This review contains spoilers
I remember when F.E.A.R. came out- it was being touted as revolutionary in the horror field, putting players in a psychologically tormentive world where a little girl was causing all kinds of havoc. Think along the lines of Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil, or Eternal Darkness and you’ll get an idea about the reputation that preceded it.
Years later, that notoriety has not faltered- in fact, it’s been expanded, with many claiming F.E.A.R. to be one of the greatest horror FPS’s of all time. Aspects like its enemy AI, particle effects, and combat have been praised to no end, and that adoration has set a high bar…a bar that this reviewer finds to be placed too aloft, at least by contemporary standards. I hope that my subsequent writing will successfully flesh out my thoughts in a manner that both explains where I’m coming from and fosters new discussions on a title considered to be a perennial classic.
I’ve always been a story guy, so we’ll start there- the First Encounter Assault Recon (FEAR) Team has been deployed to a facility owned by defense giant Armachan: reports have come out that a psychic employee of theirs named Paxton Fettel has gone rogue, commanding an army of super soldier clones causing mayhem. Headed by the aptly named Point Man, FEAR slowly discovers there’s more to Fettel’s rebellion than meets the eye, with Armachan having secrets it will do anything to keep hidden.
Originality is something that is very hard, if not outright impossible, to pull off these days. Established storylines and tropes have become so ingrained in the public consciousness that your best bet as a creative mind is to simply imbibe everything with pure imagination. In a lighter-hearted story, that can mean being outlandish; in a serious one, that can mean scribing a deep lore. As FEAR falls into the latter category, it does just that, crafting a mythos akin to the Hellboy franchise wherein paranormal activity coexists alongside the natural world, its knowledge held by a select few. I had no issue with the premise since we just needed something to get the ball rolling; however, it should be pointed out that everything here is very surface level- there is no information about the F.E.A.R. organization, the extent of phantasmic phenomena (or their origins), how the government has gone about covering up such accostments, nothing, not even through optional logs.
Again, the sparse detail isn’t particularly downgrading for the action-packed story Monolith wants to tell, but those hoping for something a bit more in-depth will definitely find FEAR lacking, especially as it pertains to plot questions like how Armachan even discovered ESP if the federal government had been keeping things under wraps, why no one else on the Recon Team has a reaction to the Point Man having superhuman abilities, or how the Point Man even joined FEAR.
That being said, there still are narrative issues here that are privy to scrutiny based on their flawed premises or execution. First up is the aforestated main character; not only is he not given a name like EVERY SINGLE OTHER NPC, but Monolith made the odd decision to render him mute. Silent protagonists only work in two cases: one, they are acting as a conduit or human reaction to the events transpiring- these events should be abnormal by the standards of the setting (think Isaac in Dead Space 1); or two, the character is doing the constant bidding of some other entity (think Link in most Zelda entries or Jack in BioShock). In either situation, an identity/personality isn’t warranted because they are essentially a stand-in for the player and thus have no impact on the storyline by way of their designation. And that latter reason is exactly what director Craig Hubbard claimed was the rationalization for Monolith going the nameless route: to make it easier for gamers to blend their identity with that of the Point Man’s.
The problem is straightforward- the Point Man HAS a characterization that is directly tied to what is transpiring, thereby giving him a connection that presupposes any anonymous factorization that would have been granted from him remaining quiet. This backstory isn’t restricted to database files either. During your journey you are forced to listen to Fettel blabber about your upbringing, as well as relive constant flashbacks showcasing what happened during the Point Man’s childhood, culminating in a grand revelation that would have been cool if the twist wasn’t so blatantly obvious from the get-go.
This taciturnity also leads to some other minor frustrations that add up in the long haul- when the Point Man sees something worth reporting, like encountering Fettel early on or undergoing those nightmare trips, he doesn’t say anything to senior leadership; when he witnesses a teammate get injured, he doesn’t ask if they are doing okay; when an NPC needs to be talked to, he lets his overseer do all the chatting. When this much autonomy is removed from your character, it unintentionally makes them seem like a sociopathic dunce without force majeure.
