You play as Michael Beckett, a member of a First Encounter Assault Recon team and as you embark on the first mission you are knocked into oblivion by the explosion that ended the original game. It is a good opening and you wake up in a hospital with psychic powers. The plot is fairly predictable and clichéd but the action has been improved and the fire fights are more engaging than they were first time around. Sadly the horror, though well done, is now familiar and fails to have the impact it did in the first game.
You get your hands on a range of weaponry throughout the game and you’ll even control a mech at one point. Of course you can activate your amazing reflexes for a burst of slow motion shooting whenever you want. The AI offers a decent challenge and they employ relatively sensible tactics, taking cover behind the movable objects and trying to flank you. The ability to flip over a table is a nice feature which you can take advantage of as well but it adds little to the game-play and you’ll have more success wading into the fight aggressively.
Some of the enemies you’ll face are really nasty and in addition to the clones, high tech ninjas and mercenaries there are also paranormal nasties like the remnant. Alma continues to pop up throughout via ghostly sequences and remains creepy although her sudden appearances are now quite familiar. The pacing is good and talented developer Monolith has definitely made some effort to mix up the game-play with some variety and greater range of environments.
