F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. Review
I’ll let you in on a secret: I am very easily scared. As in, still-a-bit-afraid-of-the-dark-don’t-sleep-too-well-after-watching-a-horror-movie-easily-scared. Not that that stops me being a big zombie/vampire fan, I just usually spend the whole time with a nervous grip on the TV remote; thumb hovering over any button that’ll change the channel. It’s something I enjoy and FEAR was my first encounter with real horror in video games, back when the demo was released in 2005. Three years later, I’ve decided to finally pick up the full game – and have largely enjoyed it.
The way in which FEAR plays is the key to both its best and worst moments. In combat you are, essentially, very average – you take a lot of damage from bullets to the face, you can’t run at huge speeds, you don’t have immaculate aim; you can’t turn invisible, punch through walls or see in the dark. It’s still a little arcadeier than, say, Operation Flashpoint or other hyper-realistic titles but wading in bullets spraying will leave you with nothing but a stab at the quick load key. Or it would anyway, if you weren’t a super-soldier imbued with genetically enhanced reflexes activated at the press of a button. As was hyped pre-release, this allows you to perform actions at five times the speed, slowing the action down and allowing exceedingly pretty bullet time manoeuvres.
And you will use this ability all. the. time. Almost every encounter, particularly later in the game, demands slow-mo use if you want to survive – which isn’t as bad as you might think, because it’s very nice to look at, an integral part of the game and was obviously a design decision made very early on. It’s incorporated as impressively as the gravity gun in Half-Life 2 or the Sands in the Prince of Persia trilogy. Problems occur because this is how you fix every situation, not just the odd physics puzzle or accidental death. Two bad guys coming through the door? Hit C. Scary ghost thing attacking you? Super-reflex-powers-agogo. Need to open that door? DO IT IN SLOW MO! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a crippling fault, but it can get repetitive.
This carries over to the non-combat parts of the game too. The atmosphere is spot on, but the joins between “scary bit” and “fighty bit” can be a little obvious. Most levels (defined in this case by a loading screen) follow a similar formula of horror for a few minutes, fighting for most of the rest of the level and a bit more horror at the end. Thankfully, these nuggets of horror are very well put together. No two are the same and there is a definitive curve to them which increases the level of interaction between the main character and his tormentors as the game progresses. Oh, and that bit with the ladder – well, you’ll find out.
Overall, it’s easy to see why FEAR is regarded as one of the best shooters of its day. The main elements, horror and combat, are both well designed and implemented. However, their basic formulas remain consistent throughout which leads to repetitiveness. Not the best game you’ll ever play these days, but certainly worth the pittance it is surely available for in bargain bins everywhere.
80%