F.E.A.R - Hands On Preview

With 2004 seeing such releases as Far Cry, Doom 3, Half Life 2 and Halo 2 it could be argued that first-person-shooter fans have had their fill of entertaining and high-profile releases; however it looks as though somebody forgot to inform Vivendi-Universal and Monolith Software, as they gear up for the forthcoming release of the PC shooter, F.E.A.R.

TVG was fortunate enough to gain access to the World Exclusive preview of its multiplayer aspects, whilst the stunning single-player footage that made its debut at E3â??04 was available for us to sample.

Billed as a â??first-person close-quarters combat experience with rich atmosphere and an engaging storylineâ?, the influences behind F.E.A.R are immediately apparent, taking in acclaimed Japanese horrors such as The Ring, explosive Hollywood styled action that wouldnâ??t look out of place in The Matrix or a Jerry Bruckheimer flick, along with various Samurai flicks â?“ a personal favourite of the lead designer and one of the reasons why gratuitous blood and the accompanying SPLATTER features so predominantly.

Players take the role of a secretive point-man for a classified strike team known as F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assault and Recon), sent in to discover what has happened to a Delta Force team who have mysteriously disappeared on a routine mission to infiltrate a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound that has come under attack by an identified paramilitary force â?“ although everything may not be entirely what it seems.

Sadly in an effort to prevent too much information becoming available at this stage, Monolith once again demonstrated and provided us with a Hands-On opportunity of the opening sequences that debuted at E3â??04. For those who watched the stunning footage back then, youâ??ll recall that what initially starts out as a routine operation, changes drastically once you enter the foundation and frequently visualise a strange child clothed in a red dress seemingly wandering around the complex with little recognition or motivation; itâ??s only near the end of a scene when she completely obliterates three Delta Force members that you realise sheâ??s worth treating with a certain degree of respect.

Focussing on creating an intense, action-orientated experience, itâ??s fair to say that from the little weâ??ve played, that Monolith has already succeeded. The game is absolute carnage at times and makes the likes of Doom 3 look pale in comparison. One of the particularly neat features that we managed to get our hands on is the main characterâ??s ability to slow-down time; we know what youâ??re thinking, yet another game that badly imitates Max Payne, which in itself replicates The Matrix â?“ but no. When speaking to the Lead Designer behind F.E.A.R itâ??s currently unknown as to whether this special ability will be explained in detail or not, however he did make it clear to us that the game will provide more information then Maxâ??s ability in his self-titled series. Whilst itâ??s too early to call, it was easily evident that the slow-mo feature does have a profound impact on the game, but more importantly it just looks and sounds so damn cool, merely pulling up your weapon felt like a real chore as though it weighed an absolute ton!

Utilising virtually every shader and visual technology made possible by Direct X 9.0c and indeed known to man, F.E.A.R is quite honestly a visual masterpiece, a revolution, a testimony that we donâ??t make lightly given the previous release of certain high-profile shooters. Based upon an entirely new game engine, F.E.A.R excels in the particle department (not to mention virtually every other department), featuring the best weapon and explosive effects that weâ??ve seen in a videogame to date; as youâ??re shooting madly in the confined rooms of the complex, glass is shattering realistically, blood is sprayed upon the walls and chunks of concrete are literally blown away when a bullet hits the wall or ground. However itâ??s when you activate slow-mo that you can really appreciate just how good F.E.A.R looks and just how much action is occurring on-screen; the weapon trails surpass the effects witnessed in The Matrix movies, whilst the use of rag-doll physics has truly moved on to the next dimension. Nothing demonstrated this more aptly then the nail gun, imagine the situation as you run down a staircase, take a turn to discover a guard there and quickly activate the slow-mo ability, gun him down with a barrage of nails and watch as his body thrusts under the impact of the nails and is sent spiralling towards the wall and ultimately pinned up high against the wall.

Given the high-degree of security currently being thrown around F.E.A.R, itâ??s hard to say whether aspects such as the final weapon count that we witnessed will stay the same or be increased for the final version. On offer was a choice of seven distinct and powerful weapons, including Dual Pistols, SMG, Shotgun, Assault Rifle, Nail Gun, Semi-Automatic Assault Rifle and the Plasma Gun. Each of these bring a distinctly unique scope to the game and how you want to play it, but more importantly theyâ??re extremely powerful and just plain fun; in addition thereâ??s various grenades to use, which although brings nothing new to the table certainly sets the benchmark for visual effect, particularly when the action has been slowed-down.

