F.E.A.R. Review - New Game Network

Generally when you think of a horror game you picture grotesque monsters popping out of air vents, claustrophobic camera angles and ominous, rumbling music. While FEAR does not transcend the horror genre, it does improve on the norm by introducing some interesting elements, such as straight up fps combat with none of the clunky controls and limiting camera angles that so many other horror games rely on to create a sense of tension. While many of the scares in FEAR rely on shock horror, the story is genuinely creepy and very well crafted, and some of the threats you deal with in the game are fairly interesting, even unusual.

The plot of FEAR starts out innocently enough, with you being the latest recruit of the First Encounter Assault Recon (or F.E.A.R.) team, which deals with paranormal threats with force and firepower before forensic investigation. Major players in the story are mostly introduced early on, but you never really learn much about them until later on in the game, so there is an air of mystery surrounding many of the characters. While Alma, the creepy little girl who seems to be the main threat in the game, seems like she is straight from any recent Japanese horror film, she really is a threat to your team, and her role and various appearances throughout your adventure are the primary source of the games creepy atmosphere. Eventually you will begin to predict where she will show up, and this does a fair bit to affect the scares, but the games focus on combat means that regardless of how scary any level is, you will be having fun.

It just so happens that you, being the new recruit, have the fastest reflexes the FEAR team has ever seen, and this is represented through your ability to slow time at any given point in the game. The slow motion is a big part of the games combat, because you are almost always outnumbered and outgunned by incredibly intelligent enemies who move fast, find cover and flank you at any opportunity. You can only use your slow motion ability for short periods of time, but you will need it to get through the tougher firefights. The reason for this is that while in most shooters the A.I’s priority is to kill you, in FEAR it seems that the A.I. wants to exercise self-preservation, which makes killing them a lot harder in many situations. If they are out in the open getting shot at by you, they will run away, dive behind cover, turn over tables, and communicate with each other in order to make sure they stay alive and your location is known. This A.I. gives the firefights an incredibly dynamic feel, even though the number of enemy types is relatively limited.

Also contributing to the excellence of the combat is the brilliant gunplay. Not only do the guns look, sound and feel great, the way your bullets react with the environment is a glorious sight to behold, especially when you are using your slow motion abilities. Each bullet will in some way interact with any and every surface it comes into contact with; small holes and craters will be left in cement walls, sparks will fly when a bullet comes into contact with a metal surface, books and boxes will explode into papery bits or collapse, and enemies react in the most dramatic way when they are hit. They will shriek in agony, the part of their body that was hit will produce a spurt of blood and move back noticeably, limbs will fly off, or with the more powerful weapons their body may explode into a bloody pulp. Thanks to the great physics engine, all but the most solid cover is only temporary, meaning you have to move around during the fights. The sound effects match the visual splendour, with different bullet-surface interactions creating different sounds, and shell cases tinkling as they land on the ground near your feet. No other game can match the organic, dynamic firefights found in FEAR.

You are provided with a fairly impressive arsenal of weapons to aide in taking down these tough, intelligent clones. While you start off with fairly standard shotguns, pistols and submachine guns, it isn’t long before much more interesting weapons start popping up. Various particle guns and grenade launchers are provided, as well as my personal favourite, the nail gun, which can be used to tack enemies onto walls. You are also given a variety of explosive devices; grenades, remote detonation grenades and motion-sensing mines are all at your disposal, and nothing looks cooler than shooting a grenade mid-air causing it to explode amongst a group of enemies while in slow motion. If you get close enough to your enemies there are also a few different kicking manoeuvres you can attempt in addition to the standard rifle-butt attack, but it’s hard to find situations to use these moves. Most of the game will see you fighting the same kind of clone-soldiers, but there are different enemy types introduced such as heavily armoured baddies, stealth-ninja type enemies that move incredibly quickly, and giant armoured mechs that appear every now and then.

When you aren’t shooting at enemies, you are probably investigating something that is relevant to the plot. The story of the game is very intricate and well crafted with some incredible twists and turns, but unfortunately much of the story is told through phone messages which you can optionally listen to. Most of these messages are long, bland and full of corporate talk, but if you want to get all the back story and depth the game has to offer, you should definitely listen to them. The entire game is seen from the first person perspective, save the opening cinematic, which helps create a great sense of immersion that adds to the creepy atmosphere present throughout the campaign. The single player mode of the game lasts around 10-12 hours, but the combat is just so fantastic, and the story so complex, that you will probably want to go back and play through everything again.

There is also a rather basic multiplayer component to the game, but clearly the focus was on the singleplayer experience. Standard modes such as deathmatch and team deathmatch are present and accounted for, and the great gunplay makes for a bit of fun, but the maps are rather bland and the weapons aren’t very balanced. The online community is also very sparse, so if you are looking for a multiplayer shooter, look elsewhere.

The visual and audio presentation of FEAR is a big part of what makes the combat so impressive. Sparks and particle effects are especially important in making the firefights feel intense, and a great lighting engine and dynamic light sources go a long way to making the game look really incredible during the many shootouts. Character models are extremely detailed, as are many facial animations; the technical presentation of FEAR is simply top notch across the board, although the environments are a bit bland and repetitive for much of the game. The downside of the impressive visual presentation is that you need a fairly powerful rig to run the game with all the eye candy enabled. Sound is also very impressive, with the enemy soldiers sounding particularly cool; in addition weapon sounds and voice acting are also top notch. The presentation of FEAR is easily one of its biggest strengths.

Overall there isn’t a lot that FEAR’s singleplayer campaign doesn’t get right, the horror elements are well implemented, the story is very interesting and intelligent if not a bit poorly told at times through the use of phone messages, and the combat is some of the best pure fps combat seen in a shooter to date. If you are looking for a good first person shooter that will satisfy your craving for violence, FEAR is definitely the game for you.