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| | Title:
F.E.A.R.
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System:
Xbox 360
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Genre:
First-Person Shooter
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Publisher:
Sierra Entertainment, Inc.
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Developer:
Monolith Productions
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Release:
TBA
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
Rating Pending (RP)
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In order to flesh out the Xbox 360 library, more and more popular PC titles are finding themselves being ported over to Microsoft's system. While some of these games are questionable (Battle for Middle Earth II), others make perfect sense. One of the games that falls into the latter category is a First Person Shooter which goes by the name of F.E.A.R. Released for the PC last year, F.E.A.R. is still one of the most hardware-intensive games to date. F.E.A.R. is also one of the more rewarding. By combining the scare tactics made popular by Doom 3, Matrix-style slow motion, and a killer story of intrigue, F.E.A.R. is going to blow gamers away when it finally lands on the Xbox 360 this fall.
F.E.A.R., which stands for First Encounter Assault Recon, will scare gamers. The team at Monolith really knew how to add elements into the game that will keep gamers on edge. Whether it is the scary music, random appearances by a creepy little girl, or the fear of being overrun by enemies, one thing is certain: this game is damn scary. I won't go into any specifics because that would be cheating you guys out of some truly awesome moments.
The story of F.E.A.R. is a relatively simple one on the surface. It's only after hours of game time that players are going to realize just how deep this game's narrative truly is. Players take on the role of a nameless new recruit in the elite F.E.A.R. division. As it turns out, an old friend named Paxton Fettle has gone rouge, and thanks to his psychic abilities, now has control over an army of mind controllable super soldiers. Early on, your only goal is to track Fettle and eliminate him. But slowly, through the occurrence of creepy flashbacks and encounters with other key individuals, the story will dive into the origins of the hero and how they tie into Fettle's past. F.E.A.R. is one of the few FPS titles to have an excellent story driving the gameplay, while remaining one that is easy to understand but at the same time be very comprehensive.
But to get to the real meat of the story, players are going to have to survive vicious encounters with Fettle's army of super soldiers. F.E.A.R. has been touted with having some of the best A.I. in recent times, and with the PC levels I've played I can safely say these statements are warranted. Like in Halo, the A.I. in F.E.A.R. reacts to each individual situation in a unique way. Never assume you're safe because the A.I. will run circles around you, and mow you down without hesitation. One moment they are behind a wall and the next there are two rushing your position while a third fires blindly at your position. Each encounter is extremely intense. But the guys at Monolith do provide players with some help by making the enemies shout out when they see the player or when they maneuver to a new position. While this does sound like cheating to some, people are going to need these audio cues. Beyond this, from what I can tell, the player is on their own. Needless to say, so far it seems like F.E.A.R. has one of the most important components for an FPS, enemy A.I., nailed down.
To fight against these clever enemies, players are going to need a healthy amount of firepower and F.E.A.R. is looking to provide plenty. Some of the firearms seen so far are quite traditional, while others bring a unique set of devastation to the playing field. There will be the typical sub-machine gun, assault rifle, and shotgun (a personal favorite) readily available to the player. But also at his or her disposal will be weapons like the nail gun and rocket launcher. Of all the weapons so far revealed, the nail gun is the most brutal. Instead of traditional bullets, the nail gun instead fires large spikes. If the enemy happens to be in front of a wall, the final shot that kills them will also nail them right to it. Now just imagine all the places someone can be shot and you'll quickly get the idea of just how brutal this gun is. I've played with it on the PC version of F.E.A.R. and it lives up to its name.
If firearms were the only weapons players had in their arsenal, F.E.A.R. would come off not only as a very typical FPS, but also a very difficult one. To further level the playing field players will have the ability to slow down time. Now "bullet time" has become clichéd since its appearance in Max Payne, but you haven't seen anything like what F.E.A.R. offers. Ever wanted to play a game that recreated the cool bullet time effects from the Matrix better than the directors could ever hope for? Then F.E.A.R. is your game. Going into bullet time is quite a trip. The enemy's movements, particle explosions, and even the sounds slow down. Everything becomes one large slow motion masterpiece. The real advantage to bullet time is that the aim of your gun improves and it allows the player to get a quick jump on enemy soldiers. The bullet time option was not something just tacked on; it is truly vital to the completion of the game.
In addition, players are given the ability to use melee attacks, which are extremely effective in the heat of battle. For example, let's say for some reason the enemy has gotten too close. You have a variety of options: the traditional "smack ‘em with the gun" attack is there, in addition to F.E.A.R.’s much cooler "kick" system. Players can either do a leaping double kick or roundhouse depending on how far away the enemy is and whether the player is jumping or not. Honestly, from what I've experienced the melee attacks are more of a "you got pwned" mechanic than actually useful. It was hard to tell exactly how far away enemies had to be to lay a successful kick, and the enemy models didn't react properly to being kicked in the face with a boot.
On the PC, F.E.A.R. did come with a limited yet fun online multiplayer. Gametypes were limited to deathmatch and CTF variants that either permitted or denied the ability to go into bullet time. The problem with this multiplayer was the horrible respawn points. Too often players would respawn in a room full of enemies or, right behind the person who just killed them. This lead to a lot of unfair deaths, and made surviving in F.E.A.R. for more than five seconds a feat in of itself. There is not a doubt in my mind that the Xbox 360 port of F.E.A.R. will also include an online component. Hopefully, Monolith will polish up the online portion of F.E.A.R. for the 360 to mimic the single player campaign's level of playability.
How all these components will play on the Xbox 360, no one is really sure yet because no one has gotten a chance to try the game using a controller. But if successful ports like Call of Duty 2 are any indication, moving a game over to the 360, especially if it is an FPS, is never a bad move. The Xbox 360 controller is made for FPS’s, and I'm sure each move, whether it is going into bullet time or firing off a weapon, will feel second nature. I personally can't wait to play this game on Microsoft's console. I'm a huge fan of the PC iteration of F.E.A.R. and the idea of playing it on my HDTV with 5.1 surround sound should be a blast. Look for more info on the Xbox 360 version of F.E.A.R. at E3.
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