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.
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.