F.E.A.R.

One year ago, we saw the culmination of the next generation first-person shooter war between Id Software’s Doom 3 and Valve’s Half-Life 2, each of which was excellent in its own respect but neither truely being the victor over the other. Despite this fact, they served to establish a new standard by which all future computer games would be compared to.

Even before these two games made their debut on the market, Monolith Games, a developer known for lesser and not as innovative titles, gave the world its first impression of their next title. Fast foward a year and a half and we see the next step in the direction and promise that Id and Valve placed us upon. First Encounter Assault Recon, or F.E.A.R., is an action-horror thriller that combines the scaryness and beautiful lighting of Doom 3 with the openness and excitment of Half-Life 2. Put together, we get a product full of innovation.

Please read on and find out why you should shell out your cash for this awesome experience…

And you thought that I only did Xbox reviews. Well, before I begin, I would like to establish the test settings for this game. It is a monster of a game, and requires a strong computer, so don’t be suprised if you have to tone down alot of the elements of the game in order to make it run properly. Please also take note that all of the following of the screenshots are taken directly from my gameplay.

Recommend Settings:
Pentium 4 3.0ghz processor
1gb RAM
Radeon 9800 or GeForce 6600 or better graphics card

Test settings:
Pentium 4 3.2ghz processor
1gb DDR2 RAM
Radeon X800 XT graphics card

Graphics
As I stated before, Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 set standards by which many shooters in the coming years will be compared to. F.E.A.R. now serves to be the first true game that can meet this test. F.E.A.R. is built on a completely original engine, built from the ground up to handle supreme lighting and intense action. Darkness is a key factor in this game, and only with the help of your flashlight will you discover the horror that waits beyond. Since Monolith has learned the value of ducttape from Id, you don’t have to worry about switching between your weapons and your light; it can be a consequence to keep it perpetually on, someting I shall expand on later. Suffice to say, this game is DARK, and even if you adjust the in game brightness settings, it still is a necessity that you keep the flashlight on in many parts of the game.

The environments are, quite simply, amazing. Though primarily occuring in indoor areas and some limited-access outdoor areas, they are quite varied, ranging from offices to slums to underground areas. At times, it can seem repititive, but I find it varied and interesting at how they interpret each one. All of the environments seem as if they were built like a normal place and then is decimated via both before your arrival and after you have had your way with it. One of the most prominant features of the environment’s details involves the later. Previously, in almost all other first-person shooters, damage done to the environment was simply a matter of pasting a bullethole-esque image onto a wall. With fear, you get a lot more than just that. Bullets blast holes and even sections of walls away, leaving gaping wounds in the sheetrock and presenting you with a sample of the strength of the firefight you had just fought. Blood shoots out of enemies and splatters the walls in unique patterns every time bullets penetrate and go through their bodies. Liquid bodies are nicely done as well, as pools of blood or water actively reflect.

Character details are stupendous as well. You allies feature the most detail by far, with facial expressions and details not truely put forth until now in secondary characters, such as muscles and on-body shadows. While your allies are few and far between, it is cool to see such impressive detail now emerging in games. Enemies are well designed also, ranging in type and size from simple soldiers to power-armored commandos and beyond.

Overall, the graphics are simply gorgeous. It is, in my book, definately the successor to Id and Valve in terms of visuals. If you have the kind of monster machine that can play this game, then you deserve to play F.E.A.R.
Rating: 10 out of 10

Sound
And what is a game without sound? As a action-horror game, it is important to have a cast of sound and music to meet the demands of the gameplay. With no holds bared, F.E.A.R. delivers in terms of audio. Ambient sounds are abundent, appearing in almost every scene and giving you a true feel as to the environment you have arrived at. Everything from the sounds of your weapons firing off a volley to the voices and cries are unique. Enemies chater away about the current goings-on and frightened non-combatants beg for help. The voice acting is top-notch, though the enemies could use some variety, though the story explains why this is so. Never has the ever-so innocent giggle of a young girl sent a chill up my spine as in this game.

The music, however, seems quite subdued, and though it is abundant, you will often find yourself not noticing it, as you are too busy trying to outwit the enemy and avoid the traps laid by the… well, I’ll leave the rest to you.

Though only lacking in some of the least-significant parts fo the game, I think it is safe to say that Monolith can clearly do more than just make pretty visuals.
Rating: 9 out of 10

Gameplay
As a game, F.E.A.R. is nothing new. Though its genre is one that has been around longer than most can remember, horror games have always found home to be in the supernatural, where the player is stalked by demonic enemies intent on stripping them of their life. F.E.A.R. simply takes this and throws in a bunch more action than one expects.

