Weapons of F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R. is what would happen if Hideo Nakata (director of Ringu) and John Woo collaborated on a video game. Elements of Japanese horror are a significant and compelling aspect of the game, but first and foremost, F.E.A.R. is an action shooter. The weapons of F.E.A.R. reflect this development aim: they are fast, loud and slightly futuristic. The weapons are either are inspired by the developers research into the Department of Defense prototype weapons or are direct descendents of weapons from previous Monolith games (Battle Cannon – Shogo's Shredder; Remote Mines – Blood and Shogo, etc.).

Melee Attack: The melee attack is an extremely powerful but risky attack option that requires a proximity to your enemies that you generally want to avoid. In the multiplayer mode, however, unarmed attacks are a fantastic way to humiliate opponents. In addition to using your weapon as a bludgeon: you can slide kick, triple kick, jump kick, or punch opponents to devastating effect. (Note: The melee of F.E.A.R. will be given a more exhaustive look in a future article)

Rakow HP-14 Pistol .40cal This is your run-of-the-mill hand cannon. The pistol has great stopping power, armor penetration and allows you to move quickly with it equipped, but is burdened by a lengthy reload time and low clip capacity. If you're a John Woo fan you won't be disappointed – they've got a dual handgun mode that looks mighty cool and you'll appreciate the extra ammo and firepower of an additional gun. The pistol is a semi-auto weapon (i.e. every mouse click fires it) so the ROF (rate of fire) is controlled by the player.

Vollmer VK-12 Combat Shotgun 12g There is nothing quite like a shotty blast to the face at close range. The combat shotgun packs a nasty punch and is great in close quarters if you want to put someone or something down in one shot. This is the ideal weapon for a player with fast reflexes and a penchant for close combat. "Nothing better than a surprise round-the-corner encounter that ends with your opponent's head bouncing off the wall behind him" (Jonathan Gramlich, F.E.A.R. Associate Producer)

Sumak RPL Sub-Machinegun 9mm Because of its high-capacity clip and sizzling rate of fire, this is the perfect weapon for the accuracy-challenged. With 50 rounds to burn through you can get away with a little spray and pray with this baby. It's got low armor penetration and reduced effectiveness at range so this is the best candidate for some run and gun tactics. "The SMG is great if you can tame the beast," (Wes Saulsberry, F.E.A.R. Art Lead).

Rakow G2A2 Assault Rifle 5.56mm The SMG's big brother makes up for what it loses in rate of fire with pure stopping power. "The Assault rifle is the overall most well-rounded weapon. Good rate of fire, decent round capacity, with ability to zoom. Works well for rushing assault or defensive sniping with shallow range" (Wes Saulsberry, F.E.A.R. Art Lead). You will grow to love your assault rifle.

Baksha ASP Rifle 7.62mm (Semi Auto Rifle) This weapon features three round bursts of deadly stopping power and a scoped zoom that allows you to reach out and touch someone from a tremendous distance. You'll want to keep your distance because the power and armor piercing come with the disadvantages of a pretty significant movement penalty and a decreased rate of fire. If you get caught in close combat with this guy, you might want to consider braining your opponent with the butt of the rifle.

Armacham 10mm HV Penetrator (Nail Gun) When blowing opponents into a bloody mess just isn't enough, grab a nail gun, blast a guy and watch him dangle from the nail that you have just driven through his forehead. The Nail Gun has a slightly lower rate of fire than the SMG and half the clip capacity but it makes up for its shortcomings with pure nail-driven power. "I just can't get over the sophomoric satisfaction of nailing a guy to the wall and then taunting him by saying 'Nailed!'" (Kevin Stephens, Director of Technology).

Armacham Type-7 Particle Weapon (Plasma Gun) This futuristic plasma weapon is absolutely devastating from afar but it comes with a serious movement penalty. It's a "one shot one kill" affair against an unarmored opponent with a slow rate of fire and a digital scope. In the hands of a skilled player a plasma weapon can also be a deadly option for close combat against single opponents. "I'm a Quake Rail whore. Plasma is the next best thing. If your opponent does not have full armor it only takes a single hit to kill them, however if you miss you are pretty much dead"(Piotr Mintus, F.E.A.R. Software Engineer).

Obregon MP-50 Repeating Cannon 20mm (Battle Cannon) A shoulder fired fully auto repeating cannon. Yeah, it's as badass as it sounds. It does severe damage at point of impact and has moderate splash damage. However, you won't be winning any foot races when lugging this huge cannon around.

Andra MOD-3 MP Multi-Rocket Launcher When you want to rain down the wrath of God on your opponents, grab a Rocket Launcher and let it fly. The rocket launcher fires salvos of three "drunken missiles" (they swerve around) that reduce anything into its path into a cloud of blood and debris. Good times when you are on the firing end but be careful with this guy in confined spaces: fire it at close range and more likely than not, you won't be around to enjoy the carnage

N6A3 Fragmentation Grenade Fire in the hole! Need to get an enemy out from behind that crate? Lob a grenade back there and wait for that unfortunate bastard to choose between scurrying out into your line of fire, or flying out in a flurry of shredded flesh and bones. When the frag grenades explode they send out a concussive shockwave that warps the area of explosion. It looks cool but it's beauty is best viewed from a distance and even more impressive while in slow-mo.

AT-S Proximity Mine The proximity grenades will remind you of the infamous "Bouncing Betty" from that little war in Nam. You set this little treat and then forget about it until someone or something is unfortunate enough to walk near it. When triggered, the grenade pops up to about head level before detonating for some in your face explosions.

M77 Remote Bomb The remote grenade is a descendent of the remote charges from Blood and Shogo. The remote detonators in this game have several unique features which makes for some really entertaining game play. The remote detonators stick to pretty much any surface in the game (including other players), and you are able to simultaneously detonate multiple planted bombs with a single trigger pull. The remote bomb is a great weapon to use in Multiplayer - "sticking a remote grenade to a guy and then waiting for just the right moment to detonate it (i.e., when he stops and tries to figure out what that ticking sound is)...Priceless" (Kevin Stephens, Director of Technology).

TVG will have more on F.E.A.R shortly, but if you can't wait till then, check out the Game Index for all our past coverage of this truly exciting title...