Project Origin Filled with F.E.A.R.
ActiBliz's fire sale of some of their properties means Monolith gets their F.E.A.R. name back. Hooray!
Published: September 9, 2008
Project Origin has had an unlikely life for a game that's not even out yet. Based quite obviously on the events of the first F.E.A.R., but unable to assume the title thanks to Sierra owning the rights to the name, developer Monolith Productions had to turn to the fans to actually name the game. They arrived at Project Origin, and that's precisely how the game was going to be titled... until Activision gobbled up Vivendi Games, Blizzard Entertainment and all their subsidiaries -- including Sierra.
Activision's first order of business was a little fat cutting (though it's doubtful many of the folks working on games like Ghostbusters and Brutal Legend appreciated being considered "fat"), and that meant liquidating some of Sierra's less desirable properties, F.E.A.R. included. Monolith and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment snapped up the rights to the name and bingo bango bongo, Project Origin is now F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
To hear WBIE talk about it, though, getting the rights to the prequel's name was more than just a couple of letters.
"The name addition builds upon the strong game recognition, which we will extend as we move forward reinventing the F.E.A.R. brand," explains WBIE's Senior Veep of Production and Development, Samantha Ryan. "F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will continue the legacy of the original F.E.A.R. game with story and combat while adding new twists, gameplay and graphics to expand the players' experience."
Sounds intriguing, no? Given the... let's call it "less than welcome" reception that the first game's port to the PS3 got, we're hoping that keeping the game in the hands of Monolith this time will result in a game that's a little closer to the PC and 360 versions (Monolith already cut their teeth on the hardware with Condemned 2: Bloodshot, so we have faith). The game, which now ships on February 10th of next year, certainly has plenty of promise, and now that WBIE and Monolith are rolling along with their plans to integrate the lore of the original game back into things, we can't wait to get our hands on a preview build. As soon as we do, we'll let you know.
Activision's first order of business was a little fat cutting (though it's doubtful many of the folks working on games like Ghostbusters and Brutal Legend appreciated being considered "fat"), and that meant liquidating some of Sierra's less desirable properties, F.E.A.R. included. Monolith and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment snapped up the rights to the name and bingo bango bongo, Project Origin is now F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
To hear WBIE talk about it, though, getting the rights to the prequel's name was more than just a couple of letters.
"The name addition builds upon the strong game recognition, which we will extend as we move forward reinventing the F.E.A.R. brand," explains WBIE's Senior Veep of Production and Development, Samantha Ryan. "F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will continue the legacy of the original F.E.A.R. game with story and combat while adding new twists, gameplay and graphics to expand the players' experience."
Sounds intriguing, no? Given the... let's call it "less than welcome" reception that the first game's port to the PS3 got, we're hoping that keeping the game in the hands of Monolith this time will result in a game that's a little closer to the PC and 360 versions (Monolith already cut their teeth on the hardware with Condemned 2: Bloodshot, so we have faith). The game, which now ships on February 10th of next year, certainly has plenty of promise, and now that WBIE and Monolith are rolling along with their plans to integrate the lore of the original game back into things, we can't wait to get our hands on a preview build. As soon as we do, we'll let you know.
