FPS horror games aren't something you see all that often. "The Undying" was one of the only games I can remember that successfully blended first-person action with horror elements, but it didn't sell that well. Probably the most successful was Doom 3, and that wasn't even marketed as a horror game. While the genre is a perfect one to really scare the pants off gamers (since you're literally looking through the protagonist's eyes), it's just rare to see a FPS game stress the horror possibilities, and do it successfully.
Until F.E.A.R.
The First Encounter Assault Recon squad is a highly secret government agency that was created to check out and battle with supernatural enemies. The setup asks you to investigate a guy with a cannibalistic side to him who is able to command a legion of cloned super-soldiers. You're one of the F.E.A.R. units assigned to this task, and you are known as having "off the chart" reflexes.
Before you know it, you'll find yourself involved in a intricate conspiracy. The story, while it never really explains the background of the F.E.A.R. group, does a good job of setting up an interesting story for you to investigate. As the game progresses, things get more and more horrible, adding to the game's intrigue.
Most of the time, you'll be too busy shooting up the place to investigate much. The game seems to have two distinct sides to it. Mostly there will be an influx of constant enemy soldiers to obliterate. There are times, however, where the game shifts focus, the lights go dim, and you're having to creep your way through ghosts trying to scare you.
The creepiest of these is a little girl (think "the Ring") who seems to follow you around, stare at you, and even jump at you every once in a while. It's truly a creepy game, and although most of the scares do follow the pattern of jumping at you from around corners, there are times where it's able to transcend those cheap moments and become truly frightening. Play this one at night with the lights off and the volume up, and I almost guarantee the hairs on the back of your head will be rising.
The game is a joy to play. The controls will be familiar to anyone who's piloted a FPS before, and a "slow-mo" mode has been added to simulate your guy's amazing reflexes. In this mode, you get a fully-featured "bullet time" mode where time seems to slow down and you can blast your way through some of the trickiest parts of the game. It works extremely well and helps you get through some of the tough spots.
Other than that, it's pretty standard. What makes F.E.A.R. so great is the way the weapons handle. They just feel right in the game. There's a major kick to them – not only in how responsive they are when you click the fire button, but in the complete destruction they wreak on your enemies and the environment. Pretty much everything is destructible, such as boxes and the various items around the levels. Firefights get insanely intense, with chunks getting taken from walls, cardboard blasting dust into the air, and smoke fills the hallways. The firefights are some of the most thrilling you'll witness in a FPS.
Another aspect that will have gamers thrilled is the enemy A.I.. Very reminiscent of Half Life's enemy soldiers (in which you can hear their radio communications with each other as they plan their attacks), the A.I. is just great. Enemies try to flank you, flush you out with grenades, and use their environment to hide and blast away at you.
The price you'll have to pay to see the game the way it should be played is pretty steep, however. It takes a pretty sick system to run F.E.A.R. how it's supposed to be run – and gamers will be surprised just how steep of system requirements it demands. I, luckily, was able to get my hands on a GeForce 7800 just before the game to replace my GeForce 6600 (which was barely able to handle the game at all). If you've got the system, however, you're in for a wild graphical ride.
The game's easily on par with the best graphics of the day. While it's a much darker game than say, Half Life 2, it's still easily on par with the graphical giant. The lighting is simply incredible, and has a major effect on the game's atmosphere. The textures are incredible if you can see them the way they're meant to be seen. Special effects include amazing destructible environments and realistic-looking weapon effects.
The game's weapons are great too. While there isn't anything terribly new to speak of (most of the weapons have been seen before in the FPS genre), the way they react in the game make them special. Every weapon has positives and negatives. For instance, the SMG is great at close range with a fast rate-of-fire, but loses effectiveness at long ranges. Since you can only hold three weapons at one time, you'll have to choose what you want to use as you progress through the game or that the situation demands. It's really a choice of user preference, an aspect I really like.
The music and sound effects work to round out the experience. The atmospheric orchestra starts in, and you'll know to expect some scares. The firefights are aurally satisfying, with great-sounding explosions and enemy groans and screams.
The game's short by some standards, but not by mine. Some gamers tend to say anything under 20 hours is too short for them, but a game like F.E.A.R. doesn't need to be that long. One of the game's downfalls is that, for the most part, you'll mostly be fighting the same enemies. The game does throw some heavy-hitters at you and some unique enemies, but many of the battles are very similar to each other. The game probably backs 10-12 hours of solid gameplay, and that's fine with me. The story is refined to fit in that time, and the game would probably wear very thin after a while.
Luckily, the multiplayer aspect works well to add some longevity. The game doesn't feature much new, but does feature slow-mo in some game modes, giving it some uniqueness. The maps also tend to work their best with smaller groups, say 8-10 players. This is simply because, as the weapons are so incredibly lethal, getting too many players in the mix becomes pure, almost uncontrolled mayhem. It is a system with some skill, however. As you kill enemies, they drop health packs. Using health packs at the right moment is often the difference between you staying alive in a firefight and being killed. The weapons seem balanced to me, and you are able to choose your starting weapon as you begin a match.
Overall F.E.A.R. has much to offer. If you've been itching for that next great horror FPS, this is your game. Even if you're not into the horror genre, and you just like a great shooter, F.E.A.R. also delivers the goods. F.E.A.R. is the first true story-driven FPS since Half Life 2, and in most cases it's able to stand up to the HL2's greatness. I can't wait for a sequel.
-Jerred
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