F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon (2005 Video Game) User Reviews

One of the Best Games I Have Ever Played

[Simmonz · 9/10 · 9 November 2006]

The first thing I will say is the PC I played this on:

CPU: And Athlon X2 4400+ RAM: 2X 512MB OCZ PC-3200 Graphics Card: 2x BFG 7900GT 256MB Hard Drive: 200GB SATAII Hard Drive Monitor: 20.1" Widescreen Monitor

I run F.E.A.R. with all of the details at maximum, soft shadows on, 4x AA, 16x AF, and at a resolution of 1280*960. I tell you this so you understand my interpretation of the graphics may be different than some.

F.E.A.R. has some of the best graphics I have seen yet. The best part in my opinion being the blood. I take time to look at some poor guy I just massacred on F.E.A.R. because it is that pretty. Also the shadows are very well done to. I like being able to see enemies advancing towards me on walls depending on the circumstances. Another nice touch is when I shoot at a wall pieces come off depending on the gun, and there is dust depending on the surface. One last thing, when you blow enemies up with explosives, you can sever limbs, and the stumps you leave him with trickle out blood, very good touch.

The story to F.E.A.R. is also top notch. It sucked me in and made me want to know more about the main players. I liked how you are given little tidbits of what's going on currently by overhearing radio reports, as well as getting back story by listening to answering machines. I won't spoil the end except to say it was very satisfying.

The game play is net to perfect. The enemy AI is very good. They flank you and work together, retreat if necessary. I would say they are second best to the AI on Far Cry. The slow mo effect worked really well. I was worried going into the game because slow mo effects in first person seemed liked a bad idea, but Monolith pulled it off. In fact it saved my ass countless times. One of my biggest praises of F.E.A.R. is that if you set the difficulty higher the enemies get smarter and better, they didn't simply crank up their health.

F.E.A.R. has a lengthy single player campaign, and multi-player. The single player campaign, on extreme difficulty, took me about 15-20 hours to finish. The multi-player is pretty good as well. I don't play it as often as I thought I would, but it's still decent.

I don't have many gripes with F.E.A.R. but there are some slight things I disliked. For instance you have a flashlight, but it's mounted on your head and only lasts about 1 minute before it has to recharge. I'm sure special forces can come up with a better solution. Secondly the multi-player seems to lack the tactical feel the single player had. It seems like a slightly better version of Counter-Strike.

These things aside, F.E.A.R. rocks. I can't praise it enough. If you have a good enough PC to appreciate the graphics, and you like a game that is fun and also can scare the crap out of you, F.E.A.R. is for you.

Frightening and rewarding gameplay

[MovieAddict2016 · 9/10 · 10 November 2006]

I don't often play videogames these days, but I felt compelled to test out my new PC with this game after reading rave reviews. When it came out in 2005 it seemed to be an underdog - it received glowing comments from critics but didn't make a huge splash like Halo or Half-Life. Now, with its debut on XBox 360, it seems to be making more of a fuss; but this game is almost a year old (in its PC form) and I hadn't heard a thing about it until a few weeks ago.

I found it at Circuit City and brought it home. The packaging didn't look too promising because I'm not really into tactical shooters or Army combat games, but after installing the five discs (!) onto my hard drive and running the game I immediately realized it wasn't anything like what I had expected.

The storyline is effective even if it's a rip-off of the whole Asian horror cinema influence of recent years. It's basically just "The Grudge" with combat action as far as the story is concerned (although the actual gameplay differs from most combat shooters). You're a member of an elite squadron of marines known as "F.E.A.R." (it stands for something like First Encounter Action Recon, which is kind of contradictory since recon doesn't usually involve much action, but oh well).

FEAR traces supernatural occurrences and your first mission is to assassinate a man who has become possessed by the spirit of a young girl who is causing him to kill and cannibalize people.

The game moves through different terrain but I was surprised by how well it sets everything up. If this were a film no doubt its plot line would be sabotaged by critics but as an interactive game it works very well. It's a cinematic experience and the cut-scenes and dramatic action sequences work well - you can tell many of the high-profile action set-ups were developed extensively for the player to experience the full benefit of the "cinematic gameplay" advertised on the back of the box. This is the first time I've played a game and felt like almost every single level had been designed to flow in a very specific, cinematic way - Half-Life 2 was similar but a bit also enabled more free-range. FEAR kind of manipulates you into following a specific path to complete levels, but it works to this game's benefit because there are some spectacular sequences. When there's an explosion you don't just get the same effects used over and over. When you shoot someone they don't fall down the same way as every other person who falls does.

