How did FEAR get such a great rating? Alternate view: 7 (Mini-review inside)

NumbLock

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
508
Edit: I finished it. Still a major 'Meh'.

I would give it not better than 7.5, actually.

Negatives:
- Game play kind of slow
- Graphics 'nice' but not better than Doom 3 or HL2, and the engine is slow in my opinion.
- You see all this great horror stuff, and yet I keep killing the same few soldier variants again and again.
- Most of the weapons are also not that impressive and distinctive from each other.
- Levels are feeling repetitive.

Positives
- AI is great. They rush, encircle, camp...even I have played the same section twice and it was an entirely different battle, therefore, there is definately some replay value
- The horror element very good. Hopefully this has a greater impact on the gameplay later in the game.
- The bullet time is amazing. You can really see all the particles and lighting power of this engine shine durring BT.

(Why did that other guy's FEAR thread get locked, other than the use of Suxxor in the title? :rolleyes: There seems to be a random gaming thread locking engine running on the [H] server. Is there some new rule that you are not allowed to say anything bad about a game?)
 
The negatives you mentioned were brought up in most reviews I read, especially the "same two enemies in the same two environments" thing. I think those things are overpowered by the game's other qualities, though.

The action is really, really intense because of the A.I.

I think the weapons are really satisfying to use due to the sound, the physics, and the immense amount of damage they do to the environment and to the enemies (I love looking around at a totally trashed room after a big gun battle, smoke and particles still lingering in the air and blood all over everything.)

The horror element is, I believe, actually enhanced by the "slow" pace that some people complain about. If they just threw enemy after enemy at you, we would have Serious Sam

The engine may seem slow, but turn everything up on a high end system and you will see why (I think it looks great.) The performance demands are to be expected from a new PC game though, especially a FPS - they are always pushing the envelope in terms of engine design.

F.E.A.R. is not a great game because of creativity in level or enemy design though, as it basically borrows from games that preceded it in almost every aspect of it's content. It is a great game because it executes each element so very well. The enemies may look similiar, but they are smart as hell. The weapons may be kind of boring, but they sure do kill stuff in a satisfying way. The environments may look similiar, but they blow up real nice and provide enemies with multiple paths to sneak up and shoot you (or you them). The story isn't anything new, but it moves everything along and scares the shit out of you every once in a while. You see where I am going with this?

I don't think that F.E.A.R. is as good as HL2. I do think it is the best fps since HL2, and by a wide margin. Deserving of at least a 9 when compared to other shooters. Judging from your "I hope the horror element plays a bigger role later on" comment, I guess you have yet to complete the game. Give it a chance, you will probably be glad you did.
 
The game is very boring if you're not bothered by the "scary" aspect of the game. Fights seem few and far between. The AI is enjoyable, but the repetition (In almost all aspects of the game) becomes obvious quickly. The environments were very static as well.

Good, but not great.
 
name said:
I disagree...

You make some very valid points, but for some reason the whole package just didn't click for me like I guess it has for you. Anyway, I'm not finished yet.

I did forget to mention that the bullet-time is awesome.
 
I love it...i give it a 9 easily...also maybe someone can tell me how many levels or intervals are there
 
- Game play kind of slow

Maybe this has something to do with the fact you're in slow-mo half the time :p.

- Graphics 'nice' but not better than Doom 3 or HL2, and the engine is slow in my opinion.

I guess I could agree with this, I feel there are certain things each engine does better.

- You see all this great horror stuff, and yet I keep killing the same two soldier variants again and again.

I think there were around 5 different skins for the "grunt soldiers", then there were the heavy armors, the robots, and the stealth guys. I guess you could include the "wraiths" as well.

- Most of the weapons are also not that impressive and distinctive from each other.

The only two weapons I find to be even remotely similar are the SMG and the G2A2 Assault Rifle, and even they have their differences. I mean, tell me what's so similar about the rest of them:

Dual Pistols
Combat Shotgun
ASP Scoped Rifle
Penetrator
Type 7 Particle Weapon
Rocket Launcher
Repeating Cannon

I found them all to be pretty distinct and useful in different situations. I also really loved some of the effects they put off, especially the Type 7, it might just be my favorite weapon of all time. It's not a radically new idea, but the way it's handled is just so cool. It's the little things like the way your peripheral vision is blurred when you go into scoped mode, the way the air around the gun distorts, and the way the charred skeleton convulses in midair.

