F.E.A.R. (PC CD)

What’s the most important part of a first person shooter? The combat. And every element of FEAR is made with this in mind. The combat in FEAR is simply amazing. Firstly, every gun sounds real, when you pull the trigger, it feels and sounds like you’re shooting a real gun and every gun packs serious firepower, even the pistol (which can be dual wielded). The particle effects also play a huge part in making the combat feel great – when you shoot a wall, it breaks apart and chunks fly off, when you shoot a box, chips fly off and powder fills the air. Most things break apart realistically – you can’t blow holes through walls or anything like that, but it’s pretty amazing all the same – every single firefight in the whole game just feels fantastic.

There’s game also features bullet time and it’s completely perfect here. The justification for you having it is that you have ‘really good reflexes’, a little silly, perhaps, but it’s an explanation. But what matters is that it is incredibly cool. Activated at will and working on a recharge bar, you can go into slowmo any time you want and watch the bullets fly through the air, including a cool air-ripple thing which was absent in other games which have used slowmotion. It looks amazingly cool. But it’s not just a neat, great looking novelty, some of the later firefights are so intense, you simply need to use it to survive.

The enemies are also simply fantastic, as a clone army you are basically fighting the same enemy for almost all of the game, there is a little diversity, but not much. But that really doesn’t matter, because these guys are awesome. I can say unequivocally that this is the best FPS AI you will see this year. These guys do a ton of manoeuvring during combat. They portray something you rarely see in artificial intelligence in computer games – self preservation. They’ll duck, roll, take cover (make cover if there’s something to pull over and hide behind) and even perform diving rolls through windows and stuff. They can also ascend and descend ladders and leap over gantry railings. Wound them and they retreat, get too close and they melee you. They also talk to eachother and coordinate attacks, trying to suppress you, flank you or flush you out with grenades.

You also have melee abilities yourself, from the now-obligatory rifle-slap to the face to, amazingly, the ability to do flying drop kicks and scissor kicks. Lobbing a grenade and then leaping into the air, hitting slowmo and watching as your boot connects with a soldier’s face, he crumples as the grenade explodes down the hall, the blast visibly reverberating through the air, glass, debris and limbs flying all over. It’s hard to put into words how intense the experience of simply playing this game is.

Visually the game is top class. The textures are spot on and the character models, while not quite as good as some of the others about, are still fantastic. The lighting effects are also pretty incredible but on the whole, the game doesn’t look so much better than certain other games. The animations are generally fluid and the ragdolling is solid for the most part, but there are a few silly discrepancies, like a model falling backwards onto its lower leg, then the leg slides its way out from under the body for no reason. Running the game on a AMD 4200+, Geforce 7800gtx with 1GB ram, the frame rate did stutter a few times with the visuals maxed out, so it’s safe to say this game is a serious system hog. But it scales down to below the minimum specifications quite well, so it’s still well worth buying if you have a less than top of the line machine.

The FEAR sound is also fantastic, and used to excellent effect. All the weapons sound fantastic, but you often hear things behind you only to turn and see nothing. FEAR doesn’t quite pull off the ‘horror game’ feel, but it does a great job of creating a creepy atmosphere, and does a good job of making you afraid of nothing – which is a pleasant contrast to the crazy film style firefights. The multiplayer is also pretty great, especially with the slowmotion and melee moves you can perform, it makes for a pretty wild experience.

If I had to come up with a few complaints, I’d say there is too little diversity in the enemies, but they’re awesome so it’s really hard to push on that. The environments are also a little too samey throughout, but that’s not really a big deal. While perhaps not perfect, FEAR has managed to attain the holy grail of gaming – the game is pure adrenaline pumping fun from start to finish. Firefights are a pure joy, the atmosphere is fantastic, the game looks amazing, the AI is jawdropping and the multiplayer is a blast. It’s easily the best single player experience I’ve ever had with a first person shooter. Turn the lights down, turn the sound up and immerse yourself in one of the best games of 2005.


