| When you get down to it, the gun is the heart | | | | standard fare of guns to play around with, |
| and soul of a first-person shooter. Even the | | | | including a pistol, submachine gun, assault rifle, |
| genre's name alludes to this fact. Yet while | | | | shotgun, and rocket launcher. There's also a |
| shooters have been around for more than a | | | | scoped, burst-firing rifle that's a dead ringer for |
| decade, very few of them have actually captured | | | | the Master Chief's battle rifle in Halo 2; an |
| the visceral experience of firing a gun. It's an | | | | incredibly nasty particle weapon that sears the |
| intense and violent act, not to mention loud. Enter | | | | flesh off of opponents; and a few other special |
| F.E.A.R., the highly anticipated action game from | | | | toys. All of these weapons, even the pistols, pack |
| Vivendi Universal Games and developer Monolith. | | | | an incredibly satisfying punch and are capable of |
| F.E.A.R. is a shooter that captures the sensation | | | | putting down opponents quickly (you can even |
| of being in wild and desperate firefights like no | | | | dual-wield the pistols, for that extra John |
| other game before it, and it's an incredible, kinetic, | | | | Woo-style gunfight action). This goes against the |
| almost exhausting experience from start to finish. | | | | genre's convention, since most shooters usually |
| More than that, though, is the fact that it's also | | | | scale weapons on a curve, with the smaller and |
| one of the most atmospheric and creepy games | | | | lighter ones being next to useless later on in the |
| ever made, as well as one of the most intense | | | | game. That's not the case in F.E.A.R., and virtually |
| shooters that you'll play this year. | | | | every gun you use can tear up the place. |
| F.E.A.R. is easily one of the creepiest and most | | | | Combat simply looks and feels spectacular, |
| atmospheric shooters ever made. You'll also battle | | | | because the environment looks like it's flying apart |
| some amazingly smart opponents. | | | | due to all the bullets. |
| The challenge in describing F.E.A.R. is trying to | | | | You can't run around like a pack rat carrying |
| avoid any spoilers, because this is definitely a | | | | every weapon, though, because F.E.A.R. limits you |
| game that you want to experience unspoiled. | | | | to only three weapons at a time. This is a familiar |
| What we can tell you is that you play as the | | | | gameplay mechanic, but it's a good one, as you |
| newest member of the First Encounter Assault | | | | have to weigh the pros and cons of each |
| Recon, the military's top-secret task force | | | | weapon. Obviously, you'd like to have a |
| assigned to deal with paranormal situations. And | | | | close-range weapon, a decent long-range weapon, |
| the mission in F.E.A.R. certainly counts as above | | | | and a heavy weapon for those special |
| and beyond the regular call of duty. As explained | | | | encounters, but it's tempting when the game |
| in the opening cinematic (which is also game's only | | | | offers you a rocket launcher or a repeating |
| third-person cutscene), a military commander | | | | cannon that you weren't expecting. At that point, |
| named Paxton Fettel goes insane and takes | | | | something has to be sacrificed. In addition to guns, |
| command of a secret army of cloned soldiers | | | | you also have grenades in your arsenal. And unlike |
| that are telepathically linked to him. Fettel and the | | | | most shooters, in which you have to equip |
| battalion of elite soldiers then go on the rampage | | | | grenades separately prior to using them, the |
| in a nondescript American city. They appear to be | | | | grenades in F.E.A.R. can be readily thrown at the |
| searching for something, though their objective is | | | | press of a button. This eliminates the need to |
| a mystery. It's up to you and the rest of the | | | | fumble around with your inventory, and it opens |
| F.E.A.R. team, along with units of Delta Force, to | | | | up your tactical playbook, as you can toss a |
| find out what it is they're looking for and stop | | | | grenade without a moment's hesitation and force |
| them. | | | | the enemy to react. |
| F.E.A.R. works because it elevates first-person | | | | F.E.A.R. is quite easily one of the most intense and |
| shooter combat to cinematic levels. And while | | | | atmospheric games that you'll play, and it's a |
| we've certainly seen games with movie-quality | | | | spectacular blend of horror and action. You can't |
| combat before, you've never seen anything quite | | | | help but get the feeling that this is a game that's |
| like this. Playing F.E.A.R. is like battling through a | | | | the spiritual successor to the original Half-Life, |
| John Woo movie like Face/Off, because when | | | | because it's so obviously inspired by that classic |
| firefights happen in this game, they're downright | | | | game. Indeed, some of the locations and enemies |
| glorious to behold. Bullets tear chunks out of | | | | are highly reminiscent of those in Half-Life. This is |
| concrete and wood; blinding clouds of dust and | | | | a game that will thrill you one moment and scare |
| debris fill the air; bodies are torn apart or slump | | | | you the next. F.E.A.R. features some of the |
| on the ground; and the deathly silence of the | | | | greatest gunplay available in a first-person |
| aftermath contrasts so sharply with the sheer | | | | shooter, and it elevates the art of firing a gun to |
| chaos that erupted only moments before. | | | | whole new levels. This alone makes it an incredibly |
| Gunfights in F.E.A.R. just feel right. | | | | intense game that must be experienced. The fact |
| Part of the reason for that is because the | | | | that it's also one of the creepiest games ever |
| weapons that you have in the game feel | | | | made is just icing on the cake. |
| powerful, like weapons should. You have the | | | | |