VU says F.E.A.R. is H.E.R.E.

If it's true that there's nothing to fear except fear itself, the hairs on the back of gamers' necks must be bristling by now. That's because F.E.A.R. is that much closer to spooking PC shooter fans. VU Games today announced that the game has shipped to retail stores and will be available for purchase tomorrow.

The highly anticipated first-person shooter was developed by Monolith Productions and Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The Kirkland, Washington-based company's other projects include The Matrix Online and the upcoming Condemned: Criminal Origins.

The action-packed game puts players in the Kevlar of an elite group known as First Encounter Assault Recon. The team is sent in to a mysterious compound to investigate the whereabouts and mental condition of a military defector. Turns out that he's holed up deep inside the compound, and his mind, which is telepathically linked to an army of cloned soldiers, is somewhere around Crazytown.

Gamers interested in trying out some of the game's spooky atmosphere and intense firefights can download either the single-player or multiplayer demo from GameSpot.

F.E.A.R. is rated M for Mature and retails for $49.99. For an account of the game from the front line, read GameSpot's full review.