- Levels are feeling repetitive.

They're "feeling" repetitive? Have you even finished the game yet? Or do you just go ahead and pass judgement on a game before you're done? Now I'm sure you can get a pretty good feel for a game within the first few hours, but assigning a numerical score to something you haven't finished is just ridiculous.
 
NumbLock said:
I did forget to mention that the bullet-time is awesome.

Very true - the bullet time is another element of F.E.A.R. that isn't new but is done very well. Circle strafing some guys with the shot gun in slow mo = incredibly cool looking, satisfying, and bloody mess. The shockwave effects and ripples from the rounds flying through the air look really great and watching the characters react to being attacked in slow mo really makes you "feel" the impact of the weapon you're firing.
 
NumbLock said:
Hopefully this has a greater impact on the gameplay later in the game.



Ok, I respect your opinion. But just for a sec, let me quote you to make a statement of my own.....


This quote illustrates a fundamental flaw with this forum. People come on here and post things, with out supporting their arguements, or without full working knowledge of the topic at hand.

In this case, a review of a game you have not finished. (Or so your quote leads us to believe)


Can I review a computer system I haven't used? Can I review a video card I haven't used or have first hand knowledge about?

No.


This forum needs to get more [H]. People need to think before they post.


Thanks.

-Warmonkey
 
Warmonkey said:
Ok, I respect your opinion. But just for a sec, let me quote you to make a statement of my own.....


This quote illustrates a fundamental flaw with this forum. People come on here and post things, with out supporting their arguements, or without full working knowledge of the topic at hand.

In this case, a review of a game you have not finished. (Or so your quote leads us to believe)


Can I review a computer system I haven't used? Can I review a video card I haven't used or have first hand knowledge about?

No.


This forum needs to get more [H]. People need to think before they post.


Thanks.

-Warmonkey

QFT.

Finish the game and then tell us about it...

Graphics are as good as dark office buildings can get, the AI is great, it's never really repetitive, etc. There are plenty of different enemies, at least for me. It never seemed like the same set of guys were after me. The gameplay isnt really slow; I liked taking short breaks between gunfights and the weirdness. Besides, that just adds to unpredictability. By interval 03 I thought I could predict when stuff would happen, and I was wrong every time. The weapons are all different; I dont see how dual handguns can compare to the rocket launcher or the railgun or whatever that thing is, or even that metal-stake-shooting thing.. The graphics engine never seemed slow for me, even though according to the performance test I got 25 fps average (everything but 1 or 2 things maxed out, 1280x960).. So I can't really agree with you [the original poster].
 
Just because the guy thinks the game plays slowly and hasn't finished it doesn't mean he's not entitled to his opinion of it.

Has anybody ever gotten bored halfway through a movie and remarked that the movie is kinda slow? The way you guys are talking, it's like the OP has no right to his opinion and that makes me not want to be "[H]" as it was put, if that means treating people like they are stupid whenever they pipe up.

He didn't whine or complain, he just stated some points.

I'm only a little more than half way through, and I'm getting sort of bored with it as well. The office environment thing is just getting stale. I enjoy the claustrophobia and the horror element, so that saves it for me. All that aside, you know what? It has been all the different opinions on this site varying wildy that made me go out and buy this game to see what all the hoopla was about. So every opinion counts from everybody here who has one.

I think the game is mostly awesome with a chance to rock my balls, but not if it doesn't pick up the pace a tad. The weapons, while having some standouts are very similar to other games. There is just no such thing as an original weapon any more, it's all been done. It's counterstrike meets quake to a certain degree. You've got your rail gun, nail gun, rocket launcher; theres quake. Pistols, shotgun, scoped rifle, theres counterstrike.

Theres my half assed review, feel free to tear me a new one too.
 
Medium Textures, light and shadows. Max on most of the goodies like particles and fog, etc. Not slow anymore. Can't see a difference.
 
Kahnvex said:
Just because the guy thinks the game plays slowly and hasn't finished it doesn't mean he's not entitled to his opinion of it.

Thanks.

No, I have NOT finished the game. A video card review gives you hard numbers, you can compare. A video game review is based on a feeling. You either like it or not.

