JAGeScimitar
07-27-2006, 03:07 PM
F.E.A.R.
Review Edited by: Me
Original Review by: Jason Ocampo
The Good: F.E.A.R. elevates gun battles to a cinematic level; creepy and atmospheric; visually amazing--you will smell the smoke ; sounds incredible; wild and fast-paced multiplayer.
The Bad: The game is a system hog; some environments and enemies recycled a bit too much; some loose ends in the plot don't tie up as well as they could.
F.E.A.R. works because it elevates first-person shooter combat to cinematic levels. And while we've certainly seen games with movie-quality combat before, you've never seen anything quite like this. Playing F.E.A.R. is like battling through a John Woo movie like Face/Off, because when firefights happen in this game, they're downright glorious to behold. Bullets tear chunks out of concrete and wood; blinding clouds of dust and debris fill the air; bodies are torn apart or slump on the ground; and the deathly silence of the aftermath contrasts so sharply with the sheer chaos that erupted only moments before. Gunfights in F.E.A.R. just feel right.
You can't run around like a pack rat carrying every weapon, though, because F.E.A.R. limits you to only three weapons at a time. This is a familiar gameplay mechanic, but it's a good one, as you have to weigh the pros and cons of each weapon. Obviously, you'd like to have a close-range weapon, a decent long-range weapon, and a heavy weapon for those special encounters, but it's tempting when the game offers you a rocket launcher or a repeating cannon that you weren't expecting. At that point, something has to be sacrificed. In addition to guns, you also have grenades in your arsenal. And unlike most shooters, in which you have to equip grenades separately prior to using them, the grenades in F.E.A.R. can be readily thrown at the press of a button. This eliminates the need to fumble around with your inventory, and it opens up your tactical playbook, as you can toss a grenade without a moment's hesitation and force the enemy to react.
This omnipresent tension combined with the outstanding combat make F.E.A.R. a superb game, though one that can leave you a bit emotionally exhausted after a while. And as much as we enjoyed the game's atmosphere, we must admit that we were a bit disappointed by the plot. Rest assured that F.E.A.R. features a complete story, as well as an ending. The trouble is that it feels like several plotlines lack some kind of satisfactory payoff for all your trouble, so the game's a bit of a letdown in this aspect. The end level is also disappointing in that it's surprisingly easy, especially compared to what you've experienced to get to that point. Thankfully, F.E.A.R. does end on a spectacular note.
While posting this i basicly took whole paragraphs of a very large review to share with everyone. I hope that this would help you deicde on trying the game out. I personally have no fully finished the game. Im more of a Online Gamer and I will be giving it a shot online. Online it is powered by Gamerspy.
Publisher: VU Games
Developer: Monolith
Genre: Modern First-Person Shooter
Release Date: Oct 17, 2005 (more)
ESRB: MATURE
ESRB Descriptors: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Game Information
Connectivity: Online, Local Area Network
Online Modes: Competitive, Cooperative, Team Oriented
Number of Players: 1 Player
Number of Online Players: 16 Online
DirectX Version: v9.0
Operating System: Windows 2000/XP
Minimum System Requirements
System: Pentium(R) 4 - 1.7 GHz or equivalent
RAM: 512 MB
Video Memory: 64 MB
Hard Drive Space: 5000 MB
Recommended System Requirements
System: Pentium 4 - 3.0 GHz or equivalent
RAM: 1024 MB
Video Memory: 256 MB
Other: Radeon(R) 9800 Pro, GeForce(TM) 6600 or equivalent DirectX(R) 9. Sound Blaster(R) X-Fi(TM) series sound card.
http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2005/285/reviews/920744_20051013_embed005.jpg
http://i.i.com.com/cnet.g2/images/2005/285/reviews/920744_20051013_screen021.jpg
http://i.i.com.com/cnet.g2/images/2005/285/reviews/920744_20051013_screen008.jpg
Review Edited by: Me
Original Review by: Jason Ocampo
The Good: F.E.A.R. elevates gun battles to a cinematic level; creepy and atmospheric; visually amazing--you will smell the smoke ; sounds incredible; wild and fast-paced multiplayer.
The Bad: The game is a system hog; some environments and enemies recycled a bit too much; some loose ends in the plot don't tie up as well as they could.
F.E.A.R. works because it elevates first-person shooter combat to cinematic levels. And while we've certainly seen games with movie-quality combat before, you've never seen anything quite like this. Playing F.E.A.R. is like battling through a John Woo movie like Face/Off, because when firefights happen in this game, they're downright glorious to behold. Bullets tear chunks out of concrete and wood; blinding clouds of dust and debris fill the air; bodies are torn apart or slump on the ground; and the deathly silence of the aftermath contrasts so sharply with the sheer chaos that erupted only moments before. Gunfights in F.E.A.R. just feel right.
You can't run around like a pack rat carrying every weapon, though, because F.E.A.R. limits you to only three weapons at a time. This is a familiar gameplay mechanic, but it's a good one, as you have to weigh the pros and cons of each weapon. Obviously, you'd like to have a close-range weapon, a decent long-range weapon, and a heavy weapon for those special encounters, but it's tempting when the game offers you a rocket launcher or a repeating cannon that you weren't expecting. At that point, something has to be sacrificed. In addition to guns, you also have grenades in your arsenal. And unlike most shooters, in which you have to equip grenades separately prior to using them, the grenades in F.E.A.R. can be readily thrown at the press of a button. This eliminates the need to fumble around with your inventory, and it opens up your tactical playbook, as you can toss a grenade without a moment's hesitation and force the enemy to react.
This omnipresent tension combined with the outstanding combat make F.E.A.R. a superb game, though one that can leave you a bit emotionally exhausted after a while. And as much as we enjoyed the game's atmosphere, we must admit that we were a bit disappointed by the plot. Rest assured that F.E.A.R. features a complete story, as well as an ending. The trouble is that it feels like several plotlines lack some kind of satisfactory payoff for all your trouble, so the game's a bit of a letdown in this aspect. The end level is also disappointing in that it's surprisingly easy, especially compared to what you've experienced to get to that point. Thankfully, F.E.A.R. does end on a spectacular note.
While posting this i basicly took whole paragraphs of a very large review to share with everyone. I hope that this would help you deicde on trying the game out. I personally have no fully finished the game. Im more of a Online Gamer and I will be giving it a shot online. Online it is powered by Gamerspy.
Publisher: VU Games
Developer: Monolith
Genre: Modern First-Person Shooter
Release Date: Oct 17, 2005 (more)
ESRB: MATURE
ESRB Descriptors: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Game Information
Connectivity: Online, Local Area Network
Online Modes: Competitive, Cooperative, Team Oriented
Number of Players: 1 Player
Number of Online Players: 16 Online
DirectX Version: v9.0
Operating System: Windows 2000/XP
Minimum System Requirements
System: Pentium(R) 4 - 1.7 GHz or equivalent
RAM: 512 MB
Video Memory: 64 MB
Hard Drive Space: 5000 MB
Recommended System Requirements
System: Pentium 4 - 3.0 GHz or equivalent
RAM: 1024 MB
Video Memory: 256 MB
Other: Radeon(R) 9800 Pro, GeForce(TM) 6600 or equivalent DirectX(R) 9. Sound Blaster(R) X-Fi(TM) series sound card.
http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2005/285/reviews/920744_20051013_embed005.jpg
http://i.i.com.com/cnet.g2/images/2005/285/reviews/920744_20051013_screen021.jpg
http://i.i.com.com/cnet.g2/images/2005/285/reviews/920744_20051013_screen008.jpg