The most fun I've had with any P.C shooter ever.
+ The A.I in this game is simply the best yet seen on any P.C or console FPS. Enemies take cover, ambush you and circle around in an attempt to flush you out, helping make no firefight the same.
+ The graphics too are some of the best seen on any shooter to date. The shadowing is excellent and, together with the lighting and different special effects, amplify the tension during the paranormal parts of the game, and the soldiers are highly detailed. Some of the environments are a bit bland however.
+ The actual combat is highly satisfying, with a cool implementation of slow-mo and fun melee attacks to try out, as well as the aforementioned great A.I to fight against.
+ The balance between adrenaline pumping shootouts and quiet creepy moments is spot on.
+ The story holds your interest for the whole game, as not everything is handed out to you on a platter, you'll have to find out some things for yourself.
Bad points :
- Once you have fought one enemy, you've fought them all. While the combat is fun, the different number of enemies you'll fight against is very low, so there is a danger that you'll get tired of fighting the same faceless goon over and over again.
- The single playing game itself is quite short, but there is always the multiplayer to spend some time on.
- The number of guns you can get is also low. While for some people about 8 or 9 guns would be alright, with the enemy count so low a larger number of weapons would have kept the player's interest up.
- As mentioned before, the environments are a bit bland, with the same grey textures and office style scenery.
- As with most recent P.C games, if you want to enjoy the game as it was intended, you'll need a top of the range P.C. Goes without saying really...
F.E.A.R is a great FPS and deserves to be compared with the Half-life's and Doom's and Quake's, thanks to the visceral combat and freaky jump-out-of-your-seat moments. There are some flaws, but they don't overshadow what is a brilliant game.