F.E.A.R.

[Dubh Aingeal]

Ok this is my first large scale type review so bare with me on the grammar and punctuation. I think this game warrants more than just a “cool game you should have play it”, or the “Killer game” style comments. As someone who likes playing FPS’s (amongst other games) I found F.E.A.R. to truly live up to the fps style play, and then exceed my expectations. I’ll use the standard 10 point scale as it’s easiest for people to grasp and requires way less mathematical formulation on my part.

Story (9/10)

You are a new recruit in a black ops group called F.E.A.R. “First Encounter Assault Recon”. You job is to take out a man who has been genetically engineered, by a government contracted company, to be in mind control of a battalion of cloned army solders. Something goes wrong, horribly wrong. The man seems to have had some kind of break down and a lot of people have been killed. As you progress thru the game, there are a lot of twists, turns, and spooky scenes to keep you on your toes as to what is going to happen and what’s going on.

Graphics (9/10)

Kick arse would probably be the best description for the graphics in the game. I’m not really sure anything less would give it credit. Everything from the opening cinema to game play to cut scenes is wonderfully done. Facial expressions, water effects, glass, are superbly done. But the greatest thing about the game is the lighting effects. Lighting plays a big role in the game. Allowing you to hide, or be spooked by something you didn’t see. Weapons fire and grenades all effect the way the lights are effected. Grenades can cause dust to obscure your vision, and muzzle flashes can give away your position.

Sound (9/10)

Sound was at a near perfect state. Everything from gunfire to the voices of allies and enemies is done very well. The occasional “No F***ing way!” from the enemy was part of the reason behind a mature rating to this game.

Gameplay (9/10)

Weapons handling is very good with fairly realistic recoil action to it. No standing in a door way and just unloading down the hallway to pick off your enemies. Doing that will get you firing into the ceiling as your enemies pick you off. The stronger the weapon load the more recoil you get. Firing the pistols will get you much less recoil than the sub-machine gun.

The AI in this game is beyond any other FPS I have ever played (and I like fps’s). The enemy not only reacts to what your doing, they also work together. You generally run into groups of 3-5 at a time. They will use the environment to their advantage just like you would. Pitch a grenade into a room of enemies and they will take cover, minimizing the damage they take. They will hide behind objects (desks, lab stations, pillars, etc) and if they have nothing to hid behind immediately they will make something (pull down boxes, flip tables, etc). They work as a group trying to pull you into their traps as you would do the same to them. They will try to flank you any way they can. Jump thru windows, go down hallways to sneak up behind you, what ever it takes for them to do their job. If you take out too many of their group they will fall back and try to regroup. They will use their own grenades to try and flush you out into the open.

At one point I had one guy pinned down behind a crate. He reached over the crate and started blindly shooting at me with his weapon. All the while over the radio you could hear their squad leader saying “Take cover!” and him stating in a frantic, scared voice “I can’t!!”

Overall (9/10)

I would have to say that Monolith has delivered and exceeded many people’s expectations of what an fps should and can be. Where half-life and doom were the bar raisers for an fps I believe that F.E.A.R. has just raised that bar considerably more. There are many places in the game where you will jump because you let your guard down. Which in my opinion makes the game all that much better.

[Head Wreck]

gah, that acronym was made up my a 12 year old paintballer/airsofter, propbably for a team name of other 12-14 year olds who talk the talk, but get wiped out on first contact

[HipsterDufus]

Played it, LOVED the AI in it for it's use of cover and flanking tactics. But now it's been beaten and I know very few people with the processing power to play against... so it's been uninstalled.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He brings up a good point when reviewing games. You've got to consider the hardware requirements and what resolution average people are going to be able to play it at. Sure, with an Athlon 64 X2 4800+ w/ 2 gigs of RAM and an ATI Radeon X1800 might be able to play it with all the bells and whistles, but you always have to consider the average computer user and how it will play for them. Just a bit of advice if you continue to review PC games. Console gamers don't have to worry about that.

[The_Dark]

You dont need a system that high end to play it. I played it just fine with my Athlon64 3700+, Gig of ram and 6800 Ultra OC.

[HipsterDufus]

You dont need a system that high end to play it. I played it just fine with my Athlon64 3700+, Gig of ram and 6800 Ultra OC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know. I was just exaggerating. :grin

[The_Dark]

I know.. I was bragging.

[HipsterDufus]

I know.. I was bragging.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<sigh> My system's getting kind of old now. It's an Athlon XP 2100+ with a plain Radeon 9600 and 512 megs of RAM. I'll trade ya.

[The_Dark]

BAH!!!!!

[The_Dark]

Um... Lemme think about that for a sec...

OK, Done thinking...

NO.

[Dubh Aingeal]

He brings up a good point when reviewing games.  You've got to consider the hardware requirements and what resolution average people are going to be able to play it at.  Sure, with an Athlon 64 X2 4800+ w/ 2 gigs of RAM and an ATI Radeon X1800 might be able to play it with all the bells and whistles, but you always have to consider the average computer user and how it will play for them.  Just a bit of advice if you continue to review PC games.  Console gamers don't have to worry about that. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well being as my laptop only has a 1.8Ghz with a ATI Mobility RADEON x300 64MB I didn't elaberate on the specs as most people probably have better than what I am running it on. At the very least their video's are probably better.

[HipsterDufus]

Well being as my laptop only has a 1.8Ghz with a ATI Mobility RADEON x300 64MB I didn't elaberate on the specs as most people probably have better than what I am running it on. At the very least their video's are probably better.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True. I notice a lot of reviewers say something to this effect though: "This game requires A and B. But if you really want to see it in its full glory, I'd suggest playing it on a computer with at least X and Y." Just a thought. Take it or leave it. =)