F.3.A.R. review

Tuesday, 28 June 2011 12:10 | by Adam Jeffreson

Despite missing its namesake, F.3.A.R. is nevertheless a stellar gaming experience...

F.3.A.R. - but what did we think?

The F.E.A.R. series has come a long way in six years, but is there room for another FPS on the market?

F.3.A.R. picks up the story just nine months after the climax from the original F.E.A.R. Alma, the gore-soaked and incredibly creepy little girl from the previous games, is about to give birth. If you are familiar with the F.E.A.R. series, you know this isn’t a good thing. Even if you're not, trust me, it is not a good thing. To stop the world being torn apart by whatever horrors Alma might deliver, it is up to her two existing sons to battle across the city of Fairport and prevent the birth.

Her sons are the inventively named ‘Point Man’, the main protagonist from F.E.A.R., and Paxton Fettel, the first game's villain. The events of F.E.A.R. culminated in Point Man shooting Fettel in the head, killing him, but leaving the psychic link between the two intact. The game begins with Fettel returning as a ‘specter’ to free Point Man from interrogation, and the two form an uneasy partnership to stop their siblings' birth.

Gameplay

You begin the game in the shoes of Point Man, but as you complete each level you unlock the option to go back and play it again as Fettel. The entire campaign can also be played in co-op mode, online or split-screen, with each player controlling one of the two brothers. Point Man is your basic shooter character - complete with the familiar ability to slow down time - while Fettel has a host of psychic abilities to cut through the waves of enemies within.

The core gameplay is definitely not going to surprise anyone that has played a shooter before. All of the usual mechanics like are in place, with only a few minor tweaks. This means that the game does feel very familiar, but it feels familiar in a good way. It seems that instead of trying to re-invent the wheel the developers were trying to get it as smooth as possible instead.

A beautifully disturbed family portrait... This ‘smoothness’ is one of the things I liked the most about how the game actually played. Everything worked, and it worked on time. I was never frustrated with over-complicated controls or actions, and the game only glitched once. There is no noticeable delay between button-presses and actions either, making the experience sharp and responsive. The level of polish on the feel of the game is really quite impressive, and immediately makes it very enjoyable to play.

The two available characters both have their different strengths and weaknesses. Point Man is your standard shooter hero, using the game's responsive cover-based shooting and his slo-mo ability to out-gun the enemies. Fettel is a more diverse character, the fact that he is a ‘specter’ means that he cannot use conventional weapons, and must rely on his psychic abilities instead. He can shoot fireballs, lift and throw objects, unleash a powerful melee attack and possess enemy soldiers. The possession ability is the most intriguing, allowing players to jump in and out of the minds of the enemy and make them turn their guns on each other.

Both characters are well developed and satisfying to use, but in the single player mode Fettel is by far the most interesting, despite his awesome psychic powers making him slightly over-powered at times. F.3.A.R.’s co-op mode is really the best place to test out the abilities of the two different characters, as each player will be able to harness their individual character's abilities to assist in battle. This adds a lot more variety to the way the game is played, and the campaign is even more enjoyable when played with a friend.

The human enemies in the game are convincingly intelligent, shouting orders to each other and using the environment to their advantage. On occasions they manage to get themselves stuck on some of the scenery, but this doesn’t happen often enough to go down as a flaw of the game. The paranormal enemies in the game are a little disappointing - they are limited to about three varieties, and none of them feel very threatening or scary - and all seem to employ the same tactics of just trying to rush you.

Presentation

The graphics of F.3.A.R. are not up to the same level as some of the other new shooters on the market; there is less shine and detail to the environments than some players may be used to, and some effects - like the look of water and smoke - are noticeably sub-par. But these slightly simpler graphics work in the same way as the familiar gameplay - they aren’t going to blow your mind, but they work and they work well.

The environments in the game vary as you progress through the story, taking you from a prison, through the slums and sewers, and eventually into the city. All of the areas are well detailed and laid-out, and it's rare for you to get lost - everything is well signed. The limited graphics in the game do harm the atmosphere of the environments a little, preventing any of them from being truly unsettling, but there are still some notable areas in the game that are nevertheless going to make players uneasy.

The sound quality of the game is very high, and it is often the soundtrack that provides the scares. The voice acting can be a little ropey at times, but it is easily forgiveable when combined with the high standards of the music and audio effects. Playing this game in surround sound is almost a necessity, as the horrible sounds coming from behind you make the atmosphere much more tangible.

The overall style of the game is aiming to be dark and chilling, but this never really comes across. You never really feel panicked or vulnerable, and if you die it is more likely because of the numbers of enemies simply overwhelming you. First person shooters, in general, struggle to convey a sense of fear, as you are pretty much assured that you can overcome any enemy you meet by shooting it. The ammo and grenades in F.3.A.R. are also in such plentiful supply that you don’t even have the familiar panic of having to count your shots in sticky situations.

But despite these shortcomings - in regards to the actual fear in the game - it is still well presented and polished. The game may not be breaking ground, but it is certainly presenting it well. Many games that have aimed for greatness find themselves over-reaching - just look at Homefront and Duke Nukem in recent months - yet F.3.A.R. has aimed for familiarity and quality, and has achieved it superbly.

Multiplayer

Perhaps the most surprising feature in the game is its range of hectic and highly enjoyable multiplayer modes. There are four modes available, but unfortunately each mode only accommodates four people at a time. However, you soon forgive this shortcoming when you realise that each mode brings about a unique, enjoyable experience; something a little new to the table.

The first of