The game can primarily be divided between two types of play: fighting sequences and horror sequences. Both are intermixed and occur randomly. The fights between you and the soldiers are announced obviously, as you will almost always be near a corner and hear them chatting. However, while the fights may sound simple, they are anything but. The enemy AI is probably some of the most sophisticated and tough I have seen in a long time. Enemies will actively flank you if you have an exposed rear or side, create cover by overturning furniture, dive away from grenades and explosives, and will flush you out with grenades of their own. Any sign of environmental damage you cause when they arrive incites an investigation into the surrounding area for you. Enemies vary by size and type, each with different attack patterns and styles, and each requiring you to take them on a different way. There are no boss battles in F.E.A.R., but there are sequences at times that make up for this factor. Needless to say, saving often is a priority.

The horror aspect is, in my opinion, the selling point of F.E.A.R. Playing on themes of recent years, the game feels a lot like a combination of The Ring and The Mothman Prophecies with a sci-fi base. A little bit of everything jumps out and pretty much scares the crap out of you. Like the fight sequences, you will always know when such a sequence is near, as the screen will recieve ‘interference’ in the form of some static along with a sound reference which shows up in the upper left corner of the screen. When this happens, be ready for anything. You usually don’t have to do much during these sessions except simply proceed through the area.

As a first-person shooter, the game is fairly straight forward in design with an easy learning curve. You can carry only 3 weapons, which makes prioritizing your selection of weapons, well, a priorityThe most interesting and useful control you will find is the Slow-mo mode, which slows down the world to a crawl and gives you a slight advantage in speed and power at the press of a key. Trust me when I say that a combination of a shotgun and Slow-mo is your best friend. The other unique control feature is something that first-person shooters touch on but really have never implimented fully: meele attacks. Making up for the difference of there being no secondary weapon actions, meele attacks are generally one-hit kill scenarios, though its mostly about timing, and if you have a strong weapon like a shotgun, you find yourself not generally using the meele function. You can do several different attacks, ranging from roundhouse kicks to sweeping lunges. It is very well done, as you can actively see your body and limps impact your target, and even though you won’t be using it so much, I’m glad to see them finally implimented strongly in a first-person shooter.

It should also be noted that Monolith definately has a sense of humor. Throughout the game, if you look close enough, you can find plenty of things to turn a laugh, as they almost certainly had a strong obsession with Office Space, as you can find TPS reports, yellow sticky notes on walls and bulitan boards for Chotchkie’s phone number, and red staplers. There are a few other things thrown in which’ll give you a laugh, but you can definately tell that Monolith did.
Otherwise, there isn’t much else to say. Solid gameplay through and through.
Rating: 9 out of 10

Story
The story here is pretty straight forward. You play as the new guy who just joined the First Encounter Assault Recon squad just as an event occurs. Armacham Technology Corporation, a military contractor, has fallen under attack by a most brutal enemy from within. Paxton Fettel, a test subject with psychic powers, goes insane and takes control of a clone batallion of soldiers using said powers. With his new army, Fettel takes control of the Armacham corporate building as well as several districts of the city. You mission is to kill Paxton Fettel. Simple, right?

It is anything but. As your mission begins, you come to notice the strange haunting that surrounds the areas where Fettel is located. You journey through many locations in the city, tracking down Fettel in an attempt to stop the slaughter. However, as the supernatural kicks into high gear, you begin getting hints at a much larger conspiracy in the works, one that I will not spoil for you.

At times, the plot can take a backseat to the action going on, but it drives you to learn. Great work.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Replay Value
For the singleplayer, I’m afraid there really isn’t much to bring you back again. Its fun to play through and see if you can do a speed-run, but otherwise, not much replay value.
Rating: 5 out of 10

Multiplayer
Sadly, as much as I like the singleplayer, I just can’t seem to bring myself to like the multiplayer component. While some aspects are quite fun, its just not what I would want out of it. What you get is pretty much what you’d expect: there are the standard deathmatch and capture the flag modes, each of which are nothing special. The only unique feature I find worth mentioning is the Slow-mo deathmatch mode, which acts as a sort of juggernaut mode. In it, players hunt down 1 specific player who has the ability to pull off the same ability in the singleplayer mode. It can make for interesting matches, as there is also a team Slow-mo mode.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Overall
In conclusion, First Encounter Assault Recon is probably one of the most innovative first-person shooters in terms of player abilities to come along in several years. This game is definately a killer app, and while Monolith refuses to comment on a F.E.A.R. expansion or sequel, in addition to possible ports to the next-gen consoles, I’d like to see what they’re being so secretive about. In a choice between all the first-person games coming out over the next six months, F.E.A.R. is going to be one of the best.
Rating: 9 out of 10

F.E.A.R.
Graphics: 10
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 9
Story / Presentation: 8.5
Replay Value: 5
Overall: 7.5
Overall: 9
Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Monolith Productions
Genre: First-Person Shooter / Survival Horror
Players: 1
ESRB: M
Buy some F.E.A.R.!!!

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