Decent FPS   March 12, 2006
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

Fear is a game that can effectively combine Intense action scenes with creepy horror scenes. First off The character you play in fear can only carry 3 weapons at a time, which is more realistic as some FPS games allow you to carry a ridiculous amount of weapons. There are a variety of weapons through out the game with some nice exotic weapons to use like a rocket launcher. However as the limit on weapons is three at a time a weapon will have to be dropped in favour of another.
Enemy encounters happen regularly through out the game and the AI is very good in Fear. Defeating enemy soldiers can be a real challenge at times, but Fear includes a nice feature that allows temporary slow motion, which for a short time will put a battle in the players favour. However to use this feature again the reflex bar will have to recharge. The soldiers sometimes come aided with what they call ‘The Heavy’ it’s a robotic soldier and can inflict a lot of damage, so its best not to expose yourself to much. There are a host of other things through out the game that are going to try and kill you.
Now for the horror side of Fear and its brilliant. Throughout the game the lights will flicker and you’ll find your self in nightmarish type of scene. The makers of Fear have done these scenes really well with some outstanding Graphics effects making them the best creepy scenes I have ever seen in a FPS. There are also parts throughout Fear that made me Jump. If you like Horror then theres plenty of it here.
The Graphics effects in Fear are breathtaking better than anyother FPS in my opinion. It blends some decent lighting effects with realistic looking backgrounds. The chracters look well crafted and almost life like. The GFX in the battlescenes looks almost hollywood with some realistic Gun shot effects. Fear however does prefer a higher spec computer for those graphics to look at their best. I'm running the game on a Geforce 7800GT with almost all the settings maxed with no problems.
If you like FPS and horror then I can recommend Fear as a decent purchase.


better than HL2   February 26, 2007
George Weah (Liberia)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This game is so good! The bottom line is it is so much fun to play, especially alone. I found myself completing the game quite slowly because the atmosphere is so well constructed that you are really quite tense and tend to edge down corridors rather than run because of fear of something happening. The litttle girl Alma is a great asset to the game and kind of reminded me of the little girl from 'the ring' but she literally kills people in style and is really creepy. The plot of the game is also top notch, and fits together perfectly. However the games greatest feature is that the AI are so intelligent and always work in groups and i often found myself outmanouvered by their cunning. I've played half life 2 and have to say that this is much more enjoybable, it appears to me that HL2 was probably marketed slightly better and therefore got more attention.

This game however gets a 5 out of 5 from me and i give games 5/5 Very rarely! Definitely a must buy, you would not want to miss this game, trust me! The only problem with the game is that it ended, and i could have carried on playing for weeks on end it was that good, and that is not saying it was a short game because it wasn't by any means.


The Scariest Game On Earth   October 21, 2006
Luke
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

If you thought Resident Evil or Silent Hill was scary then you have'nt seen anything yet

F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assault Recon) is a special force that deal in all the paranormel investigations and you are one of their operatives. Sent in to a variety of settings to hunt down a superhuman called Paxton Fettel. But as you get further and further into the game, you will meet more horrific creatures and ghouls and even squads of elite soldiers sent in to track you down.

First off this game is graphically amazing, no doubt about it with good hullusinating and smoke effects. The story line is great but starts off simple and complicates a little as you progress. Weapon variation is good with some great ideas but there really isn't enough ammo to last throughout the game.

The games best asset though is the absolute scariness of the game, i havn't experienced anything like it before. The game starts with you and a team mate entering an abandoned building and the spooky happenings start straight away with your team member randomly disintegrating and appearing behing you and mysterious shadows and figures appearing everywhere. And from there on, it is creepy all the way to the end.

You never actually fight ghouls and monsters, just get scared by them as they walk towards you creepily or lock you in a room with a baby screaming in the background. The things you fight are actually elite squads of men and their AI is absolutely amazing. They will alert other where you are, shout when they see your flashlight on, jump for cover and through windows, knock over anything they see for a bit of cover, run to find another squad if he is the last one alive, the list of amazing things they do is endless.

The game also maxes out its scariness to the limit by spliting up the game into, fight, scary, fight, scary etc. So in other words you will fight a squad of men and chase down any running survivors and then you will be greeted by the little ghostly girl that follows you or Paxton Fettel so you are always expecting something terrifing after a hard battle.

If you are a bit of a dandy and don't like horrifing things then this ain't the game for you but if you like a shock and something different from all the other FPSs out there then buy now!!!!!

