GregHowley.com

Aside from F.E.A.R. having a stupid contrived name, it wasn't a bad game. It wasn't a very good game either. In fact, F.E.A.R. merits a solid meh. After all my griping about Far Cry, I've got to say that it surpassed F.E.A.R. in just about every aspect. The final determination about whether I really liked a game or not is whether it's a "keeper" or not. Far Cry, despite my complaints, was a keeper. F.E.A.R. is not. I'm selling it on EBay to partially recoup my losses in having purchased it. Incidentally, I'm also selling Dragonshard, which was a bad bad RTS.

One of the first things that annoyed me about F.E.A.R. was the head-bob. As you run, your head bobs to simulate running, similarly to how Chronicles of Riddick did it. I cracked open the options and turned off the head-bob immediately.

What really annoyed me were the bad physics. Granted, compared to Valve's Source Engine, all game physics look lousy. But anytime I'd move near any loose item on the ground, it would continuously (and loudly) rattle - continuously! - until I moved away. Imagine standing near a loose wood plank and having it vibrate until you moved away. If it were an intentional attempt to imitate a haunted house, that would be fine. But it was just badly coded physics. Ugh.

Despite that, the AI was phenomenal. And when compared with the really really good level design, the game became challenging not because of enemies with near-unlimited hit points or uber-powerful weapons, but because these enemies had the means (level design) and the smarts (AI) to flank you and take cover intelligently.

The level design also shined in how you would often pass by a door that you wouldn't see due to its positioning, hit a dead end, and then see that door upon turning back. The level designers also made good use of ledges and such as "one-way doors". I never got lost or got stuck not knowing where to go next (like I am right now in Opposing Force)

The graphics were also very good, if not as good as Half-Life 2. The shots from inside the moving helicopter were especially nice.

But the game's biggest selling point, the "spookiness factor", just couldn't stand up to the hype. It wasn't scary, it didn't startle me, and the storyline was only barely up to the level of a mediocre episode of Outer Limits. My recommendation if you want to play this game: either get it used on EBay or skip it entirely.