Good, scary fun (boo!).
I think what makes FEAR great is that its constituent parts add up to a very nicely balanced game on the whole. For starters, it has a great story as a foundation. I found it very gripping and interesting, as I always felt compelled to move forward in order to see how it would eventually unfold. The horror atmosphere that was so carefully and delicately woven into every aspect of the campaign was, put simply, just right. I think "subtle" is just one of many words that could qualify to describe how it feels, because, make no mistake about it, it's frightening to the core, but far from gratuitous or lacking in well-paced, meaningful execution. If you want something that will mess with your mind and creep you out on various psychological levels, this fits the bill.
So this leaves the other aspects of the game, such as the combat and the graphics. Well, I think they were well done. I don't think there was a fight or engagement in the entire mission that I didn't enjoy thoroughly. The weapons felt especially nice, and since the AI was so advanced, you are guaranteed to walk away with an ego boost after successfully outsmarting and mowing down each wave of enemies (and the destructibility of the environments coupled with some fun, exploding barrels ain't too shabby, either). True, there is a limited variety of foes. In a sense, though, that's not a bad thing, because after a while you become well trained in how to deal with them, and the tougher adversaries -- while more difficult to defeat, as they should be -- aren't so impossible to vanquish that you just feel like giving up.
Now, if you're worried about what kind of visuals to expect with a 2005 title, then fear (pun may be intended) not. Even though I've had exposure to some amazing-looking DirectX 11 games as of late, I was still pleased with FEAR's overall appearance. Sure, maybe it's not the most advanced, state-of-the-art engine any longer. But that doesn't stop if from producing some really nice effects and lighting. Granted, I know that some people have complained about the "boring" gray textures in the game and the repetitiveness that you can run into on some of the levels, since much of the setting involves wandering around a corporate office complex. However, I feel this is only true to a point, and a very limited point at that. Since the plot *demands* that we be in this kind of environment, I would argue that it's simply the way it has to be. If it had a futuristic sci-fi appearance like Unreal Tournament, then it just wouldn't work. It adds a sense of realism while at the same time makes it hard for you to believe that the things that are happening are really happening, thereby increasing the tension. Nevertheless, if you remain patient and do play the entire game through to its conclusion, I think you'll find that there's just enough variety to keep you satisfied. (I also give high marks to the audio in the game.)
Probably one more area that I think deserves to be mentioned is the difficulty level. Again, it felt *just right*. I don't like to think of games as being insurmountable exercises in intellectual futility. So in that respect, FEAR has only a few minor puzzles to be solved and doesn't exhaust your critical thinking skills as you figure out how to move from one place to the next, even though you do have to put two and two together sometimes. This is perfect for mortals like me that want *some* challenges with an FPS, but not so many that it takes away from the primordial fun (not to mention that ammo is plentiful, health packs abound, and the checkpoints seemed to make sense).
So in summary, I think I can safely recommend this game. It has a lot going for it, and I think it deserved most of its praise. If you pick it up, enjoy it the way the developers intended, not because it was supposed to be *THE* most innovative piece of entertainment software ever.