of the F.E.A.R. series, so I can't offer any kind of insight, but I've found that President Washington's good at making binary decisions.

Well I consider the decision to be philosophical... which is the more proper way to experience videogames? I don't know. I don't know that it even matters. But if there is a discussion to be had on this issue then I would be here on the forum for that. We'll see if others chose to discuss the merits of each choice.

 

[Scabadus]

Well I consider the decision to be philosophical... which is the more proper way to experience videogames? I don't know. I don't know that it even matters. But if there is a discussion to be had on this issue then I would be here on the forum for that. We'll see if others chose to discuss the merits of each choice.

If you're looking for the 'proper experiance' then I'd suggest skipping the expansion packs; go through the origional story by the origional writers in one go. Writers have their own style, their own buildup to futer events and interpretations of past ones, then own in-jokes and fun little referances thrown about. If you want to experiance the FEAR story 'properly' then play the 'proper' games to feel the story's flow at the pace the writers wanted to set.

Then go play the expansions afterwards because hey, free games!

 

[Stocky37]

Technically game theory is a branch of mathematics only semi-related to actual gaming, not theories about a game's continuity etc.

 

[SkyC]

Technically game theory is a branch of mathematics only semi-related to actual gaming, not theories about a game's continuity etc.

Video Game Theory *

 

[Stocky37]

Technically game theory is a branch of mathematics only semi-related to actual gaming, not theories about a game's continuity etc.

Video Game Theory *

Fair enough. Just confused me for a bit there.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

As with all filler, if you like he thing enough and if it's a good filler then do play it. If you're not that into it then don't bother.

 

[Nimcha]

Technically game theory is a branch of mathematics only semi-related to actual gaming, not theories about a game's continuity etc.

Video Game Theory *

Fair enough. Just confused me for a bit there.

You're not the only one! I thought I could come in here and impress everyone with my vast knowledge on game theory since my master thesis is mostly about it.

Oh well.

 

[TrevHead]

It depends on what you want from the games and how much time you have to invest in them. If you have the time ild recommend you check out the first DLC pack that was released for the game. I found it to be a lot of fun to play and it had an intresting story which centered on what happened just after the first game ended.

I havnt played Fear 2 yet so I cant say if it conflicts with that games story. Maybe you could play Fear 2 before trying out EP & PM

 

[cainx10a]

I found the Expansions pack to provide a decent challenge thanks to more interesting and vicious enemies (really, they just soaked a lot more bullets compared to the original game's clones).

 

[Sir Broccoli]

Aww darn, I was expecting actual game theory, not video game continuity theory. Oh well.
If I were you I'd just play them and ignore their role in the story.