F.E.A.R This

The mark of any good horror game is in the tension that builds before an explosive adrenaline rush, and F.E.A.R.™ builds to a slow, unstoppable, and masterful crescendo.

Put the Fear into your enemies.

This first person shooter from Monolith (creators of Condemned: Criminal Origins™) breaks new ground on Xbox 360™ by combining fast-paced action gunplay with enough gothic horror to please the most ardent fright-fest fans.

On Your Own
F.E.A.R. stands for First Encounter Assault Recon, and you play as a member of this shadowy unit, but you're no typical grunt. You possess remarkable reflexes that allow you to essentially slow time and react well before your opponents. This ability alone allows you to tackle encounters that would normally require an entire squad of soldiers.

F.E.A.R. never lets up on the player,
and that's precisely why it succeeds.

The questions of why you boast these abilities and how you got them play an integral role in the game's back story and how it relates to the unfolding events of the single-player campaign.

Building the Story
Your initial mission centers on a rogue commander named Paxton Fettel, who has "hijacked" a small army of elite soldiers. The twist is that the soldiers have been bred to respond to telepathic orders, allowing for an unprecedented level of control and precision strategy. It's up to you to both stop Paxton and uncover the underlying conspiracy.

Telepathic links makes for some well-synchronized enemy strategy.

Though the plot is solid on its own, the first-person execution is what that allows the game to naturally progress. Instead of filling the game with out-of-body cutscenes, Monolith has peppered the world with story moments you discover on your own. Whether it's a frantic voicemail from a maintenance worker or a hacked laptop revealing crucial information, the story never feels forced.

Also worthy of note are the unnerving hallucinations your character suffers throughout the game. In one moment you might find yourself trapped in a never-ending hallway filling with blood, or see a silhouette and hear the mocking laugh of a little girl. The threat of terror in F.E.A.R. is a constant one, and you can never be sure what you might see, hear, or find around the next corner.

Action A.I.
The scare tactics F.E.A.R. employs may be more psychological than tangible, but the action is always in your face. Using machine pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and more, you face off against an army of telepathically controlled super soldiers.

In what might be the most impressive feature in F.E.A.R. the A.I. controlled enemies not only work together to defeat you, but they do so aggressively. They won't just flank you, they sprint to flank you. They won't just get out of the way of a grenade, they leap out of the way.

Scare tactics are in effect, but the mayhem comes to play as well.

They bust through doors, climb through windows, and hunt you down until one of you is dead. What's more, they rarely expose themselves for more than a moment as they make constant use of cover, dashing from cover to cover as they work to pin you in a corner.

The action in F.E.A.R. is relentless, and from the first gunshot, you won't have a breath to spare as you frantically attempt to eliminate the threat.

Instant Action
The single-player campaign is played out at a slow, tension-filled pace, fitting the game's horror plot. However, if you're in the mood for more traditional run-and-gun fare, you can drop into an Instant Action mission. These missions grade you on your tactical mastery as you attempt not only defeat every last enemy on the map, but do so as quickly and efficiently as you can.

F.E.A.R. never lets up, and that's precisely why it succeeds. The slower moments are always building to a nerve-shattering climax, and the action sequences are brutally difficult, but still empowering as you choose that perfect moment to go into slow motion mode and tear through the enemy ranks.

Article by Ryan Treit