It's also the creepiest game I've ever played. "Doom 3" wasn't scary because there were too many monsters and it became too repetitive. But FEAR works well because you never know what to expect and they don't over-do the occurrences of the supernatural. One part of the game in particular that freaked me out was when I was crouching in a ventilation shaft, and as a pipe burst and steam hissed in front of the character, the ghost-girl appears out of nowhere scurrying towards you through the dark like the creatures at the end of "Aliens" (I think it was a purposeful reference to the film). Very nicely done.

The shift between action and supernatural works most of the time, although I think sometimes the balance is thrown off a bit. On one level in particular you spend about thirty minutes walking around an office building shooting at enemies, and suddenly the last ten minutes of the level turn into a supernatural thriller and suddenly it seems like all the "regular" villains have completely disappeared. And just as soon as the supernatural stuff vanishes the bad guys are back again. I think in the next game they should develop a better mix of action with supernatural in regards to integrating the enemies into the supernatural sequences as well; otherwise, it feels a bit wishy-washy.

This is a small complaint. The game kept me riveted. It also features some of the best gameplay and special effects I've ever seen in a game. It takes the cinematic integration of Half-Life 2 and takes it up a notch. The cut-scenes make it feel more like an actual movie at times and the enemy AI is the best I've seen in a game since Half-Life 2 - they react realistically to what you do in the game, and interact with each other over their radios.

Overall this is one of the most memorable games I've ever played and certainly following suit of Half-Life 2 as being one of the most revolutionary FPS games of the new millennium. These new game engines are changing the face of their genre and integrating cinema into the game universe in a way unlike ever before.

One of the Best Games I have Ever Played

[Simmonz · 9/10 · 9 November 2006]

The first thing I will say is the PC I played this on:

CPU: And Athlon X2 4400+ RAM: 2X 512MB OCZ PC-3200 Graphics Card: 2x BFG 7900GT 256MB Hard Drive: 200GB SATAII Hard Drive Monitor: 20.1" Widescreen Monitor

I run F.E.A.R. with all of the details at maximum, soft shadows on, 4x AA, 16x AF, and at a resolution of 1280*960. I tell you this so you understand my interpretation of the graphics may be different than some.

F.E.A.R. has some of the best graphics I have seen yet. The best part in my opinion being the blood. I take time to look at some poor guy I just massacred on F.E.A.R. because it is that pretty. Also the shadows are very well done to. I like being able to see enemies advancing towards me on walls depending on the circumstances. Another nice touch is when I shoot at a wall pieces come off depending on the gun, and there is dust depending on the surface. One last thing, when you blow enemies up with explosives, you can sever limbs, and the stumps you leave him with trickle out blood, very good touch.

The story to F.E.A.R. is also top notch. It sucked me in and made me want to know more about the main players. I liked how you are given little tidbits of what's going on currently by overhearing radio reports, as well as getting back story by listening to answering machines. I won't spoil the end except to say it was very satisfying.

The game play is net to perfect. The enemy AI is very good. They flank you and work together, retreat if necessary. I would say they are second best to the AI on Far Cry. The slow mo effect worked really well. I was worried going into the game because slow mo effects in first person seemed liked a bad idea, but Monolith pulled it off. In fact it saved my ass countless times. One of my biggest praises of F.E.A.R. is that if you set the difficulty higher the enemies get smarter and better, they didn't simply crank up their health.

F.E.A.R. has a lengthy single player campaign, and multi-player. The single player campaign, on extreme difficulty, took me about 15-20 hours to finish. The multi-player is pretty good as well. I don't play it as often as I thought I would, but it's still decent.

I don't have many gripes with F.E.A.R. but there are some slight things I disliked. For instance you have a flashlight, but it's mounted on your head and only lasts about 1 minute before it has to recharge. I'm sure special forces can come up with a better solution. Secondly the multi-player seems to lack the tactical feel the single player had. It seems like a slightly better version of Counter-Strike.

