FEAR is the best game ever created. Better than Half-Life. Here's why.

This will likely be a controversial topic.

In the nearly thirteen years I have been playing video games, which began a Game Boy Color and a copy of Pokemon Red in 1998, to Crysis 2 (which I finished a few weeks ago), I can name only one game which stands tall above all the rest.

It's not Half-Life. It's not Doom 2. It's not Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. It's not Knights of the Old Republic. They were all wonderful games, but this one game surpasses even those games on an ethereal level.

It's FEAR.

No other game I have played combines gunplay, tension, and pacing quite like FEAR did. You are tossed into a water treatment plant with little knowledge of what is going on. A bunch of soldiers you were escorting are immediately killed - flesh burned off of their bones, by a ghostly and mysterious little girl. Then, the soldiers turn up. You raise death with your SMG. Few other games make the mere act of firing a gun so satisfying - and I am certain that FEAR is perhaps the only game that really does it well. The bullets have kick. Enemies do not simply stand in one place and die - you can actually feel the enemies dying from each successive bullet that hits them.

The story is less than satisfying but its setup is ingenious. You are simply unaware of what precisely is going on - and so much information is withheld from you that it creates the perfect atmosphere for tension.

The game is only truly amazing the first time you play it, and it loses its luster with each successive playthrough because you are likely to already understand what is happening. But that first impression that FEAR brings is so impressive in and of itself that I only need to play the game once to say that it is one of the most brilliant, most thrilling, and most entertaining video games I have ever played. The blend of action and tension is just perfect, and the mystery unveiled at the beginning contributes to that blend very well.

If you haven't played FEAR yet, I strongly encourage getting a copy. I personally play the game once every year during Halloween - it has been a tradition for me for the past four years or so.

It's a pity that the sequels will never live up to the original, but the original game is all that we need.

F.E.A.R. Was one of my top games this generation. A matter of fact I just rented it for the 360 this weekend. I have it on the PC already, but wanted to check out how it played on the 360 and it holds up really well. The graphics are a bit dated to todays standards, but IMO I think it still has some of the best lighting. Not to mention the particle effects and walls are nice to stare at too. LOL

i got bored runing around office blocks.

i got bored runing around office blocks.

Vinegar_Strokes

Well, the initial premise of the game revolves around clone soldiers who have taken over a corporate building.

Plus, the office environments weren't that bad - I thought the water treatment plant and the apartment building levels were the worst.

I loved shooting chunks out the wall.

i got bored runing around office blocks.

Vinegar_Strokes

It is an amazing game and for me it's indeed much better than Crysis, however not better than HL2 IMO, but yeah, i enjoyed a lot, and i have to say, while the figths feel right, what i loved the most was that eerie atmosphere, that was really great.

sure if you like boring industrial complexes and offices

[QUOTE="Vinegar_Strokes"]

i got bored runing around office blocks.

Salt_The_Fries

How is it superficial to dislike the atmosphere and mood of a game?

[QUOTE="Salt_The_Fries"][QUOTE="Vinegar_Strokes"]

i got bored runing around office blocks.

Baranga

How is it superficial to dislike the atmosphere and mood of a game?

[QUOTE="Vinegar_Strokes"]

i got bored runing around office blocks.

Salt_The_Fries

I thought the water treatment plant and the apartment building levels were the worst.The_Capitalist

[QUOTE="Vinegar_Strokes"]

i got bored runing around office blocks.

Salt_The_Fries

Not superficial at all. Fear had great gun-play I agree and even though I didn't think that the bullet time was that much of a thrilling element in the game, it was used well. That said, you just can't deny the level design, it was horrendou at times and extremely repetive. I bad-mouth the level design in shooters such as Halo, but hell, I might be even willing to admit that even Halo had better level design than Fear.

I didn't find the story that interesting and the tension was indeed good in some places, but most of it was very predictable for me. Fear just felt like a huge whole section of the last levels of Half Life for me, it really did, did I still enjoy it? Yes. Do I find the game to be a very consistent package? Not really, no.

Cool shooter, i love it, the gun play is perfection, but it's not a GOAT game, the GOATs of gaming are in my sig., for your information.

