A great mix of intense, gruesome action and horror make F.E.A.R. a game shooter fans can't miss.
F.E.A.R. stands for “First Encounter Assault Recon”. They are a group of paranormal believers that have organized a sort of SWAT team to rush in and investigate odd happenings and occurrences; you are a part of this group. Word is out that a man named Paxton Fettel has gone insane, and taken control of a plethora of super-solider clones, and has put a whole office complex into lockdown. Video feeds coming from the building also suggest that Paxton has a sweet tooth…for other humans. The F.E.A.R. team catches wind of the crisis, and they decide to send you in. The fear story line is a bit far-fetched, and a little on the ludicrous side. However, through out the course of the game you find that it is actually really quite good, and keeps the action moving. The games story line is told through radio calls, text readouts, and annoying phone messages. You could say that it isn’t the most engaging way to tell it’s story, but functional. However, there are confusing, but intriguing mid-level story sequences that often creepy, and intimidating. Very well done, and spoilers would poison the greatness of them. F.E.A.R. ends with an excellent twist ending that ties up all the confusing hallucinations of the creepy little girl named Alma, and leaves you satisfied.
Once you hit the ground, F.E.A.R. is a terrifying roller coater ride that you are sure to enjoy. Not only is the game fun to play, but also it plays well. At your disposal there are combat shotguns, the standard handgun, and assault rifle. Then things get more intrusting with plasma guns that turn foes into charred skeletons, and a repeating weapon that fires metal steaks. You can use this to pin your enemies to the wall, and watch the excellent Havok physics take their course. After you fire off all your rounds, you can also pull off an array of kicks, which feel harder to execute then they should.
Next to all the stellar weapons in the game, there is still the coolest feature of all: Slow-mo. Thanks to your abnormal speed, you are able to maneuver around your foes at lightning speeds. The game displays this effect as everything moving slowly. With the touch of a button, everything slows to a grind, and all of the games details come out. Bullets fly past your head, and the fiery explosions look incredible. Playing the game with the slow-mo on is a visual treat. The game also makes this feature available to you at all times, and really makes F.E.A.R. one of a kind.
F.E.A.R is a shockingly challenging game. This is not because the enemy’s guns are unbalanced, but that the AI is unmatched. This is single handedly the best AI ever seen in a shooter. They communicate, they flank, and they really have a sense for the environment. Your will see the soldiers jump over obstacles, dive through glass, take cover, crawl under low hanging objects, and the list goes on. The unpredictable enemies will keep you on your toes start to finish. Unfortunately, there aren’t really that many types of enemies throughout F.E.A.R.. You will basically fight the clone soldiers the whole way through, with the exception of a few surprises. This never really becomes a problem though, and the game stays fun all the way through. This is really only a testament to how good the F.E.A.R. AI really is.
From a technical stand point, F.E.A.R. is pretty impressive also. Since almost the whole game takes place in a massive office complex, the graphics never really have their chance to shine like they deserve. You will see the same textures ten times over, and they same grey color pallet begins to grind on the nerves when it comes time for the final act. However, when you put the game into slow-mo, and begin to take down some soldiers, things really start to look good. The smoke and bullets and blood all look amazing when slowed down. Seeing an enemy’s torso fly through the open air, blood flying in slow-mo is your visual queue to be a better person. It is awesome stuff.
F.E.A.R. has a big focus on top-notch particle effects. Whenever you simply shoot a wall, the concrete will bust out, and dust will fly everywhere. Shoot out a box, and watch as the box and it’s contents go flying every which way. The game looks amazing when huge firefight break out, because rouge bullets will hit these walls and these boxes, and it only makes the gunfights that much more exciting. Again, I just want to emphasize how good all of this looks slowed down. Very impressive.
The audio heard in F.E.A.R. is also outstanding. If you have the benefit of a 5.1 surround sound speaker set-up, then prepare for joy. All of the guns in F.E.A.R. sound just right, and make them that much more satisfying to use. There is even a delightful sound distortion when entering and exiting slow-mo. Part of what makes F.E.A.R. so intense is it’s outstanding sound effects.
F.E.A.R. also has a full on multiplayer component that while not slapped on, won’t take up much of your time upon the completion of the single player. What you have here are the standard deathmatch modes, CTF modes, and some throwaway elimination modes. You can also find a fistful of well-designed maps to duke it out on. Taking F.E.A.R. online is pretty insane, you will have 30 kills minimum at the end of each deathmatch game, and the action is non-stop. Monolith was also smart enough to add the awesome slow-mo feature in the online component. However, it doesn’t work the same way as in the single player. It acts as a pick-up item that basically slows down the other team. This can be downright deadly in tight CTF matches, and very satisfying.
F.EA.R. is a scary, intense, and overall enjoyable experience. With action from the matrix, and scares from the Ring, it is a satisfying, bloody romp that any shooter fan will love. It takes what is fun about this genre, and puts a unique twist on it. A very enjoyable game, check it out.