These things aside, F.E.A.R. rocks. I can't praise it enough. If you have a good enough PC to appreciate the graphics, and you like a game that is fun and also can scare the crap out of you, F.E.A.R. is for you.

The best action-horror game...EVER!!!

[ehudzilburg · 10/10 · 12 May 2006]

Since i bought this game, i am playing it over and over, because it's a very special game. Why? Because the effects...the horror this game has...it's almost as a combination of "The Ring" and a John Woo film. The Slow-Mo and the bullets flying through the air is almost as in The Matrix films, and the psychopath killing, and the weird story which is getting cleared minute by minute. I liked Fettel's crazy character...the one that slaughters people. And the so surprising story is making me jump off my chair. The game is so scary your fingers will start to twitch. Once you play it, you can't get your hands off it. Recommended.

For those who figured why not just blow the little girl in "The Ring" away with a shotgun.

[Aaron1375 · 8/10 · 3 July 2007]

I am not the biggest shooter fan in the world. Normally, if I do play a shooter there has to be some sort of twist for it to be fun for me. In this one you have a supernatural presence throughout the game that appears here and there, usually in interludes between chapters. The story, a special missions force is sent to capture the leader of a mysterious army, an army that does whatever the leader says, a sort of clone army. Well there is more than there seems, as this little girl starts appearing here and there and really causing havoc. You spend the game trying to learn her secret and the connection between her and the military commander and even yourself. As far as shooters this one is pretty cool, I loved the shotgun weapon the best as everything else ran out of ammo a bit fast. The fighting is fast, and it is rather hard to be stealthy as the enemy soldiers lock on you rather quickly. Still, you get your shots in...there is a lot of tension too as you never know what will be thrown your way next. A few enemies are a pain even on easy level, but for the most part it was not that hard navigating through this game to the somewhat bizarre ending.

Has This Game Aged Well?

[ralo229 · 9/10 · 1 January 2016]

Absolutely. This game originally came out in 2005, but I didn't start playing it until Christmas of 2015. And honestly, it's probably one of the most realistic, creepy, and decently challenging shooters I think I've ever played.

Pros:

-Smart AI

-Dripping in atmosphere

-Fantastic level design

-Gunplay still really holds up

Cons:

-Story is a bit tough to follow

-Graphics haven't aged that well, but it's not too bad

-Does suffer from its fair share of glitches.

But most of those cons are just nitpicks. FEAR is a fantastic game and I highly recommend it.

Best FPS Ever

[brjedi26 · 15 December 2005]

This is certainly the best First Person Shooter (FPS) that I've ever played. The AI is amazing. They do things you would never expect an AI to do. They do things like having one guy shoot suppressive fire over your head while another comes around behind you. There are very few places in the game where you can count on the fact that no one can come up behind you. As I've basically said, the game play alone makes this game worth playing. And, though I haven't yet beaten the game, the story seems to be entertaining also. There are some drawbacks, however. Because the majority of the game is so well put together, the flaws are fairly noticeable (but they are all very small and definitely don't detract from the the enjoyment). One of the flaws I've noticed is that vases don't seem to break. I've shot them and while they're not just scenery and they do fall to the floor, they still don't break. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a vase in real life that could take a shell full of buckshot and fall to the floor intact. The other major drawback is also one of the good things. The game looks amazing. Unfortuantly, this means that it takes a very powerful computer to play well. I know no one else who has a computer that can play the game. All in all, if you have a computer that can play the game, it is well worth the price (that is, I paid the $50 that most computer games are when they are first released).

Edit: I was wrong about the vases. The vases in single player do break. The vases in multiplayer do not. They are objects to be avoided otherwise you will kick them and give away your position more readily

This game should be changed to NSMP - Nearly S**t My Pants

[Margera4445 · 10/10 · 8 October 2008]

When I traded my friend TimeShift for F.E.A.R, I expected it to be this crazy shoot-em-up, out of your mind thriller that never relented for a second. Of course, it was a crazy, shoot-em-up, out of your mind thriller that relented for a little bit then kicked your sorry ass into oblivion.

