Recent reviews by TheNimanator

F.E.A.R. is a game I've played since I was a teen around when it first launched, then bought it again on Xbox 360 and once more here on Steam. It's a strong blend of action and, let's call it spooky thriller rather than horror, with some extremely tight action gunplay. If you are looking for this game to *scare* you then you might find it disappointing but it has a well paced narrative and spooky atmosphere to match.

Graphically this game now looks dated, but for a game from the mid-2000s it has some of the strongest lighting you will ever see in a game from this era. Character models look more stylized than realistic with decent facial animations. Despite the load times for each level, the in-game set-pieces also transition fairly smoothly. Some textures look nicer than others but for the most part you won't find anything particularly modern looking in this game aside from its lighting. The lighting is more or less the star of the show when it comes to the game's visuals and they use it to delicious effect. Flickering lights when something spooky is occurring, enemies killing room lights to ambush the player, the lighting is masterfully utilized in a way few games take advantage of even nowadays.

The soundtrack is an interesting part to analyze with F.E.A.R. It is not going to leave you humming any bangers, but it has a moody soundtrack that leans into its thriller aesthetic quite nicely. More often than not, the music will be either subdued or not present at all during moments of gameplay. This is one of those games where dialogue during gameplay is mostly minimal and the player is left to their own devices to piece the story together. Much like other shooters of this era, the player character never speaks which can humorously turn up in an easter egg conversation or two in the game. Speaking of which, the voice acting is surprisingly good for a game of this era, with a key character being voiced by Grant Goodeve, the Engineer from Team Fortress 2. A large amount of dialogue is told through phone messages and just about every line is delivered very professionally and immersively. The enemy characters also routinely speak to each other, cluing you in on what they are presently doing. The Ai system in the game is not as smart as it seems, but for the time it was refreshing to see enemies rush you, take cover, flank and even retreat in response to your actions. Their death cries can also be brutally comical which only adds to the insane fun. Finally, the foley in this game is insanely good. Sound effects sound remarkably realistic with some very solid mixing. The guns in particular sound incredibly satisfying in your hands or the enemies. Praise the shotgun! The only blemish on this area in the game is some explosive sound effects sound a little weak compared to the hand grenades.

Finally with the gameplay, truly the strongest element of F.E.A.R., I am hard pressed to find many flaws in this department. It might be disappointing to only be able to carry three weapons, but I feel the strategy involved adds to the story's "you're mostly flying off the seat of your pants" feel. Every weapon in the game has a very strong kick to it. The player character also sports enhanced reflections in the form of slow-mo, which incidentally boosts your damage output. It takes a very long time to charge back up so it's key to use this strategically during firefights but proves to be immeasurably satisfying when tearing enemies up. The game itself will mosey itself forward in what feels a little like cycles. Each chapter will feature some gun fights, a spooky set piece here or there and some quieter moments where the player can freely explore for a bit.

Probably the game's biggest flaw is its environments. Unlike Halo or Half-Life, you're not traversing a variety of interesting biomes, but rather you start in an industrial neighborhood and then spend the bulk of the rest of the game in a military/science office complex which is mostly samey hallways and office rooms until the last couple of chapters. This can lead to some frustrating moments where player gets a little lost and there is no map to use.

Additionally, there is not a ton of enemy variety, but I feel that because of their erratic and quasi-predictable behaviors, the game never reaches the point of being dull. If you think back to Resident Evil 4, that game also uses its Ganado enemies rather frequently, but the different set pieces allow for some very fun and interesting firefights. I feel the same applies here. If you can get past these issues, I feel the game is a blast otherwise.

F.E.A.R. is one of those games that strives to be something rather specific and then goes well out of its way to be that and nothing more. I personally have never understood why it fell out of the pop culture zeitgeist because, as a shooter, it's one of gamiest shooters I've ever played. It rarely takes control out of your hands and it gives you a number of tools to sway the firefight momentum depending on your playstyle. With a fairly interesting narrative that features a couple crazy twists, and a somewhat future proof enemy ai and lighting system, while many don't really talk about this game, I personally see it as just as legendary as the likes of Halo, RE4 and Half-Life. It's crappy that WB never does anything with this series because it, especially this first entry, is something special.

So you see how I have almost an hour and a half logged into this thing? Yeah that was mostly my time testing after troubleshooting. This game made me jump through numerous hoops just for it to look decent and to recognize I had controllers connected.

The graphics, music and direction are decent and evocative of the Arkham games, but the plot is derivative and frankly stupid. It ends on a weirdly open and detached note that reads like a hastily written fanfiction that is far less clever than it thinks it is. Even fanfiction is a bit too generous a weird given how short this is. I bought it on a rather nice sale and I still feel ripped off. Not even hearing Kevin Conroy's performance was enough to redeem the value at all. You would honestly get roughly the same experience just watching someone play it on YouTube (which would maybe be a 10-20 minute viewing, maybe double that if they go for 100%).

All in all, can't say I recommend this 'game' at all.