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

I agree with the orginal poster. I'm only at the office building, but got so bored of the game that I haven't gone back to it since. I think I'm just getting bored of the whole FPS genre though.

Though Monolith seems to be doing an amazing job with Condemmed. Can't wait till the 22nd. I'll be sure to come on and tell you how how it plays.
 
I can sum F.E.A.R. up in a few sentences. It's the same as ever other game out there. Same weapons, same levels, same look, same gameplay. It does a lot of things better than the games it copies but in the end it's still basically the same crap we've been seeing for the past decade.

I'm ready for the next genre of game because they've gone about as far as they can go with these shoot'em up type of games.
 
Its not at all overrated. For those who are tired of the average game and want a real challenge F.E.A.R is a god sent just like Far Cry.

positive sides on F.E.A.R

+ unparallelled AI. AI like this has never ever existed in a fps game before.
+ excellent enemies. Quite realistic even with a supernatural touch of course :D Not many types but really do we need monsters in F.E.A.R?
+ realistic environments (yes can be repetitive but then F.E.A.R would be totally ruined with HL 2 or Far Cry environments. Would be an entirely different atmosphere...
+visuals. Way way beyond HL 2 and even beats Doom 3/Riddick EFBB/Far Cry in doors. Demanding yes but very rewarding.
+physics best I have ever seen in a fps game HL 2 has nothing against this.
+sound. Again fantastically done.
+Weapons. Except shotgun being overpowered and nailgun underpowered they are just spot on.
+Special effects. Never been done so well before. Again reminds me about Far Cry.

Negative?
- Story/atmosphere seems even if not as vague as the HL 2 story to be quite vague. I do get some suspicions on who I am which HL 2 never manage to create. It´s not the System Shock 2 atmosphere I had hoped for. Scare effects does help increase the mood but don´t really scare you that much. F.E.A.R is primarily an action game.
- To much med kits on hard whereas Xtreme I just get totally owned.

But really this really brings fps combat to the next level I feel. This will I am sure have quite an influence on upcoming fps games I am sure.
 
I would suggest going thru the game on Extreme difficulty first to make the game last the longest for you

I played on extreme on my 3rd time thru and it was pretty much a cake walk because I had the bullet time thing down, I knew what weapon would work the best for what was coming up .. the blue sticky nades made easy work of some of the tougher baddies you deal with (but again I knew where to put them to lure enemies to them)

the option to "F5" anywhere makes the game alot easier as well


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Ok so i just beat the game and i still think it was pretty good. But i am still unclear on some things. So i dont know if i should ask because i dont want to ruin the game for others. So if someone could PM me so i can ask a few questions. Thanks
 
relying on quicksaves and such is ruining the experience really. Of course I could run xtreme but then I had to relie on quicksaves. It kind of destroys the tension I really preferr the checkpoint system.
 
oqvist said:
relying on quicksaves and such is ruining the experience really. Of course I could run xtreme but then I had to relie on quicksaves. It kind of destroys the tension I really preferr the checkpoint system.
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The problem with checkpoints:

the first five minutes past a checkpoint gets really tedious when you play it for the fifth time trying to get past a particularly hard part. FPS with checkpoints lose me quickly...I'm to the point that I won't buy them.

Hitman 2 did it better, with a limited number of saves as well as a checkpoint system. You can't save before and after every engagement that way, but if you need to quit the game suddenly you can use a save and not have to repeat your hard work.
 
snyper238 said:
Ok so i just beat the game and i still think it was pretty good. But i am still unclear on some things. So i dont know if i should ask because i dont want to ruin the game for others. So if someone could PM me so i can ask a few questions. Thanks
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http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=967658&page=6&pp=20 check out that thread for some explanations and info you might have missed with laptops and answering machines


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Stereophile said:
You definitely have to bump the difficulty level up.
On default it's a joke.
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I don't know why so many people complain about the difficulty on the easier settings in many games being too easy. This is one part of the game that Monolith has hit right on the money. Not everyone who is going to try a brand new game is good at FPS type games. Getting good at FPS games takes years of practice. Those of us experienced gamers who do well might be bored, but this is exactly what is needed to keep some of these novices from quitting from frustration. That's why the more difficult settings are there, for those who are good and want a good challenge. More games need to come with easier "easy" settings so that people of all experience can enjoy it.

As far as the quicksave goes, I would prefer a game that has both, which is another thing that Monolith has nailed on the money. If you don't like quicksaves, just don't use them.........
 
AHHHHH!