The game follows you, the "F.E.A.R Operative", the "New Guy", the "Rookie", or as the boys down at Monolith call him "The Point Man", as he goes out on his first task with F.E.A.R, a secret special ops outfit designed to take on supernatural threats to national security. When a man goes insane at his place of business, killing employees and taking over the Replica clone soldiers using his mind, they send you in to clean up and take out the trash, and you do just that. Using your sophisticated focus ability which enables you to slow down time and kill people with more accuracy, you go through the high tech zones of Armacham territory. Armacham, if you didn't know, is a high fallutin' science corporation hellbent on creating clones controlled by mind powers, and it's their want for this that starts this mess. Now realizing what forces you face, you must make it through the slums, Armacham HQ and a secret facility to find the mastermind behind the release of the clone soldiers and take him out before the supernatural threat grows from just one town to the entire country.

CONCEPT - 10/10 - I've gotta say, little girls, no matter where they be, have creeped me out since The Shining when "Come play with us, danny" rang through the surround sound of my living room. And the concept of a supernatural force in the form of a little girl in a red dress seemed a li'l creepy to me. Especially when I found out that this li'l girl could blast me out of a window using her mind powers to blow up everything possible. This game is about as entertaining and as gripping as ((And yes, I'm going' there again)) Half Life 2. I'd recommend it for anyone who's into gory horror stories and little girls lunging at you with the intent of spilling your throat juice all over the tiled floor.

ENVIRONMENTS - 9/10 - The environments were well done. but seeing the same corridor for 10 minutes straight got a li'l nerve racking.

ENEMIES - 10/10 - I have to say bravo for the AI demonstrated in the enemies of the game. They really outdid themselves. You can hide from enemies, sneak up on enemies, and they'll interact the way another player would. only complaint, the same enemies appear to often in the same places. But still, that doesn't hide the fact that these were some pretty kickass enemies.

OVERALL - 10/10 - If there's ever a game that makes me turn on my closet light and check twice under my bed, it's this one. This game really shook me and that's a lot to say for a game like this. It will freak you out and you will have to play it in the dark to get the full essence of it. But a li'l game character like Alma, the dark, creepy li'l red dress girl from the game, and the exploding hallway scene will never cease to amaze gamers and this game will never cease to shake gamers to their core.

One of the best games ever made

[jacobtinsdale · 9/10 · 29 July 2015]

F.E.A.R.: First Encounter Assault Recon is mind blowing. It has Good Action, A seriously scary atmosphere, and an amazing story.

I found the story a bit confusing to be honest, which is good, because that is probably what Monolith productions was going for. I tried to just play the game, and have fun, which I did.

On the first time round I managed to pick up that Alma was a powerful psychic, mother of Fettel, the one you are trying to kill, who is also commanding a Battalion of Cloned Soldiers, then in a plot twist you were the other son of Alma, and Fettels brother. Harlan Wade is your grandfather, and Alice Wade is your aunt.

On the second time playing, I found out much more from laptops and phones about all the experiments and who was involved, and other stuff like that.

I would also recommend the other games, created by Monolith, Day 1, and even the Vivendi expansions (Extraction Point I didn't enjoy as much, but not terrible).

Final Review: 9.2 / 10

"Can we please change our acronym? I know it fits, I just get this sense that it works as a magnet for evil"

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 8/10 · 23 December 2009]