The indulgence in clichés, particularly as they relate to the horror genre, make up the second biggest gripe I had with FEAR. Armachan is as generic as you can get when it comes to evil corporations- a company run by psychos who will do almost anything to gain market power in a capitalistic society. Its use in horror media is essentially just a modernization of the Mad Scientist stock character; an entity so corrupted by the idea of concocting something groundbreaking that it overrides their moral reasoning. I know I said that there’s only so much novelty you can do in this day-and-age, but the absence of creativity rears its head whenever the writing ventures into this territory. That is, more could have been done to make Armachan out to be this conglomerate using its monetary vigor to reap its way upwards (as represented by figureheads): maybe have bribed politicians be the reason it found out about the occult; incompetent state foster systems the way it was able to acquire test subjects; weapons manufacturing providing financing for its other ventures; information warfare being waged towards competitors in order to acquire more value in emerging theurgical fields, I don’t know, I’m just spitballing here. I fully concede that Deus Ex spoiled me as, in that game, you had many political machinations that were going on behind-the-scenes of JC’s odyssey, compared to FEAR, where the best you get are phone messages disclosing “concerns” different executives were having immediately prior to things going haywire.
The pure horror aspects are where the game really drops the ball. I’ll be upfront and say that FEAR is not frightening, at least not in a contemporary sphere. There are a few brilliantly-executed jump scares, but it really is more of an action game with some moments of suspense. I get the sense that the developers intended for the terror to derive primarily from the atmosphere and surroundings you stumble around: corpses, blood puddles, and fulgurating bulbs overlay every other room. And with the occasional apparition thrown in to spice things up, this would seem like a good formula for success.
The problem is, that imagery gets old very fast- not only will you be desensitized to cadavers if you’ve played any shooter since Wolfenstein 3D, but the graphical output of the game takes away from the potential of their impact (more on that below). In addition, the few spirits you do encounter are inconsistent in their transcendent nature, which makes them frustrating as antagonists. Let me sum it up it this way- these ghosts are capable of such feats as ethereal teleportation, instant volatilization, and manipulation of the physical environment, yet they conveniently forget their abilities when it comes to stopping you. Oh, not to mention they are somehow susceptible to bullets. When you don’t have consistency to the fantasy aspects of your world, it takes away from the threat and leads to plot holes very fast.
As you can probably tell from the marketing, the primary ghostly figure assailing you is a female psychic named Alma. Depending on the circumstances, her appearance alternates between that of a young girl and grown adult, and while her screen time is sporadic at best, it’s obvious that the developers wanted you to feel her presence throughout the game: whether it’s via her whispers or celluloid-esque flashes. Even when FEAR was released in 2005, the whole “evil little girl” trope had been overdone in horror fiction (The Exorcist, The Shining, The Ring, a part of Freddy vs. Jason, etc...), and Monolith, once again, does the bare minimum when it comes to putting their own spin on it. While she is given decent depth via computer files you can download, she isn’t anywhere near as terrifying as her legacy would have you believe. And that last statement really applies for the game in general. If you go in expecting the occasional shock, you’ll be better off appreciating FEAR.
But if it wanes in the depth department, does the baseline narrative at least provide popcorn entertainment? Well, partly. A lot has been made about the gunplay, which I’ll speak about in the gameplay section, but I felt that was offset by the story objectives- these often feel less thrillerish and more errandish, like you’re following marching cues rather than uncovering a corporate conspiracy. FEAR is divided into chapters called “intervals,” and 95% of them are based around a goal of apprenhending someone, usually Fettel, and it gets a bit cartoonish when the subject you’re after manages to evade you every single time. It’s not that there aren’t justifications in place explaining how they have escaped, but even with these I couldn't help but feel like I was Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner ad nauseam. By the fifth interval I genuinely stopped caring about detaining Fettel because I knew he would conveniently allude me until the endgame.
There were two other issues I had with FEAR’s story that I’ll reserve with spoiler tags for the end++, but needless to say, this isn’t a game that you’ll be playing for the plot. There are some interesting concepts and fervently dark moments scattered throughout; however, it doesn’t amount to anything I found particularly memorable.
