F.E.A.R.

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I finished F.E.A.R. (the single player campaign) over the weekend, and I can honestly say it’s a superb game, in so many ways.



You cannot do better if you are in the market for a scary shooter. Call of Cthulhu has the creepiness, but can be frustrating in its difficulty. Doom 3 has the frights but its trap-setting gets predictable after a while- you know at that end of that armour shard trail an imp will teleport in behind you.

Certainly F.E.A.R. is of the same school of horror shooters as Doom 3. It’s beautiful looking, with amazingly realistic light effects. It’s definitely adults only in terms of intense graphic violence and language. Creeping around in dark passageways, you certainly become damn reliant on your torch. And you are regularly freaked out by flashes of disorientating imagery and superb sound editing.

F.E.A.R. also draws on a gaming heritage that includes classics like Half Life and Max Payne. The AI is responsive and smart (numerous times my flash light alerted soldiers to my presence) and strategic use of bullet time can swing just about any battle in your favour. Plus, there’s nothing like the gratification of blasting someone into bloody mist and gibs with your shotgun at point blank range, in slow motion.

I really did see a lot of Half Life and May Payne in the game, particularly in terms of the slowly unravelling conspiracy at the heart of a surprisingly strong storyline. It’s a conspiracy with a paranormal twist of course…

And for anyone who snickers at the game’s use of the evil little girl concept that has become a staple of popular culture horror these days (The Ring, Resident Evil, Forbidden Siren etc. etc.), just wait until the end of the game. Creepy little chickie poo gets replaced by something far more disturbing…

F.E.A.R. is definitely a system hog, but it is actually one of those rare cases where an upgrade to play it is really worth the effort.

Comments

Stacey said…
Do you ever play chilled out, non-violent games?

Give me "cartoon-like" games any day .... Ice Age 2 FTW ; )
3:38 PM
Pfangirl said…
I played Samurai Jack last weekend if that counts, and I really had my eye on an Asterix and Obelix game... I've specifically asked Paul to bring back Psychonauts for PS2 from the UK- that's supposed to be a superb adventure game.

Otherwise, I don't normally play that kind of thing anymore. I grew out of it;) It's a great start to gaming though.

Happy birthday for the weekend, BTW!
7:51 AM
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