F.E.A.R (Xbox 360) Review
Posted by Steve McHugh on 11.29.2006
Best shotgun EVER.
At first thought it would seem that Horror games and the FPS genre should be the perfect blend. Putting you right in the middle of the action as FPS games do should prove to be a terrifying experience. Strangely though very few games manage it and even fewer seem to pull it off with any success. System Shock 2 managed it to a very high level but then it’s been all quiet up until this year when Monolith release Condemned on the 360. It’s a good game but had more then a few issues with it before it could become a great one.
And so roughly a year on Monolith releases a port of its PC classic F.E.A.R into an already over crowded FPS market on the system. Let’s see if it’s good enough to stand out.
You play as a member of First Encounter Assault Recon or F.E.A.R for short and you’re hunting down Paxton Fettel who as well as having an appetite for eating people has telepathically linked himself to a battalion of clones soldiers who are now doing his bidding. It’s your job to stop Fettel before anything worse happens and try to figure out exactly what is going on at the same time. As far as stories go this is hardly charting new territory, that’s not to say it’s bad because it’s engaging and on occasion well thought out. Unfortunately most of the story is told as you progress through the levels where you find messages on telephones and laptops so that you can fill in the gaps as to what is going on. It’s a nice idea but most of the messages are either quickly over or have nothing to do with the plot at all. It would have been nice to have found some films that told the story instead of the occasional message.
But to be honest who cares? The story is secondary to the rest of the game and what a game it is.
Graphics
This is truly a beautiful game with fantastic lighting effects that really do help set the atmosphere during play. The flickering of lights of a brightly lit room suddenly becoming very dark are some of the tricks at play here and all of them help to build the scary parts of the game well.
The character models are also excellent. In fact they’re so good that some of the actions they partake in are all the more shocking for it. Early in the game you find a man strapped to a chair with half of his jaw missing and blood everywhere. It’s a moment when you realize that this game is capable of doing things that look wonderful but will freak you out quite happily.
As well as the game looking good it also has superb rag-doll physics. When you shoot someone they’ll fly across the room or crumple to the ground depending on what you do. If you use the nailgun then you will actually nail your target to the wall in a very shocking visual image, especially if it hits them in the head.
The only slight downside is the repetitive nature of the environments. Because most of the game takes place in office buildings and such there is an issue where everything starts to look the same. Fortunately the action is so unrelenting that you’ll rarely care too much but when the action stops you will start to notice it.
When you come up against these guys you're going to need a really big gun.
Gameplay
The first thing about F.E.A.R is that it can be very scary indeed. Ghosts flash up in front of you and occasionally you’ll see people just walk in front of an exit just up ahead. The little girl is particularly creepy and in one section she really does kick your ass. All of this adds up to a game that you’ll want to leave the lights on when playing. It’s not as scary as say Silent Hill but it is unnerving and will make you jump and feel uncomfortable during certain parts. One part quite early on sees the little girl throwing you through a window with fire all around you. It ranks up there as one of the creepiest things I’ve ever experienced whilst playing a game.
Added to this sense of terror are your enemies. In this game they’re a bunch of cloned Special Forces type and to say they’re smart is an understatement. The A.I in this game is phenomenal. Run out at a bunch of them guns blazing and you’ll be dead in short order. Run away and you’ll quickly find yourself having grenades thrown at you whilst they flank you and come up behind. It really is impressive behavior and is a far cry from the scripted enemies you find in most games of this type. It also means that you constantly have to keep your wits about you during battles.
However all is not lost as you are not exactly helpless in battle. Firstly you’ve got some great weapons. As I said earlier, the nailgun is especially brutal but the Sniper Particle Cannon is awesome to use and pretty vicious to watch too. However they all pale next to the beauty of the humble shotgun. This has the greatest shotgun ever and will become one of your choice weapons throughout the game. Mostly because it kills things quickly but also because if you hit an enemy right you’ll blow off an arm or in extreme circumstances just cut him in half. It’s actually a shocking thing to witness, as I wasn’t expecting it at all.
