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Best FPS Combat I've Ever Seen!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 20
Date: June 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I was lucky enough to get the chance to play this game at the E3 2005 conference and I must say that I was completely blown away! Everything positive you've heard about this game is TRUE. Many of the games at E3 were just movies of gameplay (some even pre-rendered movies - Killzone 2 anyone), but I actually PLAYED FEAR myself. Everything that I state below is from my first-hand experience PLAYING the game. No faked demo, just full on gaming goodness!

GRAPHICS:

Screen shots do not do this game justice. If you can find a video of the game, I highly recommend watching it. FEAR must be seen in real-time to be believed! The attention to detail is astounding. All the lights in the environment cast shadows in real time! If you shoot a light it either goes out or swings around realistically flickering on and off and casting MOVING shadows the whole time. This might sound like a small detail, but it really helps to make the environment feel real/dynamic and not static. Also, you can destroy almost all the glass (windows) you see and they shatter realistically (I had a blast just running around shooting the windows). Also the weapon effects are breathtaking! The muzzle flash lights up the world around you and sometimes even the bullet impacts create light flashes...dynamic lighting is very cool! The bullet holes created by shooting the environment are actual holes! Some of the weapons even create big holes in the walls/ceiling/etc.! Also, unlike most FPS there is a lot of smoke/sparks created by the gun fights which makes it very difficult to see the enemies sometimes. This adds a TON to the realistic feel of the combat (which I'll get to next).

Also, there is this very cool bullet-time like mode where you can slow down time. It works just like Max Payne except is WAY cooler as all the weapons create FX like the movie The Matrix so you can see where your bullets are going. This mode is something you just hit a button to activate and it gives you a big advantage over the extremely challenging AI (see below). When in this mode all of the sounds in the game slow down too! Also there is this cool effect where everything looks a little blurred...Hard to explain, but cool as hell!

The environments are very beautiful too. I'm so glad it's in a real-world location and not some lame space station. The level I played felt like a real place...this made the scary moments (encounter with the little girl...see below) all the more scary. The detail was incredible. The bricks on the walls didn't look flat like most games, you could actually see each individual brick had depth! Also the real-time shadows added a ton. You can even see your own shadow! (and legs...it's about time!). This added to the creepy factor a lot as I ran around every once in a while I'd get scared by my own shadow! But you actually get used to it pretty quick (it's hard for me to play Half Life 2 now as I feel like I'm just floating around as a body-less head and arms :)

In other words, this game's graphics engine is second to none, I hope more games make use of it!

COMBAT:

Definitely the thing that sets FEAR above and beyond any other FPS I've ever played (and I've played them all!). The AI is the best I've ever seen! It doesn't feel like you're playing against AI it feels like you're playing against real people! They call out to each other just like real soldiers. If you throw a grenade, the yell "grenade!" and take cover. If you try and circle around them, and one of them sees you they'll say "He's trying to flank." Also, they understand/use the environment in ways I've never seen before. They jump over railings / crawl under pipes, knock over things to give themselves cover, etc. Also, if you're hiding by something, they'll yell to their friends "he's by the pipe" or "he's behind the wall." It really helps to immerse you in the game. Also, they use real-world tactics against you. They won't just rush you like every other FPS AI, where you can just hide around a corner and wait for them to come one at a time into your aim. These guys will wait for YOU to come to them...Or if there's an alternative route (which there usually is) one of them will go around and attack you from behind (so you can't just play the waiting game). In other words, when it's 3 AI against you, just like in real-life you feel like you're a bad @$$ if you beat them all. However, saying all that you should realize FEAR isn't like a tactical-sim (Rainbow 6) game. It has elements of that, but it plays more like Call of Duty or Half Life 2. However, the combat is waaaaay better than either of those games. Seriously, if you like FPSs download the demo and give it a try...you won't be sorry!

STORY:

Everything I stated above is more than enough of a reason to buy this game. However, the thing that I think will make FEAR an instant classic is that it has a very interesting story as well! In the demo I played at E3 not much of the story was explained, but if you look around the web you can find out more about the story. Basically you're part of a group of highly specialized soldiers that is only called in when the situation gets really bad (somewhere I read it's sort of like an X-files SWAT team...or something). In other words when something extra-ordinary (supernatural?) is involved they call in your unit. As far as I can tell the premise of FEAR is that there is some type of super-powerful little girl (sort of like the movie The Ring) that is killing lots of people. However, she seems to appear out of nowhere and can move quickly from place to place, walk on the ceiling, etc....very creepy! Also there is some sort of army of super-soldiers that either she controls or some 3rd group controls (not sure about this one as the information is somewhat sketchy). Anyway, I'm totally convinced the story will be awesome! Monolith (the developer of the game) has always made games with outstanding stories (like No One Lives Forever and Aliens VS Predator 2).