My kid was fooling around with the game. I think he accidentally reinstalled it. Now I have to play the first half all over again.

At least I will be able to see if it has some replay value..if so then I'll change my (admittedly somewhat hasty) opinion.
 
I tried going through this game again. But since all of the Alma encounters happen at the same time and place it takes the creepiness factor out. I stopped after about the 3rd interlude. Some of the best firefights in video games can be found in this game though.

I compare it to watching the Sixth Sense more than once. The plot twist at the end is what made the movie
 
I beat FEAR yesterday.

After playing through the entire, game I have mostly positive things to say. After the initial boredom throughout the office levels, I did like the change of location and pace.

The interval 9-11 stuff gets plain freaky. FEAR sort of goes 'Akira' on you towards the end there too (if you've ever seen it).

In fact one of the things I like was the way they pull in tons of aspects of different elements of our entertainment culture and blend them all together.

Japanese horror element - Ring, Dark Water type of things.
Little bit of psycho telepath - Akira
Some science gone wrong
John Woo/Matrix style gun fights
Typical FPS gameplay, but done very well

Other things I liked:
Nice blend of futuristic and realistic gun play
Best AI I've ever played against
Loved the rocket bots, hated the floating laser drones

I also thought there was enough variety of enemies within the context of the story line to be plausible and entertaining. The ending was somewhat cheap, but not totally unexpected. I grinned, and sort of wondered if something like that was coming.

I stand by my original rating of it, definitely 8/10. It takes elements we've all seen before, improves on some, blends others, and entertains. I only paid 30 bucks for it, so that helped out my opinion some. If I had to pay 50 bucks, I wouldn't have been as forgiving.

I think it's a good game, and I am glad I played it.

Possible spoilers: beware








I never noticed that it was jankowski walking around ever, I thought all the encounters were paxton fettel. When do you see the jankowski stuff? Can anybody give me areas or intervals? I have read the other thread, found all the laptops, and I get the story. I never once noticed that was supposed to be Jankowski walking around. I wonder if it was because my computer hitches a lot when it goes to load.
 
***SPOILER***

























Jankowski's disapearance wasn't really a in your face obvious thing as to how or why .. you hear that all of his squad was accounted for , dead , but accounted for but they didnt find him... You do see him in a couple spots and he tells you that "she is afraid of you" or something like that .. but his ghost character isn't really , again, in your face obvious .. and first time through I thought it was Fettel when after paying more attention the 2nd and 3rd times thru I recognized it was Jankowski doing the disapearing zombie walk off in front of me or there abouts....


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On my second time through now i'm seeing where Jankowski's ghost is where before i thought it was Fettel. Fettel's clothes have that red on them while Jankowski is pretty much all tan/grey. Also, at the point i'm at the coordinator said over the radio that Jankowski's signal still shows up, but his life signs are a little wierd.
 
Blown 89 said:
I can sum F.E.A.R. up in a few sentences. It's the same as ever other game out there. Same weapons, same levels, same look, same gameplay. It does a lot of things better than the games it copies but in the end it's still basically the same crap we've been seeing for the past decade.

I'm ready for the next genre of game because they've gone about as far as they can go with these shoot'em up type of games.
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The first few weapons were your standard guns, but the Type 7 particle gun was awesome new. There is no other gun out there like that in any game. Yes there are "particle guns" but none cause the body to burn away and a burned pile of bones remain. Also the Nail gun was a new twist on an old idea, which was nice. The Reapting cannon was different, fires shock wave that causes an explosion... That is cool!

The levels were basic but it fit the story! And at least with clones you have a good excuse as to why they all look the same.

The game play was not standard in any way. The A.I. made the game unpredictable, you can't play the same level the same way twice. BEST AI EVER! Also the Slow-Mo was not a new idea but done better than any other game I have seen. The particle system was AWESOME! The smoke, the dust, the lighting and shadows, all well done.

Then lastly the story, I was scared a few time and I enjoyed it a lot!
 
Come on, stop the spoilers. I just said that my kid managed to erase all the saved games...I had to practically gouge my eyes out not to read the spolers.

Now I have to play half the game AGAIN, seeing the spoilers would probably kill it for me, hehe.
 
The poor overall quality of games we're being fed just makes the decent ones receive higher marks than they would have before.
 
NumbLock said:
Come on, stop the spoilers. I just said that my kid managed to erase all the saved games...I had to practically gouge my eyes out not to read the spolers.