This review is of the Director's Cut(!) DVD version. I'll start with going over the bonus material. There is a well-made behind-the-scenes making-of documentary, a one hour commentary track(no, I swear, this isn't a movie) by a handful of the most important crew members, a short and excellent(though they overdid the lighting) live-action prequel, and what may only be episode 1(?) or something of the Machinima series, which is pretty funny. This FPS title has aspects of survival horror, and its marvelous atmosphere is the best part of it. The sound is especially vital to this; it is extremely carefully crafted to evoke pure psychological terror. It is not noisy, and it does not grate on the nerves. The unnerving audio, the well-composed music, not to mention the portions of this that are nearly silent all make this thoroughly creepy. Whether or not it ultimately pays off is depends on each individuals expectations. The voice acting is also immensely good, with no exceptions. Every now and then, apparitions and such show up before your eyes. This mood is frankly so effective that it successfully distracts you from the entirely linear(if well-designed and purty) levels. The replay value lies solely in the four difficulty(you can change it at any time) settings, and trying multi-player. It has a dozen maps and nine modes. A couple of them employ Reflex Time, the feature that allows you to slow down time. Now, I am compelled to point out... you are not Neo. In fact, you're not even Mouse. You can not dodge bullets. It can be useful to you, and in certain situations, necessary. And it definitely is pretty cool. I like it enables you to fire at a grenade after tossing it and, I kid you not, it will explode in mid-air. You also get to play with proximity mines and remote bombs, that you can pick up if you don't, you know, blow 'em up. Every weapon in this is unique, and has pros and cons to it. Apart from a pistol(that can be dual-wielded), an SMG, a shotgun and an assault rifle, the arsenal has stuff that is fairly sci-fi, such as the triple-barrel rocket launcher, and the particle-based thing, that either has enemies exploding in blood, or instantly burning off their skin, leaving their body as a charred skeleton. You can carry three at a time, so you have to be selective. Melee combat is an option, if it, in spite of being powerful, doesn't seem viable that often(I kinda wonder why they put that much effort into it as they clearly did... there's a nice assortment of moves). You can affect the environment to a reasonable extent. The physics engine is expertly done, you can really see the impact that you have on your surroundings. The graphics are impeccable; animations are smooth, and FX(water, reflection, etc.) are astonishing. The puffs of smoke and such if you hit other stuff than the foes can make it impossible to tell what's going on beyond the cloud; was this intentional? It is the only negative to the visual side of this. Well, apart from those red edges during RT that blur out whether or not you get attacked. And it is a tad awkward that you can activate some of the monitors you find, but not all of them, because you can't properly tell unless you point straight at them, and it'll either give the message that you can activate it or not. You may already know that this is similar to Half-Life. You always control the camera, and it remains bound to the first person perspective(that does mean that you have to look in the right directions to not miss anything). Cut-scenes often allow you to move around. Heck, you can see your arms, hands, legs and feet, if you're climbing, swimming or otherwise in a position to spot them in real life. And the AI is rather well-done. It is adaptive, and they will jump over railings to get to you, take cover, lay down suppressing fire, etc. They can hear you, see you, as well as spot you by the beam of your trusty flashlight(with batteries that die annoyingly fast... well, they recharge swiftly, too). It would be nice with a wider spectrum(gotta love that the majority of them let out a blood-curdling scream upon their demise), and for seeming imposing, this lacks one that stands out, in the "I don't wanna be fighting *that* guy!" way. Finally, this feels like you're in a film. Specifically, like The Ring meets Universal Soldier, as directed by John Woo. Yeah, let's be honest; this is not exactly original. It takes elements already done masterfully elsewhere, and puts them together. I'm not claiming it does a poor job of that, and it would be a shame if anyone reading this thought that I did not enjoy this, as, in both cases, nothing would be further from the truth. With that said, Max Payne did Bullet-Time, and it was better(and infinitely more helpful) there. And we've seen young, terrifying girls before. However, this might be the first VG to hold one(not to mention the adding of mind-controlled troopers to the mix, that's new), and again, it is done oh so well. The plot and the mystery are interesting(if one twist is *way* too excessively hinted at, and immediately figured out). I gotta admit, for a while, after it initially grabbed my attention(in a stranglehold), I wasn't sure why I was getting tired of it. Then I realized it: It's so repetitive. For as nifty the haunted kind of thing and the isolation is, the game-play usually consists of searching and battles against the handful of types of opposition. It grows stale. The ending isn't half bad. Not everyone will like it. The humor varies, it can make you laugh sometimes. There is disturbing content, violence(a bit of it brutal/gory), and gratuitous swearing in this. I recommend this to any fan of the concept. 8/10

From your 3d game reviewer -

[ratcat0 · 8/10 · 13 January 2017]