It's a great game but... no where near as good as Half Life imo. Enviroments were far to repetitive, Story was great, but no where near as epic as Half Life, and the gameplay, while awesome, got boring after awhile. Half Life 2 threw new ideas at you over and over, while Fear was pretty much the same thing throughout the game.

I agree that the story fell apart towards the end, but remember, I didn't praise the story. I praised the setup. Why were these soldiers attacking Armacham? Who was that little girl? It was compelling enough to get me to run into office buildings to kill bad guys. Once it was revealed, however, it lost its effect somewhat.

As for the bad level design, I though the water treatment plant was confusing to navigate, but other than that, it wasn't bad.

The combat's the best there is for an FPS but other than that? I don't know.

I really liked F.E.A.R. as well, but its diheartening to see how far the series has fallen. The sequel was enjoyable but nothing close to remarkable. F3AR just looks plain bad though, don't really know what they were thinking.

The gunplay and the A.I. is currently the best in the genre, IMO.

Also, am I the only person who loved the office enviroment? For some reason, it suited Fear perfectly. Although it started to get repetitive, it just felt right.

I agree that the story fell apart towards the end, but remember, I didn't praise the story. I praised the setup. Why were these soldiers attacking Armacham? Who was that little girl? It was compelling enough to get me to run into office buildings to kill bad guys. Once it was revealed, however, it lost its effect somewhat.The_Capitalist

Few other games make the mere act of firing a gun so satisfying - and I am certain that FEAR is perhaps the only game that really does it well. The bullets have kick. Enemies do not simply stand in one place and die - you can actually feel the enemies dying from each successive bullet that hits them.

The_Capitalist

Stopped reading here. Thisi just completely false. Not that FEAR doesn't have good gunplay, but it certainly doesn't have anywhere near the best.

[QUOTE="The_Capitalist"]

Few other games make the mere act of firing a gun so satisfying - and I am certain that FEAR is perhaps the only game that really does it well. The bullets have kick. Enemies do not simply stand in one place and die - you can actually feel the enemies dying from each successive bullet that hits them.

Brendissimo35

Stopped reading here. Thisi just completely false. Not that FEAR doesn't have good gunplay, but it certainly doesn't have anywhere near the best.

I've played many a FPS.

Other than Stalker, I can't think of a single FPS I'd think is superior to FEAR in terms on gunplay.

Up there with the best yeah. The best, I don't think so. It had underwhelming enemy and environment variety, also some of the scary stuff was just meh, not very well tought, and when you shoot at walls strange chunks would come out every now and then that ruined the realistic effect. Don't know if missing something.

Only played the demo. Wasn't really that impressed.

[QUOTE="Brendissimo35"]

[QUOTE="The_Capitalist"]

Few other games make the mere act of firing a gun so satisfying - and I am certain that FEAR is perhaps the only game that really does it well. The bullets have kick. Enemies do not simply stand in one place and die - you can actually feel the enemies dying from each successive bullet that hits them.

organic_machine

Stopped reading here. Thisi just completely false. Not that FEAR doesn't have good gunplay, but it certainly doesn't have anywhere near the best.

I've played many a FPS.

Other than Stalker, I can't think of a single FPS I'd think is superior to FEAR in terms on gunplay.

I thought the first fear was alright, nothing special. The storytelling was really bad. Half-life 1 definitely ranks above it in my book.

I did enjoy fear2 more than half-life2 though.

Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. But yes, F.E.A.R. is far and away the better game.

[QUOTE="organic_machine"]

[QUOTE="Brendissimo35"]

Stopped reading here. Thisi just completely false. Not that FEAR doesn't have good gunplay, but it certainly doesn't have anywhere near the best.

tagyhag

I've played many a FPS.

Other than Stalker, I can't think of a single FPS I'd think is superior to FEAR in terms on gunplay.

ARMA 2 is a milsim. FEAR is a video game. I enjoy the shooting in both. But, for your typical video game with engagement distances of less than 100m, FEAR is pretty satisfying.

I'll just name one: ARMA 2.tagyhag

I'll give you that.

But it's a totally different style. For what it is, both games do their particular styles well.

FEAR 1 is amazing.

