I'll also stress that when you're getting ready to play this for the first time, start installing it
earlier in the day. The first thing it wants to do is get itself to the latest version and the update
to v.1.07, at the time of reviewing, took almost two hours to download. Not fun and not expected.
The sound is loud and proud, although with no Dolby Digital 5.1 options, and when it comes to gameplay
as well as it being mostly entertaining when played in short bursts of a couple of hours at a time,
I liked the ability to do a
Max Payne
and slomo the enemies for a brief time, but there's too much to do to press buttons, or even a combo
of them for something like a scissor-kick, while using the mouse. Perhaps I'm just not adept at pressing
so many buttons at once but when you die (frequently!) the game offers such tips, as long as telling you
what to press, so you can try moves out that you aren't familiar with.
Overall, while F.E.A.R. doesn't try for anything original other than the paranormal angle,
and the fact that it's nowhere near as inventive as
Half Life 2,
it's still entertaining all the same if you're into first-person shooters.
I will say, though, that after a while, too many dark and gloomy places starts to do your head in.
That was the same with the
Half Life 2: Episode 1
offshoot, but the outdoor location of the bonus "Lost Coast" level, as well as similarly bright
action in
Sin Episode 1: Emergence,
use a highly complex game engine to the best effect. What's the point of trying to make it all
complex and spooky if you can hardly see it? Switch a light on!!
Finally, for those who like to battle it out with humans there is a multiplayer mode and, for the
completist, DVD-style extras in the form of a Behind the Scenes documentary, Developer's Roundtable
Commentary Video, the F.E.A.R. Live Action "Pre-quel" Movie and the Machinima Movie Series.
|