Do you have a game you want reviewed for its 3D playability (as opposed to standard 2D)Contact me at [e-mail] for a request to review your title. When it came out, F.E.A.R was a standout game. 3D works extremely well with both convergence and depth turned all the way up. Nvidia's 3D rating is Excellent and that is correct. Just like many earlier games the 3D is fabulous, some games represent in 3D but only as far as standard background will appear in depth however FEAR is completely 3D, all objects are in full depth and if you go high enough in convergence your gun will come out of the screen and hover over your keyboard. Although you probably don't want convergence set that high due to the fact that the higher convergence creates the shrinking world effect. Ceilings seem to be only inches above your head. Just about any PC will play this game these days but 3D requires just a bit more grunt. Sadly many new titles do not play well in 3D due to the complex shadows involved but you can always check the helix website for a downloadable fix. There are many 'jump out of your seat' moments in FEAR and it still holds its own after all these years. Later versions IE: Fear 2 and 3 are really just more of the same but the original story makes you think twice about crossing a small girl! [e-mail] for all your 3D game review requests.

No more than what the developers wanted for it.

[perceptive_detective · 4/10 · 19 December 2022]

F. E. A. R combat and gameplay, are all the game developers at Monolith are trying to push and have players' experience. The main gameplay loop is for the Point man to go from place to place and get into shootouts in between checkpoints. The main selling point of the experience is the Point Mans ability to slow down time and pick off enemies one by one before time runs out. As well you will push buttons to open doors, switch loadouts, and send information your director Betters. Not very stimulating in general, as the game really lacks variety in gameplay and approaches for the player to solve problems, as well it is very repetitive. What helps spice things up is the enemy A. I which actively works to advance the player and take them out with high degrees of ferocity and tactics. They can flank the player, attempt to flush them out with grenade drops, maneuver around the level to take cover or search for the player, and much more. But all this mystique and intelligence felt lost as the game went on, as I'm not sure if I've mentioned but the game is repetitive, so I started to lose that sense of threat when I became accustomed to the game. Small tips: quick save often and try get in the habit of healing whilst using the slow-motion ability.

Overall F. E. A. R presents a simple and un-engaging plot, and a narrative brimming with unrecognized potential. All in an effort to give some level of context to the games selling point of slow-motion shooting I believe, and if this was the developers main goal, then more power to them, but I felt we could have the great gameplay and a story that makes me feel anything at all. As it stands, there is a disconnect between the gameplay, the story, and the Japanese horror elements. Did not like it.

Overall, F. E. A. R. presents an interesting fictional division of paranormal suppressors that could've been interesting and cool to follow, had their potential been recognized or even glanced at. They are overall incredibly disappointing and uninteresting characters to play alongside and to follow.

The world presented in F. E. A. R is uninteresting and void of life. Atmospherically it is quite good, with that emptiness playing into how alone and vulnerable we as the Point Man feel when traversing, as literally everything is trying to kill you, or forces you into things.

F. E. A. R seeks nothing more than to present audiences with its' core selling point of slow-motion shooting. It makes no effort to tell and interesting story, present a fascinating world, or give compelling characters. It merely seeks to make players have a sense of fun with killing people in slow motion by sacrificing deeper context for repetitive gameplay and shallow combat, and for me, even that goal alone I think is worth applauding and valuing, as they gave gamers something they've never played before. Even now, F. E. A. R's slow-motion combat has not been replicated (as far as I know), leaving F. E. A. R as the only game on the market currently (Dec, 2022) with this mechanic. As well I applaud Monolith's attempts at making a horror styled shooter. Finally, I believe that F. E. A. R still holds up today, and is noteworthy for it's slow-motion mechanic, and its' Artificial Intelligence.

F.E.A.R. of Darkness

[Wolfdemon · 2 November 2006]

Horror has been synonymous with First Person Shooters for a long time. These horror-themed fps games have been known to scare us but none scared us worse than F.E.A.R. from Sierra Entertainment and Monolith Productions.

Plot: You are a new member of F.E.A.R. as their point man. F.E.A.R. is sent to investigate a series of deaths committed by a psi-terrorist named Paxton Fettel while at the same time, you see a mysterious little girl stalking you. During your mission, you experience flashbacks of your life and horrific hallucinations. You must rely on your godly reflexes and powerful weapons to stop Paxton and solve the mystery of your origin. 5/5

Graphics: What can I say about the graphics? Monolith has done an awesome job on the graphics of F.E.A.R. Very much like Monolith's other game, Condemned: Criminal Origins, F.E.A.R. makes good use of poor lighting, so use your flashlight in darkened rooms. 5/5

Sound: F.E.A.R. also makes good use of its atmospheric music and sounds. Sounds of humans screaming and hearing voices will send chills down your spine. 5/5

Gameplay: The game play features Matrix-style combat. In slow motion, you'll gain an advantage over your foes and watch them die in slow motion. Something never done before in a first person shooter. You'll go through parts of the game where you experience hallucinations and hear voices. It's no wonder F.E.A.R. won so many awards. 5/5

F.E.A.R. truly is a gem among first person shooters. It sucks that Sierra Entertainment and Monolith Productions won't be working on any more games together but at least they own 80/20 on the game.