I like it, but just don't see the reason for the raving reviews the major sites gave it. I guess that is all I'm saying.

BTW, I saw a new type of monster. Fast, and can go invisible - bullet time was really useful on those. That was pretty cool. I really want to put a bullet in the head of that freaky little girl, tho.
 
I didnt read much of this thread, but I pesonally just finished the game about 5 minutes ago...

I believe it was a great game, but I enjoyed Halflife2 much more. The action and such was all too repetitive. Im not saying Im an FPS god, but I do know about halfway through the game I became the grandmaster at throwing on the slow-mo bullet time and running into a room John Woo style with a shotgun. Fun... but wasnt much of a challenge.
 
everone is commenting on how the game is slow developing, I have also read this, the slowest part of the game is that annoying office building, but I just finnished that part and the game isdeffintly picking up again, I think the developers just went a little overboard on that office and made it to long and to repitive, however like i said immidatly after leaving the office I feel the game is picking up pace again, but if you are currently in the office still I can see some of your points, just bear it out till you leave that building ( OMG i personaly thought it would never end my self , but I still am loving the game so far.

also not to hijack but kinda in the topic, as far as slo mo, am I the only one who goes into 95% of the battles useing it and then fall back till it recharges or is everone doing that for the most part
 
Man, this game is boring the piss outta me. I just finished the office building crap and I am now in the Urban decay portion of the game but I am so sick of the same stuff over and over again that I am just about ready to quit. To be fair, the game definitely introduces some excellent graphics and effects and there is a killer creep factor but the environments are really sucking eggs. I feel like I've been going around in circles for the last 5 or 6 intervals. Please tell me it gets better and I didn't waste my 40 bucks! :)
 
I'm really glad to hear that it picks up/changes pace soon. I absolutely love the atmosphere of the game. I think the devs did an awesome job of setting a mood, not totally overdoing it, and keeping me wondering what changes the story will have. I really feel like a lot of work went into this game, and I think that it does deserve an 'excellent' rating. While I wouldn't put it in my top 5 yet, I still think it's pretty cool. Oh, and I think the bullet time is one of the best implementations of that feature to come along in a while. Adds a lot, and helps a lot.

I haven't been able to put in a lot of straight gaming time with it, so I think thats one of the reasons that the office part is wearing on me, personally.

I think games get compared unfavorably to half-life 2 a little too often, and I try not to let those comparisons ruin the experience each game brings. They will all be good in different ways. In FEAR's case, it's got a lot of mood and that really helps it out. Half Life 2 never got boring for me because it was fairly short, and threw a lot of variety in. Almost so much that it felt somewhat disconnected in parts, but at least it was entertaining.

in short, to each their own.
 
NumbLock said:
Thanks.

No, I have NOT finished the game. A video card review gives you hard numbers, you can compare. A video game review is based on a feeling. You either like it or not.

I like it, but just don't see the reason for the raving reviews the major sites gave it. I guess that is all I'm saying.

BTW, I saw a new type of monster. Fast, and can go invisible - bullet time was really useful on those. That was pretty cool. I really want to put a bullet in the head of that freaky little girl, tho.

Um, I'm sorry but assigning a numerical value to a game when you're only around a third of the way through it is still ridiculous. Especially when you're complaining about types of enemies and types of weapons because you haven't seen them all yet. Some of the best moments in this game happen towards the end and you can't even take them into consideration for your score. In fact, you can't take 2/3 of the game into consideration.
 
I finished the game. The gameplay was slow. The story, however, did manage to draw me in nicely. The ending was very weak. It has 0 replay value for me.

probably a 7 or 8 if I were to review it.
 
I recently finished the game, and also think while it was good it was not near what I expected.

I didn't find the 'horror' factor that great. I think even when HL2 zombies popped up from a pool of water or whatnot I was more 'jumpy'. D3 was also more 'jumpy', but the flashlight thing pissed me off.

I thought the game engine was more a 'tech demo' for the lighting than anything else. It did seem to take an unreasonable amount of power for how it ran. My P4 3.2 X850PE system ran the game well on most high settings, but it did seem a little 'flat' somehow.

I was somehow expecting a greater variety of enemies. The AI was probably the best aspect of the game IMO, but I think I found myself thinking more about strategy while playing FarCry.

All in all a good game in general, but not nearly what I was expecting.
 
