What It Is
F.E.A.R. is sort of like a survival horror FPS. The game has a definite Half-Life feel to the gameplay, but F.E.A.R. throws horror elements at you every now and then that are some of the scariest stuff I have ever seen in a videogame. You see some just crazy, frightening stuff in F.E.A.R. and that is what really keeps you driving forward. Walls and ceilings covered in blood. Creepy little kids appearing out of nowhere. Huge monsters that fade in and out. Even though you are scared to death constantly in this game, it just keeps pushing buttons in the back of your mind and showing you things you have never seen before so you just keep playing. Very cool.
Gameplay
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the gameplay is pretty darn good to boot. You have the typical selection of FPS weapons along with some nifty guns that vaporize your enemies (complete with great looking special effects). Grenades are on the left trigger, guns on the right. Jumping, ducking, changing weapons – everything is pretty intuitive and very familiar if you have played an Xbox or Xbox 360 FPS. You can also lean around corners in this game, which is very helpful during intense firefights. The game plays like a dream and console FPS fans will feel right at home with it. One key aspect that makes F.E.A.R. interesting and different (aside from the great horror elements and solid gameplay) is that the enemy A.I. is surprisingly smart. They aren’t mindless drones that are just there for you to fill full of lead, they actually do their best to survive and beat you and that is pretty cool. They use cover effectively and work in teams amazingly well.
Graphics
Graphically, F.E.A.R. is looking very good. The OXM demo is likely a couple months old and we still have a couple months of development left, so any little hiccups in the graphics will surely be ironed out in time for release. The character models and animation are outstanding and the environments look very nice. The best part about the graphics, though, is the incredible lighting and real time shadows.
Bottom Line
If you have already played F.E.A.R. on the PC, you already know how great this game is and how pretty it looks. But if for whatever reason you haven’t played it (PC not buff enough, don’t like PC gaming) the Xbox 360 version is a faithful port with a few extra features. It will include enhanced multiplayer that has been improved over the PC version. It will have an extra mission to flesh out the story better. And it has a new Instant Action mode that puts you into a part of the game in a room filled with enemies and you have to take them all out. I didn’t know anything about F.E.A.R. before I played the demo, but now that I have seen it and played it, I am completely sold. Our wallets are going to take a hit this holiday season, but try and save some cash for F.E.A.R. It will be worth it.