When it comes to the graphics, I gotta be honest with you guys- I thought this was a PS2 release that had gotten ported to PC. Lo and behold my surprise to find out it was actually from the seventh generation. Granted, it was technically a PC publication that was immediately sent over to the mainline consoles when they became available the following year, but it still bears comparisons given its brethren.
The PS2 comment is not meant to be an insult- it’s a reference to FEAR being visually reminiscent of other first-person titles that came out in that era like Deus Ex and Half-Life 1, albeit with significant touch-ups. Courtesy of the LithTech Jupiter EX engine, there is a crispness to the environments that avoids the constant blurriness that plagued a lot of the texturing from that gen, which is important given the amount of Artex interiors you’ll be spending the majority of your time traipsing through.
Unfortunately, that’s the only part of FEAR’s GFX that I can praise without any drawbacks. All other facets have pros and cons: character models have realistic-looking faces offset by awful hair and janky running movements; your flashlight works wonders illuminating corridors till you realize you’ll need it on for almost your entire playthrough courtesy of an overly-dim lighting system; NPCs can be blown apart while alive, but once deceased an invisible shield prevents further mutilation of their bodies; particle effects, which I alluded to in the intro, are abundant, ranging from shredded papers to electric sparks, however, it’s the same rehashed animation for every damage.
I know some of these come off as petty, and, besides the low flashlight battery, they definitely aren’t going to impede your enjoyment. I only bring them up because of the pedestal that FEAR is generally put on by retro reviewers for setting standards that have seemingly not been topped. Not only are those standards not consistent in quality, but they have definitely been surpassed in video game development:play any modern shooter and you’ll find breakable objects, bullet holes, and blood splatter. With FEAR, it’s less that it has superior versions of these and more that there is a greater amount of it- there’s more shattery windows around you, more pulverulent stationary in the office spaces you battle your way through, more gorey compositions to the NPC models you blow apart (courtesy of less-complex polygon counts).
It’s impressive, don’t get me wrong, and it can be a genuine treat to see matter spritzing everywhere during firefights. Nice details like ricocheting bullets from the guns of thugs popped in the act of discharging their weapons never get old to behold. Just keep in mind that technological limits kept things from being as grand as they were intended to be.
The soundscape is excellent when it comes to noise. Unique SFX upon unique SFX was programmed to account for: surfaces struck by melee strikes, terrain/items walked on, the velocity of jumps on said objects, the power of firearms (shotgun ftw), and others I’m sure I’m failing to bring to mind. FEAR is a prime example of what happens when a developer puts effort into acoustics.
Sadly, I can’t say that same effort was put into the other two auditory facets. The score isn’t memorable, trying to service its two genres with either generic action music or Holy leitmotifs ala a lyre-esque instrument. Because fighting is constant you never really pay attention to the former, and the horror is (as stated earlier) so minimalistic that the latter feels like something you gotta bide through rather than an evocative experience that phonically elevates you to another realm. While hallway walks can get eerie courtesy of surefire atmospheric spookiness, you’ll never find yourself dreading turning a corner or opening a door from otic penetrations.
And then there’s the voice acting, which is so hit-or-miss. Peter Lurie does a fine job as Fettel, sounding like a cool-headed Mark Hamill, and I absolutely loved the man who voiced your radio commander- the way he read off intel reports from terminals that detail Armachan’s dark backstory was particularly superb. Unfortunately, they’re the only good ones: your partners sound like they’re reading lines off a page without cues, and no one else stands out. All the enemies you face also share the exact same performer, and while some may claim that this is justified due to them being clones, you later encounter security guards for Armachan who are NOT biological replicas yet have the same accent, indicating to me that this was probably not a story-based casting choice.
Finally, we come to the much-esteemed gameplay. As an FPS, FEAR works well, avoiding falling into cover shooter territory courtesy of a slow-down mechanic that allows you to Matrix your way through gunfights. Despite the presence of a meter, it does admittedly make things easy, allowing you to escape scrapes or ambushes at the literal press of a button.
FEAR tries to counter this via two stabilizers: one, making bullets do significant damage, and two, having tougher enemy varieties. The first initiative actually works wonders- it was nice finally playing a game that not only distinguishes between body armor and HP, but also treats projectiles like the lethal hazards they are: combined with the placement of troops in a space, it really does prevent you from going in guns-ablazing. The second initiative, though, falters simply because there aren’t that many of them, and they ultimately amount to bullet sponges that can be dispersed relatively quickly.