Final Review: 5/5

Beautiful take on the genre!

[dtrani · 9/10 · 3 August 2019]

F.E.A.R. is an absolute amazing game that perfectly mixes both First Person shooter action and Horror better than any other game like it during its year. What makes the slo-mo/bullet-time feature so good, is that it's not just an added feature to improve gameplay. The slo-motion feature is a vital part to the game and is very much a landmark for the franchise. The story is also well made, through its use of giving the player bits of the story as they move along. It works very well with dynamics, cutting back and forth from quiet nerve-racking moments to andrenaline-inducing action. Very good game

Great horror shooter

[lekret-86543 · 10/10 · 18 April 2019]

I got this game by a friend lending it to me for 2 weeks. I still have it. So basically he forgot about it and I've kept it since and I gotta say I don't feel guilty taking this great game from him.

Let's talk about the story. It's not that bad, and while I won't spoil it for you, it can be pretty creepy and really interesting.

In terms of graphics this game excels at it pretty well. The textures are top notch, the animation is fluent and smooth, and the lighting is ultra realistic and plays into the gameplay.

The sound is pretty good too, with realistic sound affects. Music is very ambient and atmospheric, and fits the tone of the game.

The gameplay is really good, with a couple of puzzles and some really scary segments that serve as the story segments as well. Gunplay is fun and satisfying and the gore makes it more satisfying too. Remember when I said that lighting played a role in the gameplay? Yeah it does in the way that if you see an enemy shadow then it's there.

I only have a few issues with this game, but they are small and not game breaking by any standards. For one, the flashlight goes out pretty fast and it's annoying to have to keep flicking it on. And second, some areas of the game are pretty long, like the office. Third, some places look awful, especially the ones without lighting.

So should you get this game? Yeah, it's a great game, and it's really cheap on gog. Check it out.

Fantastic Game!

[evilaad5 · 8/10 · 15 November 2006]

I have recently completed F.E.A.R. on the xbox 360 and wanted to write a review for people who might be interested in this game.

F.E.A.R. reminds me of movies like The Grudge and The Ring. You are a member of the F.E.A.R.(First Encounter Assault Recon) team which handles paranormal threats.

The story is pretty cool and brings you to all kinds of places. The environments are big, dark and creepy. It reminded me of Doom 3, where you would walk through a corridor or room and suddenly you hear something behind you, you turn around and there is nothing there only to turn around again and being attacked by a horrible monster. There are lots of scary moments in the game like that.

The A.I. was very challenging. They try to work out tactics, trying to flank you, smoke you out or get up behind you. They are really good team players.

The graphics are really awesome, the fire and explosions effects are top notch and so are the lighting and gore effects. Your enemies can be totally obliterated, losing arms, legs, heads and other horrible ways to die. The level design is pretty good as well, although sometimes you lose your way it never gets frustrating since there are more ways to get from A to B. But I encourage to check out every corner and every inch of the environment for weapons and med kits and boosters for your health and reflex abilities.

The reflex system(slow motion mode) works very well and was designed to help you out in the harder parts of the game so don't waste it on the wrong time.

The sounds are very good as well, you hear voices and other creepy sounds all around you every now and then. There isn't much music it's more sounds that make you feel uncomfortable. The sound that all your guns make is also really satisfying.

The weapons in this game start out like your average shooter but further on in the game you will find some new toys to play with.

The multiplayer part is pretty cool as well, you have teambased games like capture the flag or team deathmatch but also normal deathmatch and other types of online or network play. The thing I would really had loved was playing the campaign in coorperative mode like in Perfect Dark Zero, Doom 3, Halo 1 and 2 and so on.

