F.E.A.R review

I just got the game last week... And boy it has been great!

I'm totally in love with the atmosphere. I guess the devs have played a lot of System Shock 2 and Thief 3, as a lot of things do seem similar.
I was getting so freaked out that I was almost jumping around when I accidentally bumped things down from the tables, before knowing that I could do that from a rather long distance (thought I had ghost trailing me).

The best pro I can find, outside the atmosphere has to be the AI. I am constantly getting outflanked and whacked from behind. Sure you can still lay relatively easy traps and get in situations where the enemy tries to hide behind a standing table. But their actions in a firefight seem very professional. Working together to pin you down, then flanking you or covering an attacker.

Some of the weapons are downright cool! The shotgun is normally a weapon I stay away from, I'm an assault rifle guy, but the sheer power of the shotgun is absolutely immense, too much for me to ignore it. Also that odd railgun weapon... Well the effects of it is simply too good to be true.
It seems each weapon is likeable to everybody. Not all are equally good, but those that aren't have an advantage in coolness or wowfactor.
A lot of positive stuff can also be said about the dual pistols... Never have I thought pistols could be that precise or powerful.

Also the enemies are cool.
I usually guage a game on the enemies. Most games have a whole lot of enemies to make sure you don't get tired of them. But FEAR only has a handful, and only two that you meet in any numbers for any lenght of time (at least until where I have got to). But those single enemies are armed differently and use their weapons to their fullests. Shotgunmen advance and attack aggressively, assault riflemen hang back and keep you pinned down. SMGmen love their grenades (and they are fast ones).
But I'm afraid my most beloved enemy only comes in a handful of cases. He is tough, he hides, he is melee, he is hard to spot and best of all he is very intelligent. He retreats after a few strikes.
The first time I met him I thought he was part of some ingame cutscene, so I got very surprised when I suddenly lost a lot of health but had no idea where it came from... A most superb enemy and I would love for him to return later, as after getting ambushed by single enemies (yes they are good enough to take you on 1v1), I was on my toes, barely able to advance fearing he would strike from the shadows. Lovely!

Oh my GOD!!!

I think I'm finally nearing the ending, and now it is getting downright scary to play. Not just wierd or interesting or freaky... No it is scary! That girl is... she is... I can't say it without saying too much, but she is quite a thing.

It has by now reached the levels of The Cradle in Thief III and then some, it ha matched System Shock II when it was most scary and then some... I don't think I have been this shook up for many years.
In fact I was playing right now, but it became too much for me. Never experienced that before.

How do people come up with this stuff?

Well it might not be so bad if it wasn't 10 to 3 in the morning and I'm sitting with those ear-thingies to keep my GF from waking up.
Anyone who likes a good shooter and scary stuff should get this at once!

Btw, my favourite enemies made a short comeback, and they are truly remarkable enemies. Well thought out and very interesting in concept.

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Originally Posted by TosaInu

Are the dots on about every polygon Butcher?

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Well, here's a word of warning to you all: F.E.A.R melted my passive cooled X800, then my fan cooled X850.

It melted the X800 cos I didn't have an adequate airflow though the case, and it melted the X850 as the ati drivers don't wind the fan up until it gets really hot (to keep it quiet).
So i got atitray tool, to mess about with fan speeds with my replacement X850 and it solved the problem, and now runs perfectly.

The game itself wasn't worth the hassle by a long way, replayability is pretty low. The problem I found is that you end up using the GPMG and shotgun pretty much exclusively, due to the scarcity of ammo, which renders the 'cooler' weapons redundant. This is a problem, because after all the 'shocks' are gone, that is what will be the thing to draw you back. Or not, as the case may be.

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Originally Posted by Butcher

The game itself wasn't worth the hassle by a long way, replayability is pretty low. The problem I found is that you end up using the GPMG and shotgun pretty much exclusively, due to the scarcity of ammo, which renders the 'cooler' weapons redundant. This is a problem, because after all the 'shocks' are gone, that is what will be the thing to draw you back. Or not, as the case may be.

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Well, how many FPS games out there are good on replayability? COD, COD II, Max Payne (I and II)? Not too many. The length, the AI and scares make for a very good first timer, just like the others mentioned (though FEAR is much longer).

While I somewhat agree on the weapons I have found a lot of Penetrator ammo, and that weapons is decidedly cool.
Besides, because of the amont of shotguns and GPMGs you can actually use the other weapons until you run out, then switch back to whichever you dropped. I have done that often enough.

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Originally Posted by Kraxis

Well, how many FPS games out there are good on replayability? COD, COD II, Max Payne (I and II)? Not too many. The length, the AI and scares make for a very good first timer, just like the others mentioned (though FEAR is much longer).