Much has been made about the artificial intelligence Monolith crafted for their hordes of goons, and I gotta be honest with you guys, it really is overstated. Yes, during your scuffles, you will witness assailants attempt some form of strategy, whether its drawing you out of a camping spot with grenades or attempting a flank, but that solely applies to a few members of the squad: 8 times out of 10, the rest of them act like standard antagonistic NPCs in other games wherein they stand out in the open and trade fire. Honestly though, I felt the biggest thing impeding the tactical coding was the small spaces. FEAR is a very claustrophobic game, open environs being few and far between; as such, most of your playtime is spent in tight passageways and enclosed chambers, places that work for horror but falter for the calculated operational planning of a militaristic squadron trying to take down one man. I concede Deus Ex and even Gothic spoiled me in this regard, but playing those games truly showcased how enemy AI could take advantage of bigger arenas, particularly if they had ranged tools at their disposal.
On that note, there isn’t too much variety with armaments, though quantity is evidently substituted with quality as each weapon is a beast to behold. There’s a reason FEAR had a popular multiplayer back-in-the-day, and it has to do with the gunplay- it’s so smooth, I never even had to zoom in when setting-off a bullet, rocket, or laser. The fact that it works well with the slo-mo is a testament to the craftsmanship by Monolith, giving players the opportunity to be creative in their approach to hostile situations.
There are issues I had with the gameplay. For starters, I noticed a small delay in the auto-looting of extra ammunition: a couple of seconds, which may not seem like much, but adds up in a fast-paced game. Secondly, I wasn’t a big fan of enemies going flying whenever they were sprayed with a bunch of bullets- the game acts like you’re hitting them with .75 caliber rounds when that’s far from the case. Thirdly, I hated how phone messages forced you to sit through the whole operator-speak of “you have 2 new messages, first one from….” instead of just getting to the point. Fourthly, despite the presence of a crouch prompt, enemy flashlight reaction, and one-hit KO buttstroke, there are no stealth options, which you’ll realize is bizarre when you play the game. Soldiers often aren’t aware of your presence when you enter their vicinity, and given the caps on ammo and equipment, providing players the opportunity to disperse them stealthily would’ve been cool. And on the topic of buttstrokes, the hand-to-hand-combat is trash. You barely have a chance to use it given the volumes of insta-fire that impede you from getting-in close, but even when you do you’re dealing with awkward animations with awkward spacing: you’re better off just striking someone with your gun than trying a flying kick Hidden Dragon-style.
Overall though, I’d be lying if I said that shootouts weren’t a blast. You really do feel like an action hero at times with the time dilation, accurate fire, and kinetic frenzy around you. Where FEAR falters in the horror-sphere it more than makes up for as an action game.
And that’s the main reason I would recommend playing it. While I don’t believe it’s worth the full $55.00 asking price (side note- anyone else surprised that a title as old as FEAR hasn’t gone down in cost compared to contemporary AAA games?), if you can get it on a discount you’ll find an enjoyable diversion. While others have criticized the level structure for being repetitive, I think the overall gameplay and mood makes up for these flaws. Just make sure you change the default keyboard binding as it is really un-ergonomic. My personal recommendation? Shift to slow-mo, ctrl to crouch, C for medkits, F for interact, G for grenade, and right-click for flashlight (admittedly used a second right button on my mouse and right for melee, but if you don’t have that remember that melee is pretty useless outside of breaking down the occasional barrier).
-
-
-
-
--
-
-
-
-
--
-
-
--
-
-
--
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
--
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
+First is this obnoxious NPC you have to deal with called Norton Mapes. He literally single-handedly ruins the agitating atmosphere by way of his music cues, obese appearance, and annoying personality. To make matters worse, he frequently impedes your progress through activating turrets, and the game doesn't even have the gall to give you a chance to off him for his transgressions.
++I didn't like that vital info regarding Alma and the whole background of the game was restricted to optional computer files. I mean yeah, the game doesn't hide them, but neither are you particularly encouraged to seek them out. Maybe this minimalist approach will be appreciated by others, but for me, when you're dealing with something as dark as child abuse, it should be put front and center for the gamer to experience and shudder in horror.