Pros

+ Amazing Graphics
+ Amazing AI
+ Horrifying moments around every corner
+ Good array of weapons (especially the laser gun that splats soldiers to bits)
+ Good storyline
+ Good communication system that tells you where to go or when the girl is nearby

Cons

- Not enough ammo
- Not for dandies


Perhaps the best single player FPS of 2005   October 25, 2005
Stephen Bray (huddersfield, uk)
28 out of 34 found this review helpful

FEAR expertly combines visceral, heartstopping firefights with stunning visuals, incredibly good AI and a fantastic creepy atmosphere to create what is both Monolith's best game to date and a contender for first person shooter of the year. You play as a new member in the FEAR team, a top secret military team which explores the paranormal. A military commander goes crazy and takes control of a clone army who then go and occupy some American city. Your team's job is to find out why, and to stop them. The plot carries the game well and is of the standard people expect from a modern shooter, it's nice, but nothing special.

What's the most important part of a first person shooter? The combat. And every element of FEAR is made with this in mind. The combat in FEAR is simply amazing. Firstly, every gun sounds amazing, when you pull the trigger, it feels and sounds like you're shooting a real gun and every gun packs serious firepower, even the pistol. The particle effects also play a huge part in making the combat feel great - when you shoot a wall, it breaks apart and chips fly off, when you shoot a box, it powders and the powder fills the air. Most things break apart realistically - it's not as expansive as, say, the geomod from Red Faction, in fact it's entirely superficial, but that's the point. It looks fantastic to see everything flying apart during firefights - it's like the lobby scene from the matrix every time you encounter enemies.

There's another similarity the game shares with the matrix - bullet time, it's in fear and it's perfect. The justification for you having it is that you have 'really good reflexes', a little silly, perhaps, but it's an explanation. But what matters is that it is incredibly cool. Activated at will and working on a recharge bar, you can go into slowmo any time you want and watch the bullets fly through the air, including a Matrix style air-ripple thing which was absent in the Max Payne games. It looks amazingly cool. But it's not just great looking, some of the later firefights are so intense, you simply need to use it to survive.

The enemies are also simply incredibly, as a clone army you are basically fighting the same enemy for almost all of the game, there is a little diversity, but not much. But that really doesn't matter, because these guys are awesome. They're what HL2's soldiers should've been. The AI is just simply incredible. I can say unequivocally that this is the best FPS AI you will see this year. These guys do a ton of manoeuvring. They portray something you rarely see in artificial intelligence in computer games - self preservation. They'll duck, roll, take cover (make cover if there's something to pull over and hide behind) and even perform diving rolls through windows and stuff. They can also climb. Wound them and they retreat, get too close and they melee you. They also talk to eachother and coordinate attacks, trying to flank you or flush you out with grenades.

You also have melee abilities yourself, from the now-obligatory rifle butt to the face to, amazingly, the ability to do flying drop kicks and scissor kicks. Lobbing a grenade and then leaping into the air, hitting slowmo and watching as your boot connects with a soldier's face as the grenade explodes down the hall, the blast visibly reverberating through the air, glass and debris flying all over. It's hard to put into words.

Visually the game is amazing. All the textures just look good enough to eat and the character models, while not quite as good as some of the others about, are still fantastic. The lighting effects are also pretty incredible but on the whole, the game doesn't look so much better than certain other games. It's the particle effects that really steal the show. I could go on all day about those lovely effects. But I'll stop here. Running the game on a AMD 4200+, Geforce 7800gtx with 1GB ram, the frame rate did stutter a few times with the visuals maxed out, so it's safe to say this game is a serious system hog. But it scales down to below the minimum specifications quite well, so it's still well worth buying if you have a less than top of the line machine.

The FEAR sound is also fantastic, and used to excellent effect. All the weapons sound fantastic, but you often hear things behind you only to turn and see nothing. FEAR doesn't quite pull off the 'horror game' feel, but it does a great job of creating a creepy atmosphere, and does a good job of making you afraid of nothing - which is a pleasant contrast to the crazy film style firefights. The multiplayer is also pretty great, especially with the slowmotion and melee moves you can perform, it makes for a pretty wild experience.

If I had to come up with a few complaints, I'd say there is too little diversity in the enemies, but they're awesome so it's really hard to push on that. The environments are also a little too samey throughout, but the buildings you fight in are things like warehouses and office complexes, which generally do tend to have a symmetry to them, so I find it pretty hard to push that as a fault too.

While perhaps not perfect, FEAR has managed to attain the holy grail of gaming - the game is pure adrenaline pumping fun from start to finish. Firefights are a pure joy, the atmosphere is fantastic, the game looks amazing, the AI is jawdropping and the multiplayer is a blast. It's easily the best single player experience I've ever had with a first person shooter. Turn the lights down, turn the sound up and immerse yourself in one of the best games of 2005.