11/07/05 >> F.E.A.R. (PC)
Genre: First-person Shooter/Horror
First I have to say, this review is going to be written in the most unbiased way I can write (if it were based on my opinions the score would be an 8) although it's impossible not to include ANY of my opinions but I shall try nevertheless.
Secondly it's worth pointing out that this game needs a very powerful system to play at 'full' settings, not surprisingly given it's (mostly) lush visuals. I recently got a computer with a 7800 GTX card, 1 GB of RAM, an AMD Dual Core 4400+ and an Audigy ZS, so what I review is based on performance with these settings. Overall it runs extremely well on near to high settings (2x Anti Aliasing, 2x Filtering, 1024 resolution, everything else on highest), only slowing down when a grenade explodes in a room full of interactive objects and enemies.
F.E.A.R. is a supernatural thriller/horror, combined with a traditional First Person Shooter. You battle enemy soldiers mostly, but also some inner demons along the rollercoaster ride that is your family reunion. Yet as my title suggest, I was both disappointed with the game and extremely happy with different things, as I will analyze below.
Since visuals are often the primary selling point of games these days, I thought it apt to start here. The graphics on offer from F.E.A.R. are amazing to look at and interact with, in terms of particle effects and character models. Although you will be seeing the same enemy models time and time again, it's hard to get tired of them when they look so good. And as for the firefights, arguably the main appeal of the game, I have never seen a better imitation of an action movie, indeed an imitation that surpasses that which it is imitating. Bullets ricochet off walls, explosions shake foundations, objects fly about fairly convincingly thanks to the game's physics system and enemy soldiers run about. Also worth mentioning are the various 'vision' sequences in the game and the sightings of Alma (the little girl). These are brilliantly designed from an artistic standpoint and manage to look both original and shocking in their own right.
Inevitably such a game will be compared to the reams of other first person shooters on the PC, and although I think such comparisons are slightly unfair I will mention them briefly to help out. The graphics in my opinion (I knew it would happen sooner or later), are just as good overall as the other top contenders such as Doom 3, Far Cry and Half Life 2, mainly thanks to the amazing effects in firefights, but there is one area that brings F.E.A.R. down. The areas you will be running through the whole time. Every one is dull, drab and ultimately similar to the one before it. Now where as the colorless theme certainly suits the horror elements, it would have been great to have a little bit of variation, as despite myself about two thirds of the way through I was getting very bored of the same environments. However, this is hardly a major problem, so it only detracts one point from the graphics score which are overall incredible and add to the atmosphere nicely.
My absolute favorite thing about this game, which sets it apart from anything else I have played, is the sound. I am a big fan of where the game industry is going with including orchestrated music in its soundtracks, as well as making better and better sound effects. F.E.A.R. is a superb example of this. When cans fall off shelves they clatter, when you hide from enemies their radio chatter crackles around the room, when you fire your gun the bullets thump thump thump into walls and flesh alike, spewing out shell casings to the side of you. Of course I have a 7.1 surround sound system so I can take full advantages of these spectacular fire fights and creepy sound effects in other parts, but I think even without such a system it really would be something special.
I don't quite understand how people can say they never noticed the music in F.E.A.R., unless they are fans of heavy metal or some such trifle things that would not suit this game at all. F.E.A.R.'s soundtrack has become one of my all time favorites for a multitude of reasons. Overall it is incredibly high quality, orchestrated and always fits the scene. In the tense and creepy scenes in between action it will either be low and atmospheric or take the form of sounds that heighten tension. And for the action scenes, especially scripted ones such as helicopter landings and enemy rushes, it will become exciting and grand allowing the blood to really boil in anticipation. Also another thing that is really unique is that often musical flourishes will accompany dramatic events in the game, much like an action movie. From when a gun turret emerges from the ceiling and a dangerous rising score warns you of the danger, to when you meet a goofy technician and the music takes a goofy comical tone to alleviate the game's overbearing tension, it really is something beautiful.
There is not too much to say about the game's storyline without spoiling anything.
((WARNING: There may be a few small spoilers despite my efforts, you have been warned))
You are an elite member of what is supposed to be a Special Forces 'Team', with superhuman reflexes and incredible combat skills even if the game starts as the typical 'first day on the job'. You are sent first to an abandoned apartment complex and then to various other drab locations in search of one Paxton Fettel, a prototype psychic commander gone mad who can control Replica troops (a cloned army designed to be controlled by Fettel's mind) and who has a taste for human flesh. Along the way you will get some scares, many at the hands of the little girl Alma, and listen to phone messages and laptop data slowly expanding the storyline.
Then why the fairly low score, if the storyline succeeds at being creepy and sounds fairly solid? A few reasons. Firstly, and the most disappointing thing about the game for me, is that I hardly found it scary at all. I tried to be scared but really, Doom 3 scared me a lot more. That's because in Doom 3, despite its 'cheap scares', when something scary happens the chances are it can and WILL kill you if you don't do something. In F.E.A.R. almost all of the scary things are superficial; they are only there to scare you and nothing else. Also they can be easily missed if you are looking the wrong way at points. Another thing is that the plot is not really told in a reliable way. You can miss the phones and laptops that unveil plot elements and if you're longing for your next gun battle you may miss references to certain characters 'disappearing'. Finally, I felt the end of the game was rushed and although the ending itself was effective and has certainly made me think, the last few levels are very short and you will find many of the characters you have been chasing through the game all get offed all within a few minutes of each other.