Years later, that notoriety has not faltered- in fact, it’s been expanded, with many claiming F.E.A.R. to be one of the greatest horror FPS’s of all time. Aspects like its enemy AI, particle effects, and combat have been praised to no end, and that adoration has set a high bar…a bar that this reviewer finds to be placed too aloft, at least by contemporary standards. I hope that my subsequent writing will successfully flesh out my thoughts in a manner that both explains where I’m coming from and fosters new discussions on a title considered to be a perennial classic.
I’ve always been a story guy, so we’ll start there- the First Encounter Assault Recon (FEAR) Team has been deployed to a facility owned by defense giant Armachan: reports have come out that a psychic employee of theirs named Paxton Fettel has gone rogue, commanding an army of super soldier clones causing mayhem. Headed by the aptly named Point Man, FEAR slowly discovers there’s more to Fettel’s rebellion than meets the eye, with Armachan having secrets it will do anything to keep hidden.
Originality is something that is very hard, if not outright impossible, to pull off these days. Established storylines and tropes have become so ingrained in the public consciousness that your best bet as a creative mind is to simply imbibe everything with pure imagination. In a lighter-hearted story, that can mean being outlandish; in a serious one, that can mean scribing a deep lore. As FEAR falls into the latter category, it does just that, crafting a mythos akin to the Hellboy franchise wherein paranormal activity coexists alongside the natural world, its knowledge held by a select few. I had no issue with the premise since we just needed something to get the ball rolling; however, it should be pointed out that everything here is very surface level- there is no information about the F.E.A.R. organization, the extent of phantasmic phenomena (or their origins), how the government has gone about covering up such accostments, nothing, not even through optional logs.
Again, the sparse detail isn’t particularly downgrading for the action-packed story Monolith wants to tell, but those hoping for something a bit more in-depth will definitely find FEAR lacking, especially as it pertains to plot questions like how Armachan even discovered ESP if the federal government had been keeping things under wraps, why no one else on the Recon Team has a reaction to the Point Man having superhuman abilities, or how the Point Man even joined FEAR.
That being said, there still are narrative issues here that are privy to scrutiny based on their flawed premises or execution. First up is the aforestated main character; not only is he not given a name like EVERY SINGLE OTHER NPC, but Monolith made the odd decision to render him mute. Silent protagonists only work in two cases: one, they are acting as a conduit or human reaction to the events transpiring- these events should be abnormal by the standards of the setting (think Isaac in Dead Space 1); or two, the character is doing the constant bidding of some other entity (think Link in most Zelda entries or Jack in BioShock). In either situation, an identity/personality isn’t warranted because they are essentially a stand-in for the player and thus have no impact on the storyline by way of their designation. And that latter reason is exactly what director Craig Hubbard claimed was the rationalization for Monolith going the nameless route: to make it easier for gamers to blend their identity with that of the Point Man’s.
The problem is straightforward- the Point Man HAS a characterization that is directly tied to what is transpiring, thereby giving him a connection that presupposes any anonymous factorization that would have been granted from him remaining quiet. This backstory isn’t restricted to database files either. During your journey you are forced to listen to Fettel blabber about your upbringing, as well as relive constant flashbacks showcasing what happened during the Point Man’s childhood, culminating in a grand revelation that would have been cool if the twist wasn’t so blatantly obvious from the get-go.
This taciturnity also leads to some other minor frustrations that add up in the long haul- when the Point Man sees something worth reporting, like encountering Fettel early on or undergoing those nightmare trips, he doesn’t say anything to senior leadership; when he witnesses a teammate get injured, he doesn’t ask if they are doing okay; when an NPC needs to be talked to, he lets his overseer do all the chatting. When this much autonomy is removed from your character, it unintentionally makes them seem like a sociopathic dunce without force majeure.