I agree, definitley an over rated game. The pacing of it is just attrocious. The begining starts off with some great pacing and a mix and match of fear elements. Then it turns into a complete action game. Then the end is complete fear type stuff again.

The level design was mediocre at best.

The graphics were amazing at times, and incredibly stagnant at others.

On the plus side, some of the gun battles were the best gun battles ever in a first person shooter (elevator battle). And the explosion scene...that was pretty incredible....

otherwise...C or C+ from me.
 
Warmonkey said:
Ok, I respect your opinion. But just for a sec, let me quote you to make a statement of my own.....


This quote illustrates a fundamental flaw with this forum. People come on here and post things, with out supporting their arguements, or without full working knowledge of the topic at hand.

In this case, a review of a game you have not finished. (Or so your quote leads us to believe)


Can I review a computer system I haven't used? Can I review a video card I haven't used or have first hand knowledge about?

No.


This forum needs to get more [H]. People need to think before they post.


Thanks.

-Warmonkey

I don't see you in the dozen or so Xbox 360 threads complaining about the people who have written off the system after less than an hour of testing incomplete games on hardware that wasn't set up correctly.
 
ManCannon said:
Um, I'm sorry but assigning a numerical value to a game when you're only around a third of the way through it is still ridiculous. Especially when you're complaining about types of enemies and types of weapons because you haven't seen them all yet. Some of the best moments in this game happen towards the end and you can't even take them into consideration for your score. In fact, you can't take 2/3 of the game into consideration.

If he took the numerical score out of his post would you be happy?

Perhaps he's played multiplayer and used all the weapons there.

Level design is definitely nothing spectacular. It's open enough to allow some exploration to find hidden goodies, but it's very easy to know where you're going. Just go through each door and you'll get to where you need to go.

agent420 said:
The AI was probably the best aspect of the game IMO, but I think I found myself thinking more about strategy while playing FarCry.

I think the reason for that is because FarCry gave you more opportunities to scope out your enemies and their positions before the battles started. With FEAR's close quarters combat, the only way for me to develop a strategy was to run in a room, get killed a couple times, and in the process find out where all the guys were. Then i could figure out where to go and where to throw a grenade to do the most damage. It's kinda hard to spy on the enemies when they're in a relatively small room.

One thing i didn't like was how once the smoke started flying, i couldn't see the enemies, but somehow they always knew where i was. Not fair! lol
 
NumbLock said:
I would give it not better than 7, actually.

Negatives:
- Game play kind of slow
- Graphics 'nice' but not better than Doom 3 or HL2, and the engine is slow in my opinion.
<snip>

(Why did that other guy's FEAR thread get locked, other than the use of Suxxor in the title? :rolleyes: There seems to be a random gaming thread locking engine running on the [H] server. Is there some new rule that you are not allowed to say anything bad about a game?)

If I run AA, the game seems slow. It seems a bad framerate will kind of stay steady in the game. Yes steadily bad :) Only going indoors and outdoors, fighting vrs. no fighting changes it greatly. I dunno I just find it weird how the gameplay just seems slower, not so much choppy, just slow. I just the AA off, and well it's no quake but it's not supposed to be. I guess pacing of the game is a bit different animal. But make sure you get 40fps and stuff.

The guy that said the game "suxors" admittedly haven't even FOUGHT anyone yet! I don't get it, the opening is kind of long, are we that unappreciative of some story that you can't get to your first enemy before you post a game "suxors" on here? I imagine the mod saw flame bait and killed it dead.

i haven't even gotten to kill anyone in single player. the trailers made it look so fun. guess i'll give it a go.

^^ Seriously. WTF? You don't have to finish a game to post about it, but holy molly!!
 
I think the repetitiveness of FEARs levels are justified. The game takes place in ONE city, with ONE incident, with ONE team doing its job. One company is being investigated for something that might be supernatural. Why should this game involve other environments? Soldier of Fortune 2 had John Mullins travelling the world following a terrorist threat. We saw the mideast deserts, the arctic ice, the jungles, the city. The story needed that. But in FEAR it's not a necessity to move the player worldwide. Therefore, the one incident in the one building with the single scary girl works perfectly. I enjoyed the game immensely. Especially the final scene. Won't spoil what happens, but i eventually just took my fingers off the keybaord and mouse and let it happen. Fun stuff.
 
