F.E.A.R.: First Encounter Assault Recon

I don't often play videogames these days, but I felt compelled to test out my new PC with this game after reading rave reviews. When it came out in 2005 it seemed to be an underdog - it received glowing comments from critics but didn't make a huge splash like Halo or Half-Life. Now, with its debut on XBox 360, it seems to be making more of a fuss; but this game is almost a year old (in its PC form) and I hadn't heard a thing about it until a few weeks ago.

I found it at Circuit City and brought it home. The packaging didn't look too promising because I'm not really into tactical shooters or Army combat games, but after installing the five discs (!) onto my hard drive and running the game I immediately realized it wasn't anything like what I had expected.

The storyline is effective even if it's a rip-off of the whole Asian horror cinema influence of recent years. It's basically just "The Grudge" with combat action as far as the story is concerned (although the actual gameplay differs from most combat shooters). You're a member of an elite squadron of marines known as "F.E.A.R." (it stands for something like First Encounter Action Recon, which is kind of contradictory since recon doesn't usually involve much action, but oh well).

FEAR traces supernatural occurrences and your first mission is to assassinate a man who has become possessed by the spirit of a young girl who is causing him to kill and cannibalize people.

The game moves through different terrain but I was surprised by how well it sets everything up. If this were a film no doubt its plot line would be sabotaged by critics but as an interactive game it works very well. It's a cinematic experience and the cut-scenes and dramatic action sequences work well - you can tell many of the high-profile action set-ups were developed extensively for the player to experience the full benefit of the "cinematic gameplay" advertised on the back of the box. This is the first time I've played a game and felt like almost every single level had been designed to flow in a very specific, cinematic way - Half-Life 2 was similar but a bit also enabled more free-range. FEAR kind of manipulates you into following a specific path to complete levels, but it works to this game's benefit because there are some spectacular sequences. When there's an explosion you don't just get the same effects used over and over. When you shoot someone they don't fall down the same way as every other person who falls does.

It's also the creepiest game I've ever played. "Doom 3" wasn't scary because there were too many monsters and it became too repetitive. But FEAR works well because you never know what to expect and they don't over-do the occurrences of the supernatural. One part of the game in particular that freaked me out was when I was crouching in a ventilation shaft, and as a pipe burst and steam hissed in front of the character, the ghost-girl appears out of nowhere scurrying towards you through the dark like the creatures at the end of "Aliens" (I think it was a purposeful reference to the film). Very nicely done.

The shift between action and supernatural works most of the time, although I think sometimes the balance is thrown off a bit. On one level in particular you spend about thirty minutes walking around an office building shooting at enemies, and suddenly the last ten minutes of the level turn into a supernatural thriller and suddenly it seems like all the "regular" villains have completely disappeared. And just as soon as the supernatural stuff vanishes the bad guys are back again. I think in the next game they should develop a better mix of action with supernatural in regards to integrating the enemies into the supernatural sequences as well; otherwise, it feels a bit wishy-washy.

This is a small complaint. The game kept me riveted. It also features some of the best gameplay and special effects I've ever seen in a game. It takes the cinematic integration of Half-Life 2 and takes it up a notch. The cut-scenes make it feel more like an actual movie at times and the enemy AI is the best I've seen in a game since Half-Life 2 - they react realistically to what you do in the game, and interact with each other over their radios.

Overall this is one of the most memorable games I've ever played and certainly following suit of Half-Life 2 as being one of the most revolutionary FPS games of the new millennium. These new game engines are changing the face of their genre and integrating cinema into the game universe in a way unlike ever before.

Absolutely. This game originally came out in 2005, but I didn't start playing it until Christmas of 2015. And honestly, it's probably one of the most realistic, creepy, and decently challenging shooters I think I've ever played.

Pros:

-Smart AI

-Dripping in atmosphere

-Fantastic level design

-Gunplay still really holds up

Cons:

-Story is a bit tough to follow

-Graphics haven't aged that well, but it's not too bad

-Does suffer from its fair share of glitches.

But most of those cons are just nitpicks. FEAR is a fantastic game and I highly recommend it.