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For me, no FPS is replayable.

Anyway, the ending of F.E.A.R. is a masterpiece. ~;)


Arguably a spoiler, read at own risk:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

On the other hand, it feels like all the creepy hours you spent in front of the computer screen was completely waste of time. :juggle2:

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Originally Posted by Viking

F
Anyway, the ending of F.E.A.R. is a masterpiece. ~;)

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I agree.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

When that huge explosion was coming towards you I felt like a rat in a small cage. I was running back and forth across the street trying to find cover.

F.E.A.R. is a masterpiece among FPS IMO.
Good AI, great story and scary.
And what is best is that it runs great on medium on my machine :2thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Viking

For me, no FPS is replayable.

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A few are, at least to me. Such as the old Jedi Knight games, and if you stretch the FPS genre a bit then Deus Ex could also be added. And most certainly System Shock II was replayable as the various classes.
The Thief games were also quite replayable, not because they were new each time, but because it was a different concept to the shooting all the time. There were quite a few ways of doing what was needed (not as in the requirements of the mission, but how you got there).

I don't know if anyone has tried Vietcong, but I find it so replayable it is almost perennial. Every 4 months or so, I fire it up again. Partly, I like the authenticity and the fun story/campaign - it's a little gauche, but still fun, almost like an RPG. Partly, it is fairly challenging for a fairly clueless FPS player like me. It gets the balance between realism and fun just right IMO. I go back to Ghost Recon occasionally, but it is less forgiving (one shot, one kill - including you).

I bought Vietcong 2 but was very disappointed. The lag on my computer makes it no fun - and apparently, it's not just my computer.

FEAR sounds like it might be worth me picking it up - anything that compares with System Shock 2 has great potential, IMO.

Vietcong was horrible.
The idea is good but it was badly executed.
I had huge trouble in getting it to run smoothly and I wasn't the only one.
And on top of that it was fairly buggy.
Don't even get me started on VC2.

FEAR was a great game but it had very little replay value for me. I repeated some sections just to fool around with the slomo but I didn't touch it once I competled it. HL2 had quite a bit of replay value because of the grav gun.

I thought the story and characters in FEAR were very thin. It had great graphics and sounds, but I just didnt find it very engaging.

From what I heard from friends, it's horror atmosphere is unmatched. But I simply don't like to get my hair gray playing a game, I want to relax...gimme COD and let my brain rest from strategies:)

The demo played fine. Son traded a friend for the 5-cd version, but couldn't get it to launch on his machine. He brought it over here today, to try it on Dad's (my) super-dooper alienware.

No dice. After 40-minute install time, it never got past the Sierra logo movie, just black screen for 4-5 minutes before we gave up and tried again, 3-4 times. Uninstall/reinstall = nojoy. First game I've not gotten to run on this rig. I think disc #5 might be munged up.

Jason's friend said it was a great game - but after playing thru twice, he felt "done", hence the trade. I guess that speaks to replayability.

I must strongly disagree with the statement that the ending of FEAR is a masterpiece. I felt highly disappointed by the ending, which I do not think it's even fit to be called.

More specifically:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Fettel does not even put up a fight. No explanation is given for this. It is a complete cop-out and non-event. His death is totally unfufilling and asinine in my view. Renders the whole game pretty much pointless, I say. Not being able to save the blonde girl is also just as disappointing. Not having a chance to makeout with your girlfriend, like the game promises you earlier on, was the most disappointing thing of all. They should not have said you get to makeout with her later and then fail to deliver! I still have no idea why Alma was trying to kill you at the end. Doesn't make any sense at all to me.

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Originally Posted by Navaros

I must strongly disagree with the statement that the ending of FEAR is a masterpiece. I felt highly disappointed by the ending, which I do not think it's even fit to be called.

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Game spoiler below. Don't read it if you don't want to know.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Last chance. Don't read if you don't want to know.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Fettel does not put up a fight because he's your brother. He's trying to help you understand who you are and help direct you to Alma who is your mother. I think Alma wants to kill you to make you like her and Fettel. If you listen to the small remarks made throughout the game, everything is explained. The latest PC Gamer explained the whole game.

For me F.E.A.R. was an excellent romp the first time around. Can't see doing it again. Off to EB for a trade I guess.

Same here - entertaining whizzing through the first time, but there isn't enough in it to play again. I've traded it in for credit against Oblivion...

Plus, it's not exactly a tricky storyline to work out...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Alma being the character's mother comes in pretty much the first chapter, Fettel being the brother comes... well, actually somewhere around mid-way I think...

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Originally Posted by Navaros

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Fettel does not even put up a fight.