DarkSeraphim said:
The game is very boring if you're not bothered by the "scary" aspect of the game. Fights seem few and far between. The AI is enjoyable, but the repetition (In almost all aspects of the game) becomes obvious quickly. The environments were very static as well.

Good, but not great.


My opnion exactly as well. I just can't get excited over this game as it's incredibly repetitive. Same enemies, same environment, and much of the same over and over again. Of course, some people critisized and slammed Doom 3 for these same issues, but don't seem to be very critical with the fact that it's even worse in Fear.
 
junehhan said:
My opnion exactly as well. I just can't get excited over this game as it's incredibly repetitive. Same enemies, same environment, and much of the same over and over again. Of course, some people critisized and slammed Doom 3 for these same issues, but don't seem to be very critical with the fact that it's even worse in Fear.

Like exitwound said above, the repetetiveness does fit with the story more. Plus the obviousness of the demon attacks in Doom 3 got very old after a while. Why would a demon pop out of a closet? Why would it be in there in the first place? There was also no good reason why the environments in Doom 3 were all so similar. Doom 3 also actually had MORE variety in enemies. In FEAR the enemy attacks are not always obvious. They don't just come at you from the front. Also, FEAR's story helps to make up for its flaws, in my opinion. It draws you in.
 
I found this game to be fairly easy, on moderate and hard.
 
fallguy said:
Let me guess, you think Doom3 is a great game. :eek:

Who? Me? If so, then stop assuming things. If not, then no, Doom3 was boring as hell. I couldnt even beat it I got so bored. I got to the last 20 minutes of the game then quit.


**edit** Edited to comply with forum rules ....MajorDomo
 
DarkSeraphim said:
The game is very boring if you're not bothered by the "scary" aspect of the game. Fights seem few and far between. The AI is enjoyable, but the repetition (In almost all aspects of the game) becomes obvious quickly. The environments were very static as well.

Good, but not great.

Sounds a lot like Doom 3 :D
 
PopeKevinI said:
Sounds a lot like Doom 3 :D

While I felt like this game borrowed from Doom3 alot, it actually "spooked" me a bit more. I say spooked because at no point during the game was I afraid to go on like Ive heard from other people. Unlike Doom3, it had solid action... although fairly easy in my opinion.
 
Reading this thread makes me glad Im not a game designer. Tough crowd.

FEAR is a fun game. If you like to take your time and creep around, then suddenly spring into full tilt to defend yourself. I liked that tempo, so I liked the game. The AI was fun to play against. Id like to see more variety of maps, I enjoyed the outdoor settings and wished there were more.

I used the bullet time deal maybe twice. I thought it was too much of a crutch against the enemy, but the animation was very cool in BT.

This game was a "bit" overhyped but still one of the best this year. HL2??no FarCry???no But still a neat game that I think you could play twice.

Im in the end parts of Quake 4 presently and I really am having a blast. Like FEAR I was wishing for the action to pick up, but about 1/3 of the way in BOTH games have acelerated and were/are really fun.

Truthfully, Quake 4 seems to me to be the better of the 2 choices....I have yet to pick up BF2 or COD2.
just 2 cents worth. :D
 
NumbLock said:
I would give it not better than 7, actually.

Negatives:
- Game play kind of slow
- Graphics 'nice' but not better than Doom 3 or HL2, and the engine is slow in my opinion.
- You see all this great horror stuff, and yet I keep killing the same two soldier variants again and again.
- Most of the weapons are also not that impressive and distinctive from each other.
- Levels are feeling repetitive.

Positives
- AI is great. They rush, encircle, camp...even I have played the same section twice and it was an entirely different battle, therefore, there is definately some replay value
- The horror element very good. Hopefully this has a greater impact on the gameplay later in the game.
- The bullet time is amazing. You can really see all the particles and lighting power of this engine shine durring BT.

(Why did that other guy's FEAR thread get locked, other than the use of Suxxor in the title? :rolleyes: There seems to be a random gaming thread locking engine running on the [H] server. Is there some new rule that you are not allowed to say anything bad about a game?)

This game is one of those games where if you don't have a great system to run everything maxed, you won't be getting the experience. This game looks kind of crappy at 1024 but it looks great at 1280 X 1024 with everything maxed.
 
