If you are a FPS gamer, F.E.A.R is highly recommended...... Read the review to find out why.
First Encounter Assault Recon(F.E.A.R)
All those who have played the demo will already know what the game engine is capable of, it was one the most slick and intensive demos released this year, which not only gave a sneak peek into the game but also into the kind of hardware needed to play it. F.E.A.R. is a scary FPS. The dark environments, weird sounds of babies crying in the background and the random sightings of a little girl running down the hallway in a pool of blood give you the creeps. But soon you'll begin to get so comfortable with them that you almost tend to ignore the ghosts. You have more important things to worry about, like the clones that can't wait to put a bullet through your head. Being a member of F.E.A.R., a US government task force established in 2002, your mission is to find and neutralize Paxton Fetal, a destructive commando controlling an army of clones.
The plot is very simple and generic and you face waves of soldiers stopping you from completing your mission. As far as the plot and gameplay goes, F.E.A.R. is just another FPS with a very cliched storyline. But what strikes the game apart from others is its outstanding game engine, best of the class special effects, engaging combat and nifty AI. The particle effects combined with extensive bump mapping and heavy shader usage makes F.E.A.R. one of the best looking FPS games of the year. The combat is very intensive with bullets whizzing around, and the damage on the walls, though exaggerated, adds to the intensity. Use of soft shadows, volumetric lighting and slow motion effects together make the game one of the most visually appealing games of the year. The "slowmo" mode is greatly inspired by the Matrix movie series and looks as spectacular as it did in the movie. It's also a key element of the game giving you the extra time needed to take down the enemies with precise head shots!
Game physics are also well implemented, the weapon drag and ragdoll physics are realistic and not too exaggerated. The overall A.I. is pretty tight, the clones will seldom come charging at you, they will regroup, strategize and creep on you very skillfully. The only real hole in the AI is exposed when you realize that the communication amongst the clones is loud enough to expose their tactics, allowing you to escape their grenades and sudden ambush attacks. The environments are mostly enclosed and mostly inside factories, buildings and research facilities. After a while the close quarter combat becomes monotonous. The game lacks variety in terms of environments and gameplay and that keeps it a fair distance from FPS gods like Half-Life 2.
A scary game heavily relies on sound and F.E.A.R. scores very well at it. The chilling ambient sound in the background with the ghostly voices add to the atmosphere. The game emphasizes on details- texturing on the walls, weapons, models and sound are all handled with a lot of attention.
Bad news for gamers with strapped budgets-this game is a complete system hog, the updates do help resolve a few performance issues but still the game is very demanding on the system. If you want to play the game with all the eye candy notched up to the max with 4X AA and 16X AF, you will need the very latest hardware to play it.
All in all, if you are a FPS gamer, F.E.A.R is highly recommended. For the rest it's worth trying as long as your machines can handle it.