However itâ??s not just all about the weapons as F.E.A.R features one of the most accomplished melee attack systems that weâ??ve seen in a first-person-shooter. Your character within the game is fully modelled so that you can see his legs and arms and not just a floating camera, which Monolith claimed to be crucially important for the future of first-person-shooters as a means to enhancing the sense of immersion and making the player feel as though theyâ??re actually in the game. To this extent the melee combat actually incorporates more variety then the standard gun-butt and punch attacks weâ??ve seen in rival titles. Using the second mouse button and various combinations, players can pull off a variety of manoeuvres; simply tapping the button will result in a standard butt or punch, however jumping in the air beforehand will see your player launch a flying tirade of kicks that would make Mortal Kombatâ??s Liu Kang ashamed with jealousy, whilst tapping down beforehand will launch a sliding kick ideal for bringing down your opponents. Implementing these types of attacks has often been a hit-and-miss affair in previous titles (with the notable exception of The Chronicles of Riddick), however F.E.A.R looks likely to get it absolutely spot-on, creating a sense of impact and a feeling that you are making contact. Using these in combination with the slow-mo feature however takes the whole feature onto a new level; imagine gunning down an opponent, particles flying in every direction, launching the slow-mo, hearing and seeing everything slowed down and then launching into a flying kick â?“ it just works. Thankfully there doesnâ??t appear to be any restrictions with these manoeuvres, as we managed to launch a flying kick combo from a high ledge on an unsuspecting victim below, safe to say it was a moment that put a big smile on everybodyâ??s face that saw it.

The demonstration introduced very few characters, although we did get a glimpse and engaged in combat with the creepy opponents that wear active-camo suits. The animation on these guys needs to be seen to be believed, as they nip around the environment, hang themselves off walls and scuttle up into the ventilation to launch an unsuspecting attack on you. Scenes that featured these characters reminded us a lot like the first moment we laid eyes upon Ninja in Metal Gear Solid, although itâ??s fair to say that the AI of every character we met in the brief playtest exceeded anything seen previously.

Increasingly complex AI is something that is often taken for granted, however itâ??s only when you see something like F.E.A.R that you realise just how far this area will grow. Enemy characters that we came across use the environment intelligently, so much so that it made our efforts look positively primitive in comparison. You get a real feeling that theyâ??re working as a group to fight against you, moving into tactical positions, setting up ambushes, retreating away from heated combat and just generally making life as difficult as possible for you.

As the sequence drew to a close shortly before its climatic conclusion once again starring the mysterious child, Holiday, a fellow F.E.A.R operative and heavy combat specialist, made an appearance along with a choice few lines. A lot of the game is spent on your own, however friendly characters do appear on occasions to lend a hand and some advice. Earlier footage revealed at E3â??04 indicated that one of these particular moments, takes place in a vehicle with the player assuming a gunner role, although sadly Monolith refused to expand upon this aspect and reveal what other surprises may lie in store.

Multiplayer First Look

Whilst getting Hands-On with the single-player mode was more then enough to have me gasping for more, it was the chance to gain the first-ever look at how the multiplayer aspects are shaping up that provided the most intrigue.

Sadly again Monolith and Vivendi-Universal were being coy with regards to letting out too much information; however the opportunity provided us the chance to sample a DeathMatch mode along with a few levels that feature within the game.

Whilst DeathMatch modes are standard fare for first-person-shooters, F.E.A.R introduces a subtle change that transforms the dynamic quite considerably. Incorporating the slow-mo feature, players have to collect an item which charges once in your possession and allows you to activate the slow-mo function. Triggering this slows down the action for everybody playing, however the catch is that the player or team who activate have slightly faster reactions, reload times and movements compared to their opponents, thus gaining the advantage. Itâ??s quite amazing just how profound this feature impacts the standard DeathMatch modes that weâ??ve been playing for the last decade; itâ??s crucially important to protect whoever is carrying the Slow-Mo item, something that you never contemplate in other DeathMatch games, whilst activating the slow-mo only gives you a slight advantage to ensure it doesnâ??t become too unbalanced and that strategies and tactics can develop.

The three maps we sampled included a Docks level with a warehouse being the primary location; a partially demolished building and an office complex. The maps did seem to be significantly large in size, however given the intense action itâ??s highly likely that anything smaller would just deteriorate into chaotic carnage. Playing the game did feel a lot like â??run-and-gunâ? with little strategy, however that is the nature of the game and we expect further depth to come from a longer play-test and discovering more about the game.

When TVG enquired about the chances of seeing similar â??creativityâ? in the rest of the multiplayer modes, we were met with the unequivocal silence that surrounded any of the inquisitive questions put forward to the team. Certain reports have indicated that there wonâ??t be any modes such as Capture The Flag or Assault, given the games subject and having played it, we can see this happening, however weâ??d expect F.E.A.R to feature some innovative twists to make up for this â?“ sadly weâ??ll just have to wait a little longer before knowing for sure.