F.E.A.R - Hands On Preview

We like to consider ourselves rather fearless gamers here at TVG; I mean weâ??re getting on in years, seen a lot of games and generally of the opinion that thereâ??s nothing left to faze usâ?¦ somebody forgot to tell Monolith however.

TVG has closely followed the development of F.E.A.R (well as close as theyâ??ll let us) and were fortunate enough to play through a continuous section of the game earlier in the year; thankfully today we can bring you our impressions and suggest that if you havenâ??t downloaded the demo, why not???

F.E.A.R should need no explanation and given the veil of secrecy surrounding every aspect of the game itâ??s unlikely that we can bring you anything you didnâ??t already know. The game blends various horror influences with explosive action, which easily manages to embarrass the lamentable situation of Hollywood action flicks, resulting in this yearâ??s â??Must-Haveâ? first-person-shooter â?“ itâ??s a totally different and far less sophisticated experience to the likes of Half Life 2, but easily sets itself ahead of the likes of Doom3.

The demonstration began with a Vivendi-Universal repâ??s advice to go for the â??Easyâ? setting in order to see everything they had in store; despite my reservations I decided to stick with the suggestion. A lot of what featured in this demonstration can be found in the single-player demo thatâ??s now available to download; what it did reveal is just how tightly integrated the various aspects of the game are, along with highlighting the stunning AI that features throughout the game helping to provide one of the most intense experiences in a videogame.

The designers of F.E.A.R deserve commendation; whereas the vast majority of â??scaryâ? videogames rely on shock-horror that quickly wanes, F.E.A.R plays around with your mind and creates a genuinely unsettling experience through the use of sound, visuals and psychology â?“ played on the right setup with the lights down low and the sound cranked high it can leave you a quivering wreck, a former self of the macho gamer you pride yourself on being. Every aspect has been timed to perfection, case in question, turning around to climb down a ladder only to have the â??Little Girl in the Red Dressâ? pop right in front of your eyes for a split-second.

The slow unravelling of the story and the eventual understanding of whatâ??s happening appears to be wonderfully woven within the game; to begin with itâ??s a routine mission for a field expert like yourself, despite the fact youâ??re playing as a rookie on his first real mission within the game. Armed to the teeth with enough firepower to blow up a small country the odds are certainly stacked in the playerâ??s favour to begin with; but then things begin to go wrong and the thought of biting off more then can be chewed slips into your brain.

As mentioned previously the AI displayed by the various opponents in F.E.A.R is nothing short of exceptional. Guards on patrol will notice things such as your flashlight, listen out for sounds and communicate with one another to keep the player informed of whatâ??s happening and build up a thoroughly engrossing experience. As soon as combat actually kicks off with sparks flying in every direction, objects moving frantically under real physics and chunks literally being blown out of the walls, you can step back and admire whatâ??s going on before you â?“ but only for a second. Guards will push over shelving units to act for cover; injured opponents will desperately limp away from conflict clutching their legs as they do so and work around the environment to launch a surprise attack from behind. It seems a long time since TVG first had the opportunity to go Hands-On with F.E.A.R earlier in the year and came across the cyber-ninja opponents that leap from walls and disappear completely. Since then weâ??ve seen a lot of F.E.A.R but never come across these particular types of opponents again.

A lot of the demonstration featured content that weâ??d already seen previously, such as the infamous â??blood dripping from the ceilingâ? scene that made its debut at E3 â?“ suffice to say it still manages to scare. Naturally a first-person-shooter is only as good as the weapons you can get your hands on, and as weâ??ve said before F.E.A.R features an explosive arsenal to unleash. The standard selection of dual uziâ??s, assault rifles and shotguns are all here and most certainly pack a punch; however itâ??s the rapid pace of the nail-gun and the disintegrating effect of the plasma rifle that provides the most enjoyment. The nail-gun is relentless, firing 9â? spikes at a pace that can only be appreciated when slow-mo is activated; itâ??s literally a case of blasting away and looking at the devastation caused afterwards when nothing else is moving. One guard who somersaulted through a window had his head nailed onto the frame in a grisly crucifixion pose, while a further couple found themselves attached in a rather dubious manner. The plasma rifle has undergone a number of changes since we first laid eyes upon F.E.A.R; the split-second charge of this weapon is a reminder of its power, shortly before it discharges and literally vaporises the flesh from opponentâ??s skeletons!

Stacking up medi-kits and blasting away opponents in slow-mo the demonstration with F.E.A.R ended with a tap on the shoulder from the VUâ??s Producer, who quietly exclaimed that I had â??seen more then we intended with this demonstrationâ? â?“ well I did try telling them that â??Easyâ? was the wrong setting to begin with. Regardless I jump at every opportunity to check out F.E.A.R; itâ??s a return to the frenetically intense, highly charges shooters of old, yet manages to interweave a strong narrative and sense of atmosphere which leaves you longing for more.