So yeah, got bored during this downtime, and played a game and one of it's expansions. This is the result, since I've recently found an old classic I really enjoyed back in the day and wanted to revisit.
F.E.A.R - First Encounter Assault & Recon
(To be extended with expansion reviews later, maybe.)
Are you a fan of horror games? Or movies, perhaps? Or perhaps you're fond of First Person Shooter games? Well... today I can bring you F.E.A.R, which is to this day the only First Person Shooter to provide excellent fps action, horror and downright excellent atmosphere in equal amounts. This, is in my opinion, Monolith's finest moment. In 2005, this game had the absolutely finest graphics of it's generation along with what has been quoted by reviewers to have been the finest AI of the same. I still haven't found a game which so well gives the illusion of intelligent enemies.
The core of the game is very simple. You're 'Point Man' for the F.E.A.R team. If there's something paranormal or otherwise very dodgy going on, you're the team for the job. You're the latest addition to the team, showing inhuman reflexes and skill, and is thus perfect for the job. Yes, that means there's bullet time in the game.
An R&D corporation with ties to the 'gummint', performing work on several defense contracts and more illegal research have managed to create a full battalion of clone soldiers, all keyed to function under the telepathic command of one commander. Paxton Fettel. And they just lost control of Fettel. You're sent in to deal with the situation. Kill Fettel, and the clone troopers will no longer be a threat.
If only it was that easy. Very quickly, it's obvious that there's more going on here. Sightings of a little girl, mysterious deaths, and overall carnage everywhere is an indicator. Another is that she seems to want to frighten the bejeezus out of you, or just simply kill your ass.
The game consists pretty much of you taking on Fettels entire battalion of highly trained soldiers, working with the very latest of military hardware, while hunting him down. At the same time, you're fending of insanity, illusions and visions that quite simply aren't normal.
Insane action sequences, even more insane horror sequences (especially the Nightmare ones), and an excellent storyline. You're connected to every event in the game, storywise, while also being the one person who just might pull off saving the whole thing from going completely tits up.
Ooops, everything went tits up before you were even called in. Tough luck.
Graphics/Design/Physics:
Well, the game was made in 2005. It's not quite up to par with today's games. However... the game being that old allows you to turn everything up to absolutely maximum, and you'll get to enjoy a game which looks downright awesome. Yes... a five year old game will look just purely like awesomeness. Even the most geeky graphics whore out there won't be able to 'meh' off this game for that reason. The environments look convincing, there's plenty of 'ooooh, shiny' to look at, and the action sequences look like pre-rendered cinematics.
The level design is tight. However... it can get a little repetitive. It's the only complaint I have about the game, in fact. It wouldn't have killed the developers if they'd added a couple more settings to the game, allowing for some more variation in the level design. The settings that do exist are very well made, though, and will look excellent. There's rarely opportunity to get too stuck, or getting lost, since it's not too open. However, it does give the illusion of being open quite well. You can take multiple paths to get to where you're going, or if you can't, it'll look like you can do it.
The enemies and surroundings are very well done, though. If there's something I miss in games today, and for that matter have been missing in games since... forever... it's oomph. That's right, oomph. I want a proper physical presence in a game. I want the enemies to feel like they're there, and not just graphics. Somehow, they've managed to do that in this game. Shooting an enemy really feels satisfying, because they really feel like they're a physical entity being riddled with bullets. The sounds, the graphics and the physics really work well together to create a really good 'feel' when you fight.
Everything simply feels like it's got weight to it, including your bullets. Love it. Too many games doesn't do that at all.
Weapons:
What can I say? They're good. Not a single one of the weapons in the game feels 'useless' like they can in other games. The lighter weapons often get tossed aside by the first few levels to be replaced by bigger and badder ones. This isn't the case in F.E.A.R. They all have their uses, and they're all very dangerous to your enemies. The pistol you start the game with is useful throughout the entire game, if you can find ammo for it. The submachine gun which is the second weapon you get is equally dangerous to normal human opponents, through the whole game.
However, there's one single gripe I have about the weapons: I don't like the sniper rifle(s). One three-shot burst sniper which is largely a great weapon, but gets almost no ammo and takes too many shots to kill an enemy. One 'one shot kills all' particle beam sniper, which is a fantastic weapon... but loses the 'weight' feel. I don't like it much, but it's quite good.
You will, however, get used to the shotgun. It's the 'backup' weapon of choice through the whole game, and can be used against almost all enemies. There's a lot of tight quarters in this game, and there's so much ammo for the shotgun around that you'll want to carry one with you at all times. Fortunately... the shotgun is very very very fun to use.
There's a carry limit. Three weapons at a time. This usually means you'll carry something for average use, like a submachine-gun/assault rifle, the shotgun for tight quarters and saving ammo, and a third weapon of choice like one of the heavy weapons like the Penetrator, repeating cannon or something like that. There's tactics involved in weapon choice, definitely.
Never forget your 'nades, though. They can be really good at flushing out enemies, or taking out a roomful of them. There's also mines, which can also be fantastic offensive weapons, and set charges which you can detonate remotely. Great fun, all of them.
Story/Conclusion:
The story is solid. However... it's open. By the end, you get to know everything you need to know... but not all that you want to know. I've basically told you everything you learn throughout the game, except for some very interesting little tidbits which I'm not going to spoil here. In short, the game throws you a curveball at the end, while showing the single most awesome 'cliffhanger' moment I've seen in a game yet. It's a cliffhanger which doesn't leave you unsatisfied, just with a big fat grin of 'yeah, this isn't over yet' while paying homage to the 'last scare' tradition of scary movie classics.
In short... fantastic game. I have so very little to complain about when it comes to this game, even after this long. I played it through, and I don't regret a single cent of the ten bucks they want for it on Steam (which also lands you both the expansions, and while not quite as good as the original, they're both very worthwhile games to get).
I've recently finished the Extraction Point expansion, and I will be finishing the Perseus Mandate expansion soon enough, I think. I'll be writing some very short supplemental reviews of those expansions later.
If you got ten bucks, hit Steam and buy F.E.A.R and it's expansions. It's SO worth it, and if you like that, you can go buy F.E.A.R 2 which is basically the same only even prettier and with newfangled and desirable weapons. It's got one thing that pisses me off immensely, but it's not something everyone would be annoyed by.
Go! Go play F.E.A.R! It's a gem of a game for any FPS player, especially if you like a bit of horror and... F.E.A.R.
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Topic: You may have seen this coming. F.E.A.R 1 review. (Read 2893 times)