This is certainly the best First Person Shooter (FPS) that I've ever played. The AI is amazing. They do things you would never expect an AI to do. They do things like having one guy shoot suppressive fire over your head while another comes around behind you. There are very few places in the game where you can count on the fact that no one can come up behind you. As I've basically said, the game play alone makes this game worth playing. And, though I haven't yet beaten the game, the story seems to be entertaining also. There are some drawbacks, however. Because the majority of the game is so well put together, the flaws are fairly noticeable (but they are all very small and definitely don't detract from the the enjoyment). One of the flaws I've noticed is that vases don't seem to break. I've shot them and while they're not just scenery and they do fall to the floor, they still don't break. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a vase in real life that could take a shell full of buckshot and fall to the floor intact. The other major drawback is also one of the good things. The game looks amazing. Unfortuantly, this means that it takes a very powerful computer to play well. I know no one else who has a computer that can play the game. All in all, if you have a computer that can play the game, it is well worth the price (that is, I paid the $50 that most computer games are when they are first released).

Edit: I was wrong about the vases. The vases in single player do break. The vases in multiplayer do not. They are objects to be avoided otherwise you will kick them and give away your position more readily

F.E.A.R. is an absolute amazing game that perfectly mixes both First Person shooter action and Horror better than any other game like it during its year. What makes the slo-mo/bullet-time feature so good, is that it's not just an added feature to improve gameplay. The slo-motion feature is a vital part to the game and is very much a landmark for the franchise. The story is also well made, through its use of giving the player bits of the story as they move along. It works very well with dynamics, cutting back and forth from quiet nerve-racking moments to andrenaline-inducing action. Very good game

The first thing I will say is the PC I played this on:

CPU: And Athlon X2 4400+ RAM: 2X 512MB OCZ PC-3200 Graphics Card: 2x BFG 7900GT 256MB Hard Drive: 200GB SATAII Hard Drive Monitor: 20.1" Widescreen Monitor

I run F.E.A.R. with all of the details at maximum, soft shadows on, 4x AA, 16x AF, and at a resolution of 1280*960. I tell you this so you understand my interpretation of the graphics may be different than some.

F.E.A.R. has some of the best graphics I have seen yet. The best part in my opinion being the blood. I take time to look at some poor guy I just massacred on F.E.A.R. because it is that pretty. Also the shadows are very well done to. I like being able to see enemies advancing towards me on walls depending on the circumstances. Another nice touch is when I shoot at a wall pieces come off depending on the gun, and there is dust depending on the surface. One last thing, when you blow enemies up with explosives, you can sever limbs, and the stumps you leave him with trickle out blood, very good touch.

The story to F.E.A.R. is also top notch. It sucked me in and made me want to know more about the main players. I liked how you are given little tidbits of what's going on currently by overhearing radio reports, as well as getting back story by listening to answering machines. I won't spoil the end except to say it was very satisfying.

The game play is net to perfect. The enemy AI is very good. They flank you and work together, retreat if necessary. I would say they are second best to the AI on Far Cry. The slow mo effect worked really well. I was worried going into the game because slow mo effects in first person seemed liked a bad idea, but Monolith pulled it off. In fact it saved my ass countless times. One of my biggest praises of F.E.A.R. is that if you set the difficulty higher the enemies get smarter and better, they didn't simply crank up their health.

F.E.A.R. has a lengthy single player campaign, and multi-player. The single player campaign, on extreme difficulty, took me about 15-20 hours to finish. The multi-player is pretty good as well. I don't play it as often as I thought I would, but it's still decent.

I don't have many gripes with F.E.A.R. but there are some slight things I disliked. For instance you have a flashlight, but it's mounted on your head and only lasts about 1 minute before it has to recharge. I'm sure special forces can come up with a better solution. Secondly the multi-player seems to lack the tactical feel the single player had. It seems like a slightly better version of Counter-Strike.

These things aside, F.E.A.R. rocks. I can't praise it enough. If you have a good enough PC to appreciate the graphics, and you like a game that is fun and also can scare the crap out of you, F.E.A.R. is for you.