Technical Standpoint
• Windows 2000/XP
• Pentium 4 – 1.7GHz or equivalent
(P4 3.0 GHz Recommended)
• 512MB Ram (1024 MB Recommended)
• 64MB Video Memory (Radeon 9800 or GeForce
6600, 256 MB Recommended)
• 5 GB Free Hard Drive Space
• DirectX Version 9.0c
The minimum and recommended system requirements
for F.E.A.R. are listed above, but you should
still be well aware that this game is a system
hog. It is clearly one of the most demanding games
available today, so the minimum requirements will
just barely be enough for the game to play on
the lowest settings possible. With my Radeon 9600xt,
1GB of RAM and a P4 2.53GHz processor, I was able
to play with medium detail settings on 800x600,
without any added features such as anti-aliasing
or anisotropic filtering. However, if you’re
lucky enough to own a Radeon X850 or Nvidia 7800,
you should be able to enjoy F.E.A.R. in all of
its beauty.
Astonishing Visuals
Gamers are certainly going to be in for a treat
if their rig is good enough to play F.E.A.R. on
high settings. First off, the moody lighting effects
used throughout make you scared to walk alone
in the dark, even if you do have a flashlight.
Enemy’s shadows can clearly be seen if the
lighting is right, but no matter how hard you
try to prevent yourself from being spooked, an
enemy lurking in the shadows can easily get the
best of you. While some of the level designs are
recycled throughout the game, you’ll still
be scared by the aroma irregardless of how many
empty halls you walk through. Ghostly encounters
happen frequently, and while some of the cinematic
sequences can be a little on the corny side, quickly
seeing a dark figure bolt through a doorway can
freak you out a little bit. The particle effects
are simply gorgeous, rewarding players who try
out different weapons and aim for explosive barrels.
Smaller features too, such as the environment’s
ability to be broken apart from crossfire, show
that a lot of work was put into F.E.A.R. in order
to make it as horrifyingly realistic as possible.
Shocking Audio
A lot of today’s latest games can certainly
look impressive, but most of them aren’t
accompanied by an audio experience that truly
immerses the gamer into their surroundings. Luckily,
F.E.A.R. delivers one of the greatest sound performances
we’ve heard in a long time. When creeping
through a building on your search for enemies,
everything is dead silent. Drops of water can
be heard from a leaking pipe, mice can be heard
scurrying in the background, and the only real
noise accompanying you is your footsteps. Even
the slightest noise will make you want to turn
up the volume just so you can determine if you
heard another soldier, and moments later a vigorous
gunfight will break out. Grenades will be whizzing
across the room, the opponents will be shouting
commands to each other, and the blasting of assault
rifles, shotguns, and a various array of other
weapons firing will fill the air. As soon as these
enemies are taken care of, everything will go
back to that familiar dead silence, and such a
sharp contrast will certainly leave you shaking.
To top it all off, often the main character will
hear voices rattling inside his head, and the
developers really did a nice job portraying the
troubles that they caused him. All of this, accompanied
with an eerie soundtrack at times, makes F.E.A.R.’s
sound department truly commendable.
First Encounter Assault Recon –
Locked and Loaded
To start off, one of the best features about
the gameplay in F.E.A.R. involves the sheer number
of weapons that become available throughout the
adventure. While you’ll obviously wield
standard FPS weaponry, such as pistols, sub-machine
guns, and assault rifles, F.E.A.R. also has its
fair share of innovative weaponry as well. Throughout
the course of the game you can also find a plasma
weapon that can burn the skin from enemies, a
nail gun that can pin enemies to the wall and
even repeating cannons that can deal a hefty amount
of damage. You can carry around two weapons at
any given time, and an assortment of grenades
can be used at the press of a button. Frag grenades
will explode on impact if they touch an enemy,
so it’s probably in your best interest to
take a few steps back before you toss some of
these bad boys around.
Interestingly enough, certain karate moves, such
as drop kicks, side kicks, and melee punches,
can also be used if you’re low on ammunition.
Even with the wide selection, you’ll most
likely end up using a few of your favorite weapons
throughout the entire game. In addition, health
packs are scattered throughout the levels and
can be used by the press of a button, allowing
you to easily recover even if you’re in
the middle of a battle.
