While it may not be the graphical powerhouse that is Gears of War, FEAR is still a great game that shouldn't be missed.
The game is fairly straightforward, to be sure, but the atmosphere says it all. You won't find the "always blowing stuff up" formula here; instead you'll experience moments of extremely intense battles followed by a half hour of wandering around. Don't get me wrong, that sounds like it would be boring, but in F.E.A.R. it's actually an asset thanks to the pure creepiness of what you're doing. You'll be walking along and catch a glimpse of Alma, the freaky "Ring" like chick out of the corner of your eye, or walk into a waking nightmare for a few seconds, or hear things that just aren't there. It's not a scary game, just like horror movies aren't scary either, but it creates an atmosphere that you normally don't find in the FPS genre. It's probably important to note that I'm not a huge FPS fan. I'm more of an RPG guy, I'm in it for the story. So yeah, if you're a FPS hound, you'll still enjoy F.E.A.R., but it won't be a 10 on your list. But if you're more of a casual FPS fan who would like something different that will suck you in, this is your game. I couldn't put it down, and now that it's over, I still want to replay it. That's saying something. I haven't played a game this "good" in the sense of what a good game is to me in forever. Rent it, borrow it, buy it, whatever; but don't miss it.