DarkSeraphim said:
I don't see you in the dozen or so Xbox 360 threads complaining about the people who have written off the system after less than an hour of testing incomplete games on hardware that wasn't set up correctly.


I made a single post about it. I do not like Spamming worthless garbage on the internet.

Also, I like intelligent conversation, something that is getting more and more rare on this sub forum. Back to the memory forum I go.
 
I've played thru the game 3 times now on 3 different level settings , going thru on hardest setting last time around..

..each time the enemy handled me differently with them being the most aggressive I feel on the hardest setting.

One thing about this game that I thought was done very well was how the enemy guys reacted when you shot them .. for example..I shot this one guy in the foot and he immediately started hobbling away catering that foot I shot trying to find cover ..the first time I saw that blew me away ..lol
 
I find it interesting that the people that have knocked this game, are those that waited to buy/play it. I think you read everyone elses rave reviews, got excited, then felt disappointed when the game was not how you envisioned it.

I think the game was awesome with a few minor flaws. A 9 out of 10 is about right. It would have been nice if there were more of the stealth guys to fight, if it was longer, and/or the multiplayer more enjoyable.

 
i enjoyed the game, but it was over in like 4.5 hours :(. I wish there were some uber crazy guns or something that causes mass destruction (read BFG). and i wish they had a few different kinds of enemies to defeat, but i guess that would defete the whole clone thing.

all in all i thought it was a good game, and i enjoy the gameplay, i just wish it was a little longer with a little more variation in level/enemies
 
I thought it was one of the best single player games I've played in forever. I found it to be engaging, challenging enough without being frustrating, I thought the graphics were awesome and the firefights incredible. The slow-mo mode was incredible, but I found myself relying on it more and more as time went on. In my opinion, it was a much better game than Half Life 2, Doom 3, or Far Cry. For whatever reason, it just appealed to me. It wouldn't have bothered me if the end would have been better...but I'll forgive it since it kept me so entertained up to that point.
 
My personal opinion is nothing but praise to Monolith for making such a fantastic game. This particular title may not be as groundbreaking as Half-Life or Farcry, but I believe it certainly ranks up there in terms of gameplay value, graphics, and effects.

As to those that complain about repetition - the story simply defines the action to take place at a few remote locations in one city. If the main character trailed Fettel to a military base in Cuba, then to a remote research facility in Morocco, would you be satisfied then? I highly doubt it. And pertaining to the troops, I simply don't see what kind of variation you could truly desire. Immediately established is the plain fact that a large contingent of prototype clone soldiers that are telepathically linked to a single commander poses a grave danger, so why would you expect a potential alien that returns from the 4th dimension to kill you? Personally, I find the AI that went into the tactical movement of the troops to be extremely monumental to the gameplay sans their radio communication that is a dead giveaway to their numbers and strength. I was completely satisfied with the amount of enemies, as I was forced to replay certain battles many times, since this game simply doesn't incite an age-old formula of "run-and-gun" strategy. In fact, for the first time ever, I used the lean keys to gain a tactical advantage on the situation.

Again, I don't understand any complaints about the weaponry. This isn't a remake of Doom or Quake, so leave the redundant stash of people-sized weapons in another arena of games. The game seemingly takes place in a fairly modern day setting, so the weapons certainly reflect that. My personal favorite was the SMG despite its useless abilities, but it sounded unbelievably cool.

Further, the developing story is truly what drew me in. Like a good movie, we learn exactly what nearly everyone else knows, with careful observation. The fear factor was an instant attraction for me. I just beat the game and won't spoil it for anyone else, but once you near the end, unless you are immune to all anxiety, you will be scared crapless. I know I had goosebumps for 20 minutes straight while trying to maintain a calm and focus to complete the mission. Plus, the ending freaked the HELL out of me. Superbly done.

All in all, I still don't see a deplorable trait about it. If anything, the ambient music was a disappointment. Often times, it was extremely cumbersome and annoying when I would have preferred strict silence to set the tone and atmosphere. I only wouldn't recommend this game to anyone with less than high end systems. On my Pentium 4 with a Radeon 9700 Pro, the game ran rather slow at 1024 x 768 resolution with all effects to "Medium" level. I wish I could see it on a GeForce 7800GTX...

Dark Assassin
 
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