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And that my friend.....is a masterpiece. So completely unexpected.

What I am not that fond of, is , that Alma is still alive after the nuclear explosion. The game feels pretty much pointless when she enters the chopper. And even more if you listen to the end-conversation.

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Originally Posted by Viking

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And that my friend.....is a masterpiece. So completely unexpected.

What I am not that fond of, is , that Alma is still alive after the nuclear explosion. The game feels pretty much pointless when she enters the chopper. And even more if you listen to the end-conversation.

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Well I for one completed missed he was his brother. I was hoping for a good fight out against legions of heavily armoured troops.. And her appearing on the chopper was just daft, cos it just didn't make sense..

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Damn... when does Fettel show up? The last humans I saw were zombiefied clones. And we can all agree that it is Harlan Wade that is the guy that get splattered all over the screen by Alma.

Where did I miss him?
Btw, I thought it was pretty clear he was your brother and Alma your mother. At least you can make that connection later on.

So, do you think she came to waste you in the end, or was she merely 'invisible' again? As with Alice Wade.

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Originally Posted by Kraxis

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Damn... when does Fettel show up? The last humans I saw were zombiefied clones. And we can all agree that it is Harlan Wade that is the guy that get splattered all over the screen by Alma.

Where did I miss him?
Btw, I thought it was pretty clear he was your brother and Alma your mother. At least you can make that connection later on.

So, do you think she came to waste you in the end, or was she merely 'invisible' again? As with Alice Wade.

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Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Fettel is the fourth last person you kill. When you`ve killed him, you will find three soldiers behind and to the left of him, hanging with their heads; and that should be the 'zombified clones' you saw. Perhaps you thought Fettel was a clone.

I`m not sure if the connection was clear, as I shortly after I had completed the game read Wikipedia in order to clarify things, and see if I had missed something(I did miss Leo Jankowski's coment about "the New Guy": "-It feels like he looks straight through me." I thought of it as interesting).

I have no clue about what Alma will do.... Her appearance didn`t make much sense to me, but it provided for a good gross.
Would like comments from others on this point.
By alice wade, I supose you mean the deal in that elevator, another thing that I missed. Think I`ll check if I have any saves shortly before this.

Hmmm, that must be it.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Where is that comment meant to be? I can't seem to make the connection. But it fits with all those in-and-out experiences you suffer.

Playing it all drunk in a dark room was quite scary...

The very end was brilliant, made me jump. :)

Storyline is particularly deep too... I think I got most of it but some of this spoiler stuff is new to me.

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Originally Posted by Kraxis

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Where is that comment meant to be? I can't seem to make the connection. But it fits with all those in-and-out experiences you suffer.

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Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In fact, it`s in the very beginning of the game. I read about it on Wikipedia, and then replayed the beginning and found it. It`s after you have been beaten down by Fettel, and you return to Jankowski and Jin. If you wait in the stairs before that room, you will hear their conversation.
I don`t think there is a connection between this and that Alma is The New Guy's mother; but what I said was that I checked on wikipedia after I had completetd the game, such that I am not sure how much that connection(Alma being TNG's moth.) stood out to me. I just gave the comment as an example of things that I didn`t notice. ~:)

I got the game from a friend and played it through. In terms of action and suspence this game has it all going for it. I did tire of the same sort of surroundings all the time half way through, however.

Quid

That's the only bad thing I have to say about this game, its repetetivness (sp?:book:). Plus the length of the game is a bit of a let-down, but other than that FEAR is awesome.

Just to let you know, the latest 1.03-1.04 patch is out.

You can download it here (through xfire): http://www.xfire.com/files/1645/

I bought it, played it, sold it on eBay three days later!!!

Damn game screwed up my comp :furious3: :furious3: :furious3: I had to take it for repairs :wall: :gah:

I enjoyed the game immensely. The only possible gripe I have is the lack of ammo for some guns...more play time with the bullpup would have been appreciated. Just so you know, I do believe an expansion is in the works, will probably expand on the surprise end scene.

Heh. That sounds awesome.

Was gonna start a new thread, but good I found this :)


Thinking of finally getting my hands on F.E.A.R., but ya see, really.... I don't know if I can stand this game. I mean, I can watch horror movies and such, etc., but playing an immersive GAME that does supreme justice to its name is just... I dunno. I've played the demo a while back, and I was SPOOKED OUT! The scene where you go down some ladder where there's water, ARGH!!! Or the part where you walk through a hallway and suddenly(!).... ARGH! :fainting: The atmosphere was so "REAL" I felt this crazed constant chill going down my brain during that part.

I wanna play it, but simultaneously I don't wanna :sweatdrop: