KRONOS TAKES US TO THE FEAR
THAT STARTED IT ALL

Kronos announced a new chapter in the Fear Effect saga at E3, scheduled to be released in Q1 2001. The title, Fear Effect: Retro Helix, is meant to be a prequel. Gamers will be able to see what the pasts of the three mercenaries from the first Fear Effect (Hana, Royce, and Jakob) were like and what brought such an unruly bunch together. Another character, Rain Qin, is going to make their first appearance.

Moving from Hong Kong to New York City, the plot seems to center around Rain Qin's evil twin Mist. Cliched? Perhaps. But the first game was superb, and some of the additions that Kronos is promising (no load times, more sensible puzzles, better inventory, different enemies upon replay, and other hidden goodies) stand to probably make it all worthwhile. This one's one to keep your eyes on.