F.E.A.R. Combat is H.E.R.E.

Last week, Vivendi Games subsidiary Sierra Entertainment announced it would release the multiplayer portion of its popular PC horror shooter F.E.A.R. over the Internet for free. The gratis download, dubbed F.E.A.R. Combat, would be available on August 17--the birthday of Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, and Marcus Garvey, among others.

One week later, F.E.A.R. Combat has hit the Web. It will allow gamers who don't own an actual boxed copy of F.E.A.R. to take on those that do online with an arsenal of 12 weapons. The download contains 19 multiplayer maps but will support the download of user-created content such as original maps and mods. It also has 10 different gameplay modes and will contain the same anticheating software as the boxed copy of the game.

F.E.A.R. Combat is available via GameSpot Downloads but requires users to go to the game's official Web site for a keycode. For more on the full-fledged F.E.A.R., which was named GameSpot's Best Shooter of 2005, read the full review of the PC version of the game. F.E.A.R is also set to arrive on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 later this year.