There are also some bad things about F.E.A.R. like the flashlight, it doesn't last long and has to reload its batteries. I also had some problems with the melee attacks, when you carry a weapon and hit the melee button and try hit something my gun was replaced for hand to hand combat, but it didn't happen very often though. The game isn't extremely long, I completed it under 8 hours playing the normal difficulty.

Overall this is an awesome game with great visuals and great action. I would recommend this game to anyone who loves first person shooters and horror.

A good FPS dressed up as pseudo-horror to bad effect

[Rob_Taylor · 5/10 · 5 December 2005]

Don't get me wrong, F.E.A.R. does for urban environments what Far Cry did for the outdoors. It's a great First Person Shooter and the effects of gunfights are very well done thanks to the particle physics engine of the game.

In fact, for excitement it comes close to Far Cry, lacking only the vehicle driving exploits of that game to make it a better creature. This is offset by the "bullet-time" mode, where you go into slo-mo and can pick and fire far more accurately than you would normally. Great for those times of overwhelming odds, or if you just feel like re-enacting the Matrix.

So having said that I'm impressed with the game in general it is with some regret that I have to report that all is not well in FEAR-land.

Gunfire effects such as bullet-holes have a tendency to disappear with time, which is an annoyance to be found in most of these games. Having spent an inordinate amount of time taking out an enemy strongpoint and completely wrecking the joint, it is disheartening to find upon your return a few moments later that the bullet-ridden walls have healed themselves, whilst broken windows and enemy bodies still litter the place.

You also can't shoot through walls either. A rifle round will handily go through any number of partition walls of the type typically found in homes and offices, yet here all the walls are bullet-proof. Not very realistic when they went to all the trouble of making the firefights look so pretty. Nothing ever seems to catch fire, either, no matter how many rockets or grenades you throw at it.

Luckily this isn't too much of a problem because FEAR rarely requires you to backtrack much. The levels are extremely linear in nature and there are only rarely instances where you can choose between two routes to the same destination.

Although you have a choice of weapons only two stand out as "must haves" in certain situations. The shotgun is handy when dealing with the near invisible assassins - let them get close then blast them - whilst the sniper rifle of choice is the futuristic Particle Cannon with its unerring accuracy and big zoom scope. For general clone soldier destruction any of the weapons will suffice, though the leader types take some hits before going down.

Don't be afraid to use the ammo either, there's a plentiful supply to be had from fallen enemies, though resist the urge to carry an empty weapon around until you find more ammo. Ammunition doesn't exist in the game unless it is inside a weapon, so you'll never find clips or boxes of shells etc. When a gun is empty, throw it away and use whatever is available that isn't and you'll have no worries.

The biggest problem I have with the game is the pseudo-horror element. This is sort of Ring-like in its nature and, frankly, just gets in the way. At first it'll make you jump when a phantom appears only to disintegrate before your eyes. You may even waste a few rounds of ammo on it. But, after a couple of times you can easily tell the difference between phantoms and those that will shoot back at you and you end up just ignoring them. In effect, they become a mild irritation - a nuisance. Any disseminated information is often mumbled to the extent you can't understand it.

More aggravating are the horror "cut-scenes" designed to give you "important" information on the back-story to the game. Again these are destructive to the game's mood but the difference is you can't ignore them since many are laced with spectres that will harm and even kill you. Worse yet, don't forget to save the game after each of these since an untimely death will have you going through them again otherwise.

The final insult in the "horror" stakes is the finale. You get to shoot at spectres until your sick of it, making them "pop". It's nowhere near as satisfying as pumping a dozen rounds into a soldier, watching him jerk around as the rounds hit then slump to the floor in a spray of blood.

The last section generally is displeasing because there is less shooting of bad guys and more "problem solving" exercises which basically involving going from one place to another throwing switches.

If you mixed the particle physics, urban environments and bullet-time of FEAR with the outdoor settings and vehicle use of Far Cry and actually made things permanently destructible and respond to damage as they would in real life then you'd have a winner. Maybe one day...

In short then, a good game ruined by trying to dress it up as something it wasn't meant to be. If you ignore the horror elements as much as possible and stop playing when you reach the reactor area the game will be far more rewarding. Carry on and you'll be disappointed.