BOTTOM LINE:

BUY THIS GAME! If you like FPS you will be glad you did

Closed BETA testing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 12
Date: June 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

We were only able to play it multiplayer, the beta did not include a single player campaign. This game has excellent FPS gameplay. The additional options are a refreshing bonus. While holding a weapon you can use it melee (for example a buttstock to the head), also a jump kick attack that if aimed properly can take down an enemy with one hit. Holding your weapon and still being able to throw a grenade is always useful. The weapon variety is nice (although not complete, as we were just testers).
The few glitches we did find should be easily fixed by the time this game hits the shelf.

And come'on, what could be better than a 8 year old girl as a head badguy. (ok so that's personal interest)

May be it is a good game if you had a high end video card

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 10 / 25
Date: October 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Warning! If you can play Battlefield 2 in highest resolution doesn't mean your video card can support this game. I have a Geforce FX 5600 ultra and played BF2 in highest resolution, Half-life 2 in highest resolution and setting but only can play FEAR in 620x600 resolution ? radiculus and unbelievable. Why? don't ask me Ask Sierra. BE..BE.. BE.. CAREFUL and check your video card before buying this game

Bad reviewing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 16
Date: October 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Its not helpful when people criticise a game and give it low rankings just because they have video card issues. A learned gamer knows his stuff and stays ahead of the game. If u don't update your video card for more than a year you can't expect it to handle the more demanding newer games. So critique just the game and don't bring us your video card issues because we don't care. The game is very good by the way. Most sophisticated AI i've seen in a game.

Great Game, so u need a good videocard

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 9
Date: October 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a fantastic game. To the people who are saying all this negetive stuff about it because they have a bad video card, come on, man-up, if your a computer gamer you should know what you need. Espicially to the guy who said he could play BF2 on high res, and not on FEAR. High res barely means anything, its what graphic settings really matter. And of course you cant have it on high with FEAR, Fear is far superior to BF2 graphically. You need at least a 6600gt to run it smoothly.

Terrifying Single Player! A Must have for horror game fans!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: October 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is probably one of the best single players to have come around since Doom 3. This game provides an genuinely creepy atmosphere that is unlike anything that has ever been done. If you love Horror survival games, this game is for you.
As for the multiplayer portion of the game, I agree with the previous review. The learning curve is way too high and if you don't have time to play everyday, you will only continue to be constantly killed either by one shot kills, or unarmed attack. Its just not fun.

Get the game for the virtual and visual feast that the single player is.

Excellent Single Player Game but a Mediocre Multiplayer

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 13
Date: October 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Words cannot describe how creepy and atmospheric this game is. The developers obviously worked hard to provide a good story and have taken linear gameplay to an entirely different level, making it unique and fun. This game is scary and fun and you will be jumping in your seat as you're playing it.

Avoid the multiplayer. Slow motion deathmatch lags and my rig surpasses the system requirements. Be prepared to get obliterated in one shot kills and the unarmed attack is the single worst feature. There are far BETTER multiplayer games out there and this is DEFINITELY NOT one of them.

It would have also been nice to see a coopertive multiplayer included as it would have been a blast to play with your friends as a team.

Get the game for the single player, its WORTH the money for that alone but unless you have alot of time on your hands for the multiplayer, avoid it altogether. Its definitely NOT worth it.

All in all I rate this game a 5 for the single player and a 2 for the multiplayer.

At Best....It's As Good As Half Life 2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: October 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I play this game with a PCI Radeon 9250 graphics card, 800x600 32-bit color resolution, with 1 gig ram and 2.8 ghz processor and i am still pleased with the gameplay and graphics (obviously i know the game is more capable than these setting with a better computer)..but the point is..even with a mediocre card...game still plays great. Great graphics, gameplay, awesome AI. It's as good as Half Life 2.

Been there done that. Nothing new. Wait until it hits the bargain bin

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: October 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

From the little girl that resembles the character from The Ring, to the closed in extremely linear gameplay, there really isn't nothing new to this game.

Also be aware if you want to play this at a decent frame rate, make sure you have have at least a Radeon 9600 or an equivalent nvidia.

FAIR Levels get too stale and repetitive after awhile

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: October 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While this game has some of the best AI out there, the linear gameplay gets a bit tedious after awhile. Map levels are a bit closed off. Incorporating a couple of wide open levels would have been nice.

This game looks and feels great but theres no real incentive to replay it because of it being so linear. Multiplayer is ok but a bit laggy.

All in all. its fun for the most part but definitely not worth the full price.

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