Pro's

1. Great gameplay. Every weapon is distinct, bullet time is well used, jump kick.

2. Atmosphere is amazing, tension at every corner, you really don't know what's going on.

3. The story was told through the environment aside from a couple of cutscenes.

Con's

1. Too many similar enemies.

2. Too many similar environments.

3. Your radio would go to static when something creepy was about to happen which alleviated some of the tension.

Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. But yes, F.E.A.R. is far and away the better game.

DarkLink77

You're right. Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. It is a feat of epic proportion.

[QUOTE="DarkLink77"]

Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. But yes, F.E.A.R. is far and away the better game.

sonic_spark

You're right. Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. It is a feat of epic proportion.

Half-Life 2 was mediorce to begin with, so it doesn't take that much...

[QUOTE="DarkLink77"]

Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. But yes, F.E.A.R. is far and away the better game.

sonic_spark

You're right. Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. It is a feat of epic proportion.

The only things Half-Life 2 does well is storytelling (which is not story) and atmosphere. That's it. Oh, and Alyx.

FEAR has never felt like anything but a generic shooter to me. Of course it's got scares thrown in, but the gunplay and controls never felt cery sharp compared to the top shooters out, the environments are very run-of-the-mill, and from what I'm hearing the story isn't great either. Just from the discription of even it's supporters it doesn't sound that great to me. Half Life 2 (Orange Box version) was one of the most amazing 1st person shooter experiences I've ever had, but I'd have to play half Life 1 before I can know for sure which is better.

[QUOTE="DarkLink77"]

Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. But yes, F.E.A.R. is far and away the better game.

sonic_spark

You're right. Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. It is a feat of epic proportion.

Meh. Half Life 2 was just mediocre. It only took a free pony ride thanks to it's predecessor's fame, which actually did something for the genre.

I wouldn't call it the best game ever created, but it's certainly one of the best modern first person shooters. The pacing and direction is simply excellent, and the gunplay is near flawless. The only downside is that the environments got old a bit quick, but other than that, it's a brilliant FPS, certainly better than HL2.

[QUOTE="Brendissimo35"]

[QUOTE="The_Capitalist"]

Few other games make the mere act of firing a gun so satisfying - and I am certain that FEAR is perhaps the only game that really does it well. The bullets have kick. Enemies do not simply stand in one place and die - you can actually feel the enemies dying from each successive bullet that hits them.

organic_machine

Stopped reading here. Thisi just completely false. Not that FEAR doesn't have good gunplay, but it certainly doesn't have anywhere near the best.

I've played many a FPS.

Other than Stalker, I can't think of a single FPS I'd think is superior to FEAR in terms on gunplay.

[QUOTE="sonic_spark"]

[QUOTE="DarkLink77"]

Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. But yes, F.E.A.R. is far and away the better game.

glez13

You're right. Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. It is a feat of epic proportion.

Meh. Half Life 2 was just mediocre. It only took a free pony ride thanks to it's predecessor's fame, which actually did something for the genre.

I dont agree at all, but its your opinion so no one can tell you any differnt.

But for me I think Half LIfe 1 and 2 >>> Fear

You're right. Being better than Half-Life 2 is hardly an accomplishment. It is a feat of epic proportion.

sonic_spark

HL2 is as far from mediocre as a game can be. Please look up the definition of mediocre.i5750at4Ghz

I don't think FEAR's gunplay is particularly outstanding. I'd even say it's in the same league as HL2 in that respect. The brilliance of its combat is in the AI, not the guns.Cherokee_Jack

The recoil, the sound, and the effect on the envoirnment all contribute to the gunplay, at least in my definition. That places it above HL2 in my opinion.

[QUOTE="Cherokee_Jack"]I don't think FEAR's gunplay is particularly outstanding. I'd even say it's in the same league as HL2 in that respect. The brilliance of its combat is in the AI, not the guns.organic_machine

The recoil, the sound, and the effect on the envoirnment all contribute to the gunplay, at least in my definition. That places it above HL2 in my opinion.

It's above HL2, and it fits the rhythm of the game well, but it's still not as satisfying as something like COD or Killzone.

[spoiler] ...I'm going to get ripped to shreds for saying that, aren't I. >__> [/spoiler]

It's above HL2, and it fits the rhythm of the game well, but it's still not as satisfying as something like COD or Killzone.

Cherokee_Jack

I don't find that particular style of gunplay very engaging. I can see why people like it, but I'm bored to tears when playing that style FPS.