In an attempt to supply more F.E.A.R. to the masses as well as sell a few more copies of the original, Sierra will release F.E.A.R. Files for the Xbox 360 this fall. Essentially a standalone expansion pack, you get Extraction Point and the upcoming Perseus Mandate, both of which continue the story of a creepy homicidal girl named Alma that uses her psychic powers to splatter people all over drab looking offices. Oh yes, and there's a cannibal running around commanding a small army of super soldiers hell bent on tearing you to pieces.

You play as a paranormal investigator/commando dude that can slow down time with the press of the Left Bumper. Once engaged, all characters (including you) slow down, allowing you to pelt the enemy with gunfire without them retaliating, but that's a nice way of saying you can do all sorts of dastardly things to people, such as pinpointing and blowing off limbs, driving spikes into their heads and spraying walls with their blood. The games use an impressive physics engine that allows for plenty of rag doll shenanigans, so expect to see bodies propelled backwards, fly into walls and various objects sailing through the air.

To that end, the gunplay is impressive, especially since the artificial intelligence supposedly adapts to your situation and will gang up, retreat or flank you when necessary. It also executes some karate kicks when you get too close and has a nasty habit of swearing. At first, hearing one of them exclaim "oh shit" will make you giggle like a little girl watching Bratz, but it quickly becomes routine. With that said, "routine" sums up both games nicely, since they follow the same design as their gory prequel. You explore a series of boring looking environments such as warehouses and offices and blow up bad guys, except the game throws you ghostly twists in which doors mysteriously shut, things randomly burst into flame and you see creatures leap from the darkness. There's also the girl, Alma, to consider, and she does a great job keeping the hairs on your body standing at attention.

Both games offer plenty of thrills but they look awful. Developers Day One Studios (Extraction Point) and TimeGate Studios (Perseus Mandate) need to improve the graphics, lest both companies have the dubious distinction of creating one of the worst looking Xbox 360 games in existence. You'll dig the blood spatter and fire effects but the rest of F.E.A.R. Files resembles an Xbox game, thanks to unimpressive character models, shoddy glass breaking effects and plain looking buildings. Considering the gameplay grows dull, we at the very least need pretty things to gawk at. The weapons offer us moments of glee, thanks to new toys such as a chain gun, a rocket and grenade launcher, but for the most part, we're stuck using the shotgun, pistols and automatic rifles most of the time.

Two things will keep F.E.A.R. Files from mediocrity. First, the developers need to make this package look like it belongs on the Xbox 360. Second, Sierra Entertainment should price it no higher than $29.99, though $39.99 seems like a more obvious target. Don't get us wrong. You'll enjoy shooting thugs and jumping at every ghoul that leaps from the shadows, but the F.E.A.R. series isn't as appealing as it used to be, and we need something meatier than a homicidal version of the film Office Space.