Terrifying and terrific (F.E.A.R. (PC))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	F.E.A.R. (PC)
Date:	05/09/09 (0 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb graphics and gameplay

Disadvantages: Not for the faint of heart

If there's ever a game title that very aptly sums up the gaming experience therein, it's perhaps F.E.A.R (actually an acronym for First Encounter Assault Recon), a creepy, tense, and very atmospheric shoot em up that's quite unique in its design, and definitely a uniquely horrifying experience, that'll probably have you screaming like a girl that's just skinned her knee.

The game revolves around numerous seemingly otherworldly phenomena that seem to be popping up. Your team - F.E.A.R - are dispatched to sort it out, but they didn't bargain on quite what they end up facing, no less being relentlessly pursued by a creepy ghostly girl named Alma who will scare the living Bejesus out of you at every opportunity (most famously perhaps by popping out of a vent as you climb a ladder quite early in the game).

This is a very nifty and well designed game that cleverly employs a "reflex time" mode, where time slows down, allowing you to fire with better accuracy and greater precision. Of course, this "bullet time" mode, dressed up as it is, isn't really anything original, but things are spruced up slightly by including the air trails of the bullets as they fly through the air, and some rather impressive environmental effects, from if the bullet makes a dent in the wall, or a baddie's face.

If Half Life were a bit more like a horror film, it would undoubtedly end up like this - F.E.A.R has the requisite science fiction weapons, such as a particle beam projector, although given how even the minor weapons such as pistols are scarily effective, there isn't always room to bust this bad boy out.

Most impressive perhaps is the game's A.I. - the enemies will stalk you with unrelenting determination, and when needed, they will cower behind cover, regroup, and even take alternate routes to surprise. This very much underpins what F.E.A.R is all about - it is intelligent, extremely well engineered and very scary!

Summary: A scary and superb game