Overall the narrative itself is effective and creepy, if not that original, and the vision sequences mentioned before amp up towards the end in danger. It is just the method in which it is told can be unfortunately missed and this can leave plot holes for individual players.
F.E.A.R. is definitely and obviously a single player orientated game, and for the direction that PC games are going these days, this is great to see. Since the gameplayer has been discussed many times and you probably already have a good idea what it is like, I will try and keep this short.
The best thing and most unique thing about F.E.A.R.'s gameplay is of course the renowned enemy Artificial Intelligence. Since they do not follow scripts but react to what the player does, the soldiers are very dynamic and can sometimes almost seem human in their 'intelligence'. Stand out in the open and you will get shot to pieces, hide behind cover and many different things can happen. Your enemies may try and flush you out with a grenade, wait patiently for you to show yourself and then fire away, or eventually send a pointman out to check if you are still there. They will also lean round corners and even make their own cover, pushing over shelves or other objects to save them from your wrath. Paired with this is the fact that you die very quickly in F.E.A.R. if you do not think strategically in battle, not only because your enemies actually think, but because you die very quickly compared to other games in the genre.
The weapons you have at your disposal are not really anything special, apart from how they sound and look that is. You have double pistols, machine guns, a shotgun, a rather painful needle weapon, and an excellent sniper rifle that turns people into skeletons. These are the slightly more common weapons, but there are also a few special ones for the more tough enemies. Since you can only ever carry three weapons at a time you are often forced to make sacrifices to carry another weapon for a certain situation. Also, melee combat attacks are an original twist if not always all that useful, and they include a scissor kick, a sliding kick and a weapon butt attack. Grenades are also plentiful and make for some great experiences with the Replica soldiers, either for their terrified screams or the results of the impressive explosions.
Of course the one remaining special thing about F.E.A.R.'s gameplay is your super reflexes. Any time at your will you can slow down time in a 'bullet time' effect where you can still aim at full speed but all the enemies see you moving at double speed. This not only makes for some amazing looking effects but is invaluable if you want to survive some of the more furious firefights. The problem with this is that it can make the game too easy if you use it intelligently, but if you on purpose lay off the slow motion it can make the game more exciting in places.
However, the one snag in this great gameplay is that it is not infinitely enjoyable, at least not for me. For most of the game I enjoyed every firefight because there are so many memorable moments that are created and unique situations that emerge. But since there are so many of the same enemy, with only a few variations on the common soldiers at key points in the game, it can get slightly repetitive fighting them over and over again.
Another uncomfortable thing is the pacing of the game. There will almost always be a long (or short) action sequence followed by a 'scary bit', when there are no enemies, just Alma or Fettel trying to scare you and on my part, usually failing. If only these bits were mixed in with the action, for example if Alma made you think you were safe but suddenly drew you out of a vision to find a squad bearing down on you, this would have made the game much scarier for me.
Although multiplayer really does not mean much to me for such a single player oriented game, it is still worth mentioning as I know some people will get this game just for its multiplayer. There is not too much to say here.
The levels all seem to small to cater for 16 players, spawn points are almost always camped and you often die within ten seconds of spawning. True I am definitely not the best multiplayer gamer ever but neither am I the worst, and I have to say that you will die, a lot, in this multiplayer. However on the positive side it is fun in short bursts if you enjoy mayhem. The weapons also seem fairly balanced, and although the slow motion power up often seems completely pointless as it will hardly ever get activated, it is amusing when it does. Overall the game is definitely not worth getting just for its multiplayer in my opinion, but its a nice extra.
Overall the gameplay needed to have a bit more variety, and although first person shooters are not known for their varied gameplay elements, I feel there needed to be just a couple of different types of enemies in F.E.A.R. to make the gameplay all the more lasting. F.E.A.R. has no unlockable extras, at least not to my knowledge, and nothing aside from ramping up the difficulty will be scripted differently on a second play through. However, many will want to play it through again (possibly after a break I will do so too) for more encounters with the unique and exciting enemy A.I.
The single player takes about 10 hours to complete but the drab level design and rushed last fifth could make it a bit of an effort to play through again for some people. This is certainly not a bad length for a first person shooter, but slightly better pacing could have made it more consistent and overall a better experience.
I was very excited about F.E.A.R., I had been looking up on its development for months before its release as many people had, waiting for a scary and exciting experience. Even though it disappointed me in the scares department and has a bit of 'rinse and wash' gameplay to it considering the few enemy archetypes and repetitive locations, overall it is an ambitious game with a lot going for it in the future with planned mods and probably a sequel. Despite its shortcomings, I will always remember the action movie-esque experience F.E.A.R. gave to me and it will live on in my memory long before some "better" games have faded.
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Game Score: 8.7
