Exactly what you want from a Survival horror FPS. (F.E.A.R. (PC))

Member Name: Mutalisk

Product:	F.E.A.R. (PC)
Date:	27/02/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Disturbing, excellent gamplay, focus system, cool storyline, intense,good phyics engine and weapons.

Disadvantages: Compatability issues with expansion packs, graphical issues when ran in low res.

I am surprised to see that this game always sells for so little, even considering its age. This is one of the best FPSs I have played in a long time. It fuses the survival horror and shooter genres very successfully, the result being an intense, addictive and engrossing game. It is somewhat similar to Half-Life in style, (another Sierra game,) but is much darker with the occassional nod to HL -- The troops say almost exactly the same things over their radios and you may spot an easter egg too! :P

Much like Half-Life's Gordon Freeman, FEAR has a silent protagonist. This does not detract from realism in the same way that it did in HL, as the player can hand headphones to NPCs, and the character will be communicated with by someone from HQ.

It is graphically excellent with some very good animation and some very disturbing sequences which complement the story perfectly.

The game's ambient lighting is a little low which, while adding to the atmosphere, can becoming a little annoying after a while.

When played in low resolution, the bulletholes in the walls become ridiculously large for some reason, although this can be easily ignored, given that the player mostly shoots objects which fly realistically through the air thanks to the FEAR's awesome physics engine.

The 'focus' system works very much in the same way as Bullet Time in Max Payne, slowing time down while sharpening lines around the enemy in order to make aiming easier. This looks and feels incredibly cool.

The guns are a lot of fun to use, and realistically, the player can only carry 3 at a time (technically 4, if you count the second of the dual pistols.)

The plot is highly engrossing with some interesting twists.
A little of the game's plot is conveyed via answering-machine messages found by the player. These nuggets of information are largely pointless and dull however, and add very little to the game.

The player's character, the 'Point man' often has some graphically-impressive and frightening visions, often seeing the image of a little girl (see front cover.)

One gaping compatibility issue is that if you buy a UK version of the game, and a US version of any of the expansions (Extraction Point or Persius Mandate,) the expansion will not work in conjunction with it and vice versa.

MAKE SURE YOUR COPY OF THE EXPANSION IS THE SAME VERSION AS YOUR COPY OF THE GAME.
Update patches are available online, but often do not work properly.

Overall it is one of the darkest and most disturbing games I have played. I would recommend it wholeheartedly as well as its expansions.

Summary: An excellent survival horror