To go along with the vast weapon selection, the
combat scenes in F.E.A.R. are nothing short of
extraordinary. A seemingly empty room can burst
out into a firefight in instances, where you’ll
first want to dash towards any form of cover.
Whether you quickly run back to the room you just
came from or decide to be a little more daring
and hide behind some scattered boxes, the initial
burst of intensity will surely make your heart
pound. At this point, the intelligent A.I. will
work together to take you down, so any battle
could easily be your last. If you wait in one
spot too long you’ll be flushed out with
a grenade, and if you run out into combat too
soon a barrage of bullets will surely greet you.
Each firefight will require you to analyze your
environment in order to devise a plan that can
leave you unscathed. While it would be much simpler
if you could just pop around a corner and blast
the hell out of anything in sight, the enemies
in F.E.A.R. will do anything they can to take
you down. Whether they’re diving through
windows to avoid a grenade, piling up objects
to create cover, or if they’re working in
small groups to flank you, the computer opponents
are well aware of what’s going on at all
times.
As far as the actual combat is carried out, F.E.A.R.
again manages to deliver well in this respect.
Each weapon carries a unique feel that lets you
know when it wants to be used; in some of the
long range scenarios you’ll want to dust
off the scope on your battle rifle, while some
of the close quarters confrontations will simply
beg for the use of a rocket launcher. No matter
what the situation is, sometimes you’ll
need a little extra time to sit down, line up
your shot, and kick some ass. Luckily, a slow
motion mechanism can be activated to heighten
your combat reflexes, allowing you to overcome
some of the hairier situations. In slow motion,
a marvelous motion blur effect will sweep the
world, allowing you see the trace of every bullet
in the air, easily giving you the opportunity
to locate the source of the attack. Explosive
effects will also send out a magnificent shockwave
when time is slowed, but you’ll still have
to react fast if you don’t want to get hurt.
Fighting in slow motion is significantly easier
because you’ll have the time to crouch,
look through your scope, line up your shot, and
then take your enemy’s head off without
them being able to deal any damage whatsoever.
When overused, this feature can slow down the
flow of gameplay and make the firefights seem
less epic, but often it will be your only solution
to saving your life. While this time slowing resource
is limited, when used appropriately it will allow
you to avoid getting pumped full of lead when
you’re dangerously outnumbered.
The Future of F.E.A.R.
The single player in campaign takes roughly 10
hours to complete and it has to be said the level
variety is sadly lacking, but what is there to
do after that? Once you’ve already solved
the mystery, a great chunk of what made playing
the game enthralling your first time through is
missing. You should be able to squeeze some fun
out of F.E.A.R. afterwards just because the A.I.
will always act differently depending on your
actions, but for those of you who don’t
want to play through the single player campaign
again, F.E.A.R. also carries a solid multiplayer
segment as well. The multiplayer modes consist
of the traditional FPS game types, such as deathmatch
and capture the flag, but this time around they
have a special twist. Players can battle it out
for the ability to slow down time, which will
surely give you an upper hand during battle.
All of the funny drop kicks and melee punches
can also be used online, and it’s surprisingly
rewarding to run around and beat people to a bloody
pulp. The online mode isn’t quite as in-depth
as the single player mode in terms of sleuthing
and remaining hidden, but instead the action is
very fast paced. You’ll do a lot of killing
and a lot of respawning, which can certainly get
repetitive after a few hours. Also, playing online
will require a powerful PC if you want to receive
a sufficient frame rate, so you might get stuck
turning your settings down all the way just to
play at all. Still, F.E.A.R. can deliver hours
and hours of nonstop entertainment, as long as
your PC can handle it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, F.E.A.R. is an excellent first
person shooter that anyone with a decent setup
definitely needs to try out. The storyline is
captivating, the combat is fierce, and you’ll
easily get your money’s worth thanks to
the surprisingly intelligent computer opponents.
While this title is certainly a system hog, F.E.A.R.
puts every last megabyte of RAM to good use. Whether
you’re looking for a game with a haunting
storyline or intense firefights, F.E.A.R. is surely
a great FPS title that shouldn’t leave anybody
disappointed.
| Game play |
18/20 |
| Graphics |
19/20 |
| Sound |
19/20 |
| Value |
17/20 |
| Preference |
19/20 |
| Overall |
92/100 |
