F.E.A.R.'s high intensity and eerie atmosphere proves to be quite gratifying, although its shortcomings are inevitable.
WHAT'S WRONG - small arsenal of weaponry; little to do upon completion of game; boring and duplicate enemy models; weak multiplayer
When you look at the boxart for F.E.A.R., you see a little girl. This girl has the full illustration to look spooky. Well, this is one of the main executions for the game known as F.E.A.R. Why would the game bear the name 'F.E.A.R.' if it didn't have anything to do with the word? Either way, F.E.A.R. goes for a little something different from the standard fare of first person shooters. While you have all the necessary guts of FPS's, F.E.A.R. adds some more spice along with the usual. More detail on those specific things as the review moves along, but you have to applaud F.E.A.R. for working on something different. Sure, it is in no way unprecedented, but going on a different road than other games is both bold and smart.
If you don't know yet, F.E.A.R. stands for First Encounter Assault Recon, and even I was surprised the people at Monolith could think up of something as such. The story plays out like a big budget Hollywood movie, where you're sent to take out a telepathic person and his super soldiers. You play as a nameless person named the 'Point-man'. Upon arriving at your first location, you have no clues about the little girl in the red dress. This girl is named Alma, and she is unsurprisingly the female on the boxart. If you are looking for more non-surprises, after checking out your surroundings, the area becomes more spooky, and thus, this is where the game really starts.
F.E.A.R. blends both horror and action elements, then wraps it up with a mix of fast and slow paced firefights (you'll see why later). There will be plenty of gun battles with supersoldiers, taped up with some Alma sightings. The first couple of Alma sightings will scare you a bit, although it may not be a jump up scare if you can brace yourself. The supersoldiers you will be fighting prefer to arrive and attack in groups. This makes for some intense battling, but the thing is, they keep coming at you predictably. Nonetheless, these firefights are intense and sometimes they keep you on the edge of your seat. For something that tries to work up as a Hollywood movie, I don't really see any problems here.
While fighting all these supersoldiers, you do have some attacks and advantages at your disposal. F.E.A.R. has its share of pistols and rifles. Unfortunately, there aren't very many weapons available, especially compared to competing games. Most of the weaker weapons, such as the dual handguns, look and sound ugly at best. It's not until the more powerful weapons where F.E.A.R. has some admiring weapons. You can carry up to 3 weapons at once, so switching through weapons shouldn't be a hassle. Each weapon has some advantages and disadvantages that sometimes makes the game crucial, meaning one weapon will do terrible, while another can breeze through that section. The balance serves well, and it is executed without much problem. If guns aren't your thing, you can punch and kick your way through, but I don't recommend that, and neither should anyone else.
Nowadays, everyone can familiarize themselves with a technique called Slow Motion (or Slo-Mo). In F.E.A.R., this little technique will work to your advantage and will be useful, no doubt. Activating this technique does as the name suggests, it slows down time to your advantage. Every little effect is demonstrated, and you'll even see the air distortion from flying bullets. Slow Motion is measured by a meter, so it decreases as you focus, then you have to recharge it to full power again. However, it's best used in short bursts rather than used through long periods. This mechanic works very well with F.E.A.R., and it feels like F.E.A.R. would not be F.E.A.R. without Slow Motion.
F.E.A.R.'s artificial intelligence proves itself to be really intelligent at times. Aside from attacking in groups while issuing commands, they can sneak up on you, climb ladders, flank you, and even hide and surprise you at the wrong times. It is agreeable that they are quite advanced, but at times they may not attack you unless you attack them first. They also have a tendency to rush at you, almost as if suicidal. Slow Motion helps, but the advanced A.I. still won't be as simple. As far as conquering these tactics, you'll have to combine Slow Motion with your own bottle of wine. Taking cover is essential as usual, and even if you do take cover, the A.I. will point in your direction and then attack you, leaving you little time to take a break. The A.I. only has some minor problems, but those problems are overridden by their intelligence on the rest of the fronts.
F.E.A.R. comes with a multiplayer component, but the multiplayer itself is very lacking. You have the usual Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, along with the two newer modes, Control, and Capture All. Some of the gametypes make use of the Slow Motion technique from the single player. Using this basically puts you in control of the match because of its capabilities. F.E.A.R. Combat is a free download for all that allows you to play with anyone who has the retail package of the original F.E.A.R. With its thin multiplayer, it doesn't sound antic that Monolith would put it up for free. If you have either version of the multiplayer, it won't hold your attention for long because of the limited options that don't stick out.
Working your way through the single player, you'll notice that the visuals are all that they are cracked up to be. The environment looks dazzling, but after a while, it may feel like you're running through the same halls. The biggest plus with the graphics is the sheer amount of effort that went in when Slow Motion is activated. I'm no masochist in any way, but the detail gone through from firing your weapon and seeing the blood spirt out from an enemy is terrific, hands down. The environment around you reacts just like it should. The enemy models are a big let down, because frankly, they all look exactly the same. Despite there being some of those enhanced soldiers, the regular supersoldiers look the same and react in the same way. As for the framerate, there have been little problems, so the game can handle the action really well.
The ambient screams and noises bring the atmosphere above the standard. Echoes from an abandoned environment sound amazing. This should come as expected, as sound is probably one of the more important features into bringing a horror game to life. The weapon sounds aren't exciting at all, and this goes for the weaker weapons. If anything, they sound like firecracker noises. However, the more powerful weapons like the shotgun are much more pleasing. The music is creepy, but near the end you get the feeling that the music should of been omitted, as it could have done much better without any wacky music. The ambient noises are more than enough to get chills up your spine.
F.E.A.R.'s single player will last you from 8-10 hours, which is a decent amount of time. Sadly, you don't really get anything for it, except a pat on the back. You can try your hand at multiplayer, but the limited options and mediocre gameplay aren't enough to keep the egg from cracking. On top of that, there's not much interest heading through the single player again, unless you are willing to try a higher difficulty setting, but there isn't much of an improvement because the A.I. is smart enough as it is. For that, the game ends up dry too quickly. There isn't much you can do to keep yourself coming back, so you'll stack this away for some time after completing it.
F.E.A.R.'s high intensity and eerie atmosphere proves to be quite gratifying, although its shortcomings are inevitable. The environment is stale when you keep walking through the same areas again, and a weak multiplayer component adds to the bundle. F.E.A.R. isn't that bad of a game, though. Its Slow Motion feature is used in a unique manner and gets the job done right without any major dilemmas. The intelligent A.I. has only a few problems, but it's some of the better A.I. to come along in some time. The best part of F.E.A.R. is its intense firefights and creepy atmosphere that keep the game flowing the way it should. Action and horror is the center of attention for F.E.A.R., and if those two genres have you excited, then you know what to do.