The indulgence in clichés, particularly as they relate to the horror genre, make up the second biggest gripe I had with FEAR. Armachan is as generic as you can get when it comes to evil corporations- a company run by psychos who will do almost anything to gain market power in a capitalistic society. Its use in horror media is essentially just a modernization of the Mad Scientist stock character; an entity so corrupted by the idea of concocting something groundbreaking that it overrides their moral reasoning. I know I said that there’s only so much novelty you can do in this day-and-age, but the absence of creativity rears its head whenever the writing ventures into this territory. That is, more could have been done to make Armachan out to be this conglomerate using its monetary vigor to reap its way upwards (as represented by figureheads): maybe have bribed politicians be the reason it found out about the occult; incompetent state foster systems the way it was able to acquire test subjects; weapons manufacturing providing financing for its other ventures; information warfare being waged towards competitors in order to acquire more value in emerging theurgical fields, I don’t know, I’m just spitballing here. I fully concede that Deus Ex spoiled me as, in that game, you had many political machinations that were going on behind-the-scenes of JC’s odyssey, compared to FEAR, where the best you get are phone messages disclosing “concerns” different executives were having immediately prior to things going haywire.
The pure horror aspects are where the game really drops the ball. I’ll be upfront and say that FEAR is not frightening, at least not in a contemporary sphere. There are a few brilliantly-executed jump scares, but it really is more of an action game with some moments of suspense. I get the sense that the developers intended for the terror to derive primarily from the atmosphere and surroundings you stumble around: corpses, blood puddles, and fulgurating bulbs overlay every other room. And with the occasional apparition thrown in to spice things up, this would seem like a good formula for success.
The problem is, that imagery gets old very fast- not only will you be desensitized to cadavers if you’ve played any shooter since Wolfenstein 3D, but the graphical output of the game takes away from the potential of their impact (more on that below). In addition, the few spirits you do encounter are inconsistent in their transcendent nature, which makes them frustrating as antagonists. Let me sum it up it this way- these ghosts are capable of such feats as ethereal teleportation, instant volatilization, and manipulation of the physical environment, yet they conveniently forget their abilities when it comes to stopping you. Oh, not to mention they are somehow susceptible to bullets. When you don’t have consistency to the fantasy aspects of your world, it takes away from the threat and leads to plot holes very fast.
As you can probably tell from the marketing, the primary ghostly figure assailing you is a female psychic named Alma. Depending on the circumstances, her appearance alternates between that of a young girl and grown adult, and while her screen time is sporadic at best, it’s obvious that the developers wanted you to feel her presence throughout the game: whether it’s via her whispers or celluloid-esque flashes. Even when FEAR was released in 2005, the whole “evil little girl” trope had been overdone in horror fiction (The Exorcist, The Shining, The Ring, a part of Freddy vs. Jason, etc...), and Monolith, once again, does the bare minimum when it comes to putting their own spin on it. While she is given decent depth via computer files you can download, she isn’t anywhere near as terrifying as her legacy would have you believe. And that last statement really applies for the game in general. If you go in expecting the occasional shock, you’ll be better off appreciating FEAR.
But if it wanes in the depth department, does the baseline narrative at least provide popcorn entertainment? Well, partly. A lot has been made about the gunplay, which I’ll speak about in the gameplay section, but I felt that was offset by the story objectives- these often feel less thrillerish and more errandish, like you’re following marching cues rather than uncovering a corporate conspiracy. FEAR is divided into chapters called “intervals,” and 95% of them are based around a goal of apprenhending someone, usually Fettel, and it gets a bit cartoonish when the subject you’re after manages to evade you every single time. It’s not that there aren’t justifications in place explaining how they have escaped, but even with these I couldn't help but feel like I was Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner ad nauseam. By the fifth interval I genuinely stopped caring about detaining Fettel because I knew he would conveniently allude me until the endgame.
There were two other issues I had with FEAR’s story that I’ll reserve with spoiler tags for the end++, but needless to say, this isn’t a game that you’ll be playing for the plot. There are some interesting concepts and fervently dark moments scattered throughout; however, it doesn’t amount to anything I found particularly memorable.
When it comes to the graphics, I gotta be honest with you guys- I thought this was a PS2 release that had gotten ported to PC. Lo and behold my surprise to find out it was actually from the seventh generation. Granted, it was technically a PC publication that was immediately sent over to the mainline consoles when they became available the following year, but it still bears comparisons given its brethren.