Now I have to play half the game AGAIN, seeing the spoilers would probably kill it for me, hehe.
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sir ...unsubscribe from this thread and just walk away ...Walk ...AWAY!



go on ....




get on outta here ..



nothing to see ...




move along now ...



:p



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I don't know what is wrong about this game but I can't seem to get really interested in it when I play it. I don't like the "Shoot anything that moves element" I guess I was looking to another "No one lives forever" out of Monolith. It does stress my 7800GTX though. I mean I though that if you have a 7800GTX you were good to go till next year at 1600X1200 with all settings at maximum quality. But it does get's below 21-25FPS at those settings with my 7800GTX and my OC 3200 Venice at 2500. Can't see how some people are playing this game with a 9800 Pro or less.
 
Well, you guys were right, the game definitely picked up the pace after the office building maps. I was getting really annoyed there for a while (hence my post earlier), running around in those cubicles for so long but that all changed. I have to say that in the end it was a very good game and it was 40 bucks well spent! :)
 
FEAR wasnt bad but seems a bit overrated to me and I found the single player experiance in Half Life 2 much,much better overall.
 
mathesar said:
FEAR wasnt bad but seems a bit overrated to me and I found the single player experiance in Half Life 2 much,much better overall.
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I pretty much agree with you there on HL2 as it left a bigger impression on me but there were some pretty killer elements in FEAR. The "Horror-movie-little-creepy-girl-with-the-stringy-black-hair-in-her-face" thing makes the hair on my arms stand up! That stupid Grudge movie gave me nightmares for a week! I know, I know, I'm a puss! :D
 
Ok, finished.

I'll give it a 75% because the story really comes together at the end.

Positives:
Awesome AI. No kidding, the best ever.
Good story, probably awesome, but my German isn't that good.
I played the original, unpatches version and I found no bugs, none. That is a great thing compared to the other game which I refuse to mention any further (see sig).

Negatives:
The engine seems pretty slow compared to the D3 engine.
Repetitive Levels
The pacing just didn't appeal to me.
 
Overall the game is very good.
It's NOT Half Life 2 in any way, but thats not a fair comparison.

I would give it 90% in my book!
 
6.5/10, I'd say...

The AI is great, but everything else is average at best. Repetitive levels, boring storyline, and very few enemy models...

The "spooky" parts are more of an annoyance than anything else. ZOMG an ethereal girl with black hair! Didn't we get past that years ago with The Ring?
 
Yea, ok. The levels are also pretty repetitive, that's right.

Actually, I think the level design is pretty clever. Probably it is the environment graphics and soldier skins that are used again and again and again is what makes it feel repetitive.
 
The main reason why I think that FEAR is such a great game is simply the fact that it completely sucked me in. I turned off the lights, cranked my surround sound and was totally immersed. It took me about half an hour for the adrenaline to leave my system after beating the game. By the time that I was coming close to finishing the game I had about four friends who had become enthralled by the game as well. There are very few games that caused that level of reaction in me or those around me and that is why I liked it so much.

All that being said I dont think I would have had the same level of experience if I had a weak system. The fact that I could play it with everything at its maximum on a very large screen really helped the game out.
 
Excellent enemy A.I, marred slightly by SlowMO which makes the game too easy. Just whack it on and rush in.

Not as good as the seminal HL2 or Far Cry but excellent all the same. :D
 
slo-mo did make the game alot easier on hardest settings ..but it also gave it a "Holy Crap" factor when its you against 5 or so enemies and you got slo mo shell casings, pieces of paper , parts of the wall , and bullets all dancing around you and you can actually kinda stop for a second and just look at it all

kinda like the movie Spider Man when Peter Parker is in school and experiencing his powers for the first time fighting the school bully dude.


 
I don't care what anyone says. Fear was boring.

Unless you include skins there were 5 enemies you fought in the game.

The guns were also knock offs from CS. Only a few were original and still boring.

THe only thing fear has going for itself was the AI and the scary story which were the best I've seen. But it wasn't enough for me to see the same god damn office with the same enemy to fight.
 
If you read/listen to the Gamespot review it says in one sentence how the office levels are boring and then in the next sentence how they added to the atmosphere and were very scary. I see ppl here doing that too. One there is not enough variety but two the levels were still effective in setting the mood. Seems kinda contradictary.

If you put yourself into the game and don't go looking for a high-thrills game 100% of the time then you will enjoy fear. Take it for what it is, not what you want it to be. Making it a fast game would not have kept the same spooky atmosphere.

PS: A gun will always be a gun. In 20 years you'll still be complaining that the guns are some knock-offs from another game.
 
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