F.3.A.R Review

When I think of the all time greatest first person shooters my mind trails back to 007 Golden Eye on the Nintendo 64. Likewise if I think of my favourite horror games I’m drawn towards the likes of Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Now if I was to merge these two great genres into one game I would come up with a little something like F.E.A.R. Fast forward 2 sequels and we wind up with Day 1 Studio's thrilling F.3.A.R.

While not as polished as say, a Modern Warfare or as creepy as Eternal Darkness, F.3.A.R essentially blends the two genres into one meshing moulding hump of unnerving, dark action-packed madness. You are Point Man, who has been captured and is then rescued by your brother, Paxton Fettel. Yes you, the protagonist of the first game in the series, are rescued by the antagonist of the same game. You then are off to find Alma so you can finish your original mission. If a newcomer came to the series you can bet that they would be confused right off the bat. There is no explanation for anything, you simply just dive into the unknown, and frankly, confusing story.

The game play is where the real deal is at however, with F.3.A.R delivering in spades. The cover system, while implemented in earlier games these past years, is a great mechanic which is used well throughout the game. Whether your hiding from a mech or in a dog fight with seven other guys, you really feel as if you are battling for dear life and the only thing protecting you from death is the crate from which you hide. Of course this is due to the great AI who, unlike in other games in the same genre, move to a better vantage point or change tact completely depending on how you choose to attack, adding a sense of realism to a somewhat stagnant formula.

How you play a first person shooter is ingrained on any gamer familiar with the genre, it is a proven control scheme. F.3.A.R does itself no harm in this department, creating clean crisp controls which we have become so accustomed to love. From looking down the scope with the left trigger to blasting the bullets into the skulls of enemies with the right, it feels almost natural now. While there isn't much innovation in the way you use F.3.A.R, there isn't much wrong with it either mind you.

Lighting is definitely a mammoth aspect which must be treated with utmost care by developers, especially when dealing with a horror themed game. The common terror of not being able to see what could hunt you from the dark is a feeling which many people (including me) can relate to. In the scenes when the effect is needed, F.3.A.R is superb, forcing you to use your flash light to see only a meter ahead. The implementation of this however is limited, and could have been used more.

Visually F.3.A.R is stunning, brimming with detail and awesome scenes which make you froth at the mouth. Whether it be escaping from an exploding prison or jumping aboard a leaving helicopter, the quality of the cut scenes will leave you astounded. They are let down, however by the text which connects each interval, explaining what has been happening, effectively destroying any immersion the player had in the game.

No horror, nay no game can ever be complete without a sound score that compliments the scenery. F.3.A.R's soundtrack succeeds in it's attempt to instil a sense of engrossing environment. From being bombarded with soldier after soldier to stalking through a deserted mall, you can guarantee a fitting piece of music will be playing. succeeding in raising even the smallest moment into either an adrenalin fuelled raucous of mayhem or even a creepy crawl through the shadows. Add in the soldiers conversations before you show yourself or during the stand off and I dare say that without the score, the F.3.A.R experience would not be the same.

Included in F.3.A.R is the ability to play the campaign in a co-op environment, either by online of off-line. This feature, added in with the superb multi player modes, such as survivals or death matches, proves the point that this was the real focus for F.3.A.R. Multi-player is head and shoulders above the single player campaign, which is disappointing or exciting dependant on what you are looking for.

While yes, I must admit I have praised F.3.A.R quite a bit, it does come with it's downsides. The story is near impossible to follow for a newcomer to the series, requiring them to have at least played a previous game in full to understand. The frights, while there, are too few and far between and it is hard to call this a horror/first person shooter for this reason. It seems as though the developers took maybe too much of a leaf out of call of duty's handbook.

If you are looking for an immersion, fear fuelled shooter, I would suggest holding onto your money. If, however you are looking for a solid shooter, with horror elements that holds it's own as a stand alone multi player game I highly recommend buying F.3.A.R. While the single player campaign is short and underdone, the multi player will have you playing for hours on end.

Story: 5

Gameplay: 8

Visuals: 8

Sound: 8

Multiplayer: 9

Overall: 7/10