The PS2 comment is not meant to be an insult- it’s a reference to FEAR being visually reminiscent of other first-person titles that came out in that era like Deus Ex and Half-Life 1, albeit with significant touch-ups. Courtesy of the LithTech Jupiter EX engine, there is a crispness to the environments that avoids the constant blurriness that plagued a lot of the texturing from that gen, which is important given the amount of Artex interiors you’ll be spending the majority of your time traipsing through.
Unfortunately, that’s the only part of FEAR’s GFX that I can praise without any drawbacks. All other facets have pros and cons: character models have realistic-looking faces offset by awful hair and janky running movements; your flashlight works wonders illuminating corridors till you realize you’ll need it on for almost your entire playthrough courtesy of an overly-dim lighting system; NPCs can be blown apart while alive, but once deceased an invisible shield prevents further mutilation of their bodies; particle effects, which I alluded to in the intro, are abundant, ranging from shredded papers to electric sparks, however, it’s the same rehashed animation for every damage.
I know some of these come off as petty, and, besides the low flashlight battery, they definitely aren’t going to impede your enjoyment. I only bring them up because of the pedestal that FEAR is generally put on by retro reviewers for setting standards that have seemingly not been topped. Not only are those standards not consistent in quality, but they have definitely been surpassed in video game development:play any modern shooter and you’ll find breakable objects, bullet holes, and blood splatter. With FEAR, it’s less that it has superior versions of these and more that there is a greater amount of it- there’s more shattery windows around you, more pulverulent stationary in the office spaces you battle your way through, more gorey compositions to the NPC models you blow apart (courtesy of less-complex polygon counts).
It’s impressive, don’t get me wrong, and it can be a genuine treat to see matter spritzing everywhere during firefights. Nice details like ricocheting bullets from the guns of thugs popped in the act of discharging their weapons never get old to behold. Just keep in mind that technological limits kept things from being as grand as they were intended to be.
The soundscape is excellent when it comes to noise. Unique SFX upon unique SFX was programmed to account for: surfaces struck by melee strikes, terrain/items walked on, the velocity of jumps on said objects, the power of firearms (shotgun ftw), and others I’m sure I’m failing to bring to mind. FEAR is a prime example of what happens when a developer puts effort into acoustics.
Sadly, I can’t say that same effort was put into the other two auditory facets. The score isn’t memorable, trying to service its two genres with either generic action music or Holy leitmotifs ala a lyre-esque instrument. Because fighting is constant you never really pay attention to the former, and the horror is (as stated earlier) so minimalistic that the latter feels like something you gotta bide through rather than an evocative experience that phonically elevates you to another realm. While hallway walks can get eerie courtesy of surefire atmospheric spookiness, you’ll never find yourself dreading turning a corner or opening a door from otic penetrations.
And then there’s the voice acting, which is so hit-or-miss. Peter Lurie does a fine job as Fettel, sounding like a cool-headed Mark Hamill, and I absolutely loved the man who voiced your radio commander- the way he read off intel reports from terminals that detail Armachan’s dark backstory was particularly superb. Unfortunately, they’re the only good ones: your partners sound like they’re reading lines off a page without cues, and no one else stands out. All the enemies you face also share the exact same performer, and while some may claim that this is justified due to them being clones, you later encounter security guards for Armachan who are NOT biological replicas yet have the same accent, indicating to me that this was probably not a story-based casting choice.
Finally, we come to the much-esteemed gameplay. As an FPS, FEAR works well, avoiding falling into cover shooter territory courtesy of a slow-down mechanic that allows you to Matrix your way through gunfights. Despite the presence of a meter, it does admittedly make things easy, allowing you to escape scrapes or ambushes at the literal press of a button.
FEAR tries to counter this via two stabilizers: one, making bullets do significant damage, and two, having tougher enemy varieties. The first initiative actually works wonders- it was nice finally playing a game that not only distinguishes between body armor and HP, but also treats projectiles like the lethal hazards they are: combined with the placement of troops in a space, it really does prevent you from going in guns-ablazing. The second initiative, though, falters simply because there aren’t that many of them, and they ultimately amount to bullet sponges that can be dispersed relatively quickly.