On top of your arsenal you also have slow-mo. Yes I can hear groaning as slow-mo makes it into another game. I’m very much aware that slow-mo is either fantastic (Max Payne) or dreadful (the Matrix games shockingly) and this doesn’t deviate from that path. It’s fantastic and also probably the most useful thing in the game. When you come across a room full of soldiers ready to kill you running in blasting away in slow mo is a great feeling. The slow-mo itself is also auto replenishing so you can use it over and over again after a few seconds recovery and believe me you will use it constantly because without it you’ll be dead in seconds.
I’ve mentioned that the A.I is very intelligent, well this is on normal. The higher difficulty levels are unbelievably hard. How hard? Well if you had difficulty with Ninja Gaiden or Halo on Legendary then these will be more then a challenge to you. Fortunately throughout the game you can find medi kits and store up to 10 at a time, using them as needed. To begin with you won’t need too many but by the time you really get into the game you’ll be using these up on a very regular basis.
Oh one last thing about the single player is the save system. Instead of just saving anywhere there are checkpoints that save your progress either right before or after most major battles. It’s a good system that means you don’t have to replay large chunks of the game.
The other part of the main game is the multiplayer aspect. This is basically an online death match where you can pick through a bunch of options. One in particular is very cool where one person gets to control the slow-mo when no one else has it but you show up brightly on the other players’ radar. It’s all a lot of fun but if you’re looking for any off line modes then look elsewhere as there’s none here. It’s a massive blow to what would have been an excellent addition. The same can be said for not including a co-op mode, something this game is crying out for.
You're about to get your ass whooped.
Sound
Combined with the graphics this is very atmospheric music that managed to also creep you out, be it by the dripping of water or someone screaming. On top of the excellent music there are also the voices, which are all very well done.
Lasting Appeal
Well the game only lasts about 10 hours. There is some new bonus content though. The main parts of which are the extra mission and Instant action. The extra mission is an ultra tough but also ultra short mission that fleshes out the story. It’s nice and everything but why not include the expansion pack you can get for the PC game. Unless they’re planning to put that on as a download on Xbox live it strikes me as a huge omission. However, Instant action is a whole different story. This puts you into the thick of the action and scores your performance. At the end you can post this on Xbox live and its tremendous fun and something you’ll go back to over and over to get better scores.
You’ve also got the multiplayer, which could last you a long time although a lack of co-op mode really does stand out.
A special mention needs to go out to the achievements for this game. Most are pretty straightforward requiring you to beat the harder difficulty levels (which are very very hard) but some achievements are so difficult I can’t see anyone other then the really hardcore getting them. Only using 500 bullets the whole game or not using slow-mo are catering to the insane.
Freaky stuff like this happens quite a lot
Fun factor
This is a lot of fun to play either by yourself or online. The weapons are all exciting and great to use and the A.I means that the game is always fast paced and tense. It’s never frustrating and when you die it’ll be because you just weren’t good enough and so you’ll go back and try again.
One thing I will say though that in the UK this has gotten an 18 certificate. If this were in the States I think that’s the equivalent to an NC17 or an R rated movie and you should be aware that it is because apart from it being scary and having lots of swearing there is a lot of gore in the game. It’s never done just for the sake of it but if you’re a person who doesn’t like that or if you’re picking it up for someone else then just be cautious because this may not be for you. Everyone else though is gonna love it.
The 411
I’ve been trying to think of a good way to sum this game up to show just how utterly fantastic it is so I’ll just say this. F.E.A.R is not just the best FPS game on the 360 (which it is with ease) but the best console FPS game since Halo 2. It is fantastic in almost every single way and anyone who owns a 360 should go and buy it. If you don’t own a 360 then this is a pretty damn big reason to go get one.
Graphics
9.0
Utterly amazing all the way through. Shame about the repetitive environments though.
Gameplay
9.5
Both polished and responsive controls and some of the best AI I’ve seen in a game help to make this a joy to play. And the game is tough too which is nice.
Sound
9.5
Creepy and atmosphere building music and effects. Voices are also excellent throughout.
Lasting Appeal
8.5
You’ll finish the single campaign in about 10 hours but you’ll play it at least once more. Instant action is a great idea and extends the game well beyond that. Multiplayer is also a lot of fun but a lack of offline or co-op is a big blow.
Fun Factor
10.0
From start to finish this is both scary and smile inducing sometimes at the same time. It’s incredibly addictive and not a game you’ll want to play alone at night with the lights off. Also nailing people to walls by their heads never seems to get boring.