Much has been made about the artificial intelligence Monolith crafted for their hordes of goons, and I gotta be honest with you guys, it really is overstated. Yes, during your scuffles, you will witness assailants attempt some form of strategy, whether its drawing you out of a camping spot with grenades or attempting a flank, but that solely applies to a few members of the squad: 8 times out of 10, the rest of them act like standard antagonistic NPCs in other games wherein they stand out in the open and trade fire. Honestly though, I felt the biggest thing impeding the tactical coding was the small spaces. FEAR is a very claustrophobic game, open environs being few and far between; as such, most of your playtime is spent in tight passageways and enclosed chambers, places that work for horror but falter for the calculated operational planning of a militaristic squadron trying to take down one man. I concede Deus Ex and even Gothic spoiled me in this regard, but playing those games truly showcased how enemy AI could take advantage of bigger arenas, particularly if they had ranged tools at their disposal.
On that note, there isn’t too much variety with armaments, though quantity is evidently substituted with quality as each weapon is a beast to behold. There’s a reason FEAR had a popular multiplayer back-in-the-day, and it has to do with the gunplay- it’s so smooth, I never even had to zoom in when setting-off a bullet, rocket, or laser. The fact that it works well with the slo-mo is a testament to the craftsmanship by Monolith, giving players the opportunity to be creative in their approach to hostile situations.
There are issues I had with the gameplay. For starters, I noticed a small delay in the auto-looting of extra ammunition: a couple of seconds, which may not seem like much, but adds up in a fast-paced game. Secondly, I wasn’t a big fan of enemies going flying whenever they were sprayed with a bunch of bullets- the game acts like you’re hitting them with .75 caliber rounds when that’s far from the case. Thirdly, I hated how phone messages forced you to sit through the whole operator-speak of “you have 2 new messages, first one from….” instead of just getting to the point. Fourthly, despite the presence of a crouch prompt, enemy flashlight reaction, and one-hit KO buttstroke, there are no stealth options, which you’ll realize is bizarre when you play the game. Soldiers often aren’t aware of your presence when you enter their vicinity, and given the caps on ammo and equipment, providing players the opportunity to disperse them stealthily would’ve been cool. And on the topic of buttstrokes, the hand-to-hand-combat is trash. You barely have a chance to use it given the volumes of insta-fire that impede you from getting-in close, but even when you do you’re dealing with awkward animations with awkward spacing: you’re better off just striking someone with your gun than trying a flying kick Hidden Dragon-style.
Overall though, I’d be lying if I said that shootouts weren’t a blast. You really do feel like an action hero at times with the time dilation, accurate fire, and kinetic frenzy around you. Where FEAR falters in the horror-sphere it more than makes up for as an action game.
And that’s the main reason I would recommend playing it. While I don’t believe it’s worth the full $55.00 asking price (side note- anyone else surprised that a title as old as FEAR hasn’t gone down in cost compared to contemporary AAA games?), if you can get it on a discount you’ll find an enjoyable diversion. While others have criticized the level structure for being repetitive, I think the overall gameplay and mood makes up for these flaws. Just make sure you change the default keyboard binding as it is really un-ergonomic. My personal recommendation? Shift to slow-mo, ctrl to crouch, C for medkits, F for interact, G for grenade, and right-click for flashlight (admittedly used a second right button on my mouse and right for melee, but if you don’t have that remember that melee is pretty useless outside of breaking down the occasional barrier).
-
-
-
-
--
-
-
-
-
--
-
-
--
-
-
--
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
--
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
+First is this obnoxious NPC you have to deal with called Norton Mapes. He literally single-handedly ruins the agitating atmosphere by way of his music cues, obese appearance, and annoying personality. To make matters worse, he frequently impedes your progress through activating turrets, and the game doesn't even have the gall to give you a chance to off him for his transgressions.
++I didn't like that vital info regarding Alma and the whole background of the game was restricted to optional computer files. I mean yeah, the game doesn't hide them, but neither are you particularly encouraged to seek them out. Maybe this minimalist approach will be appreciated by others, but for me, when you're dealing with something as dark as child abuse, it should be put front and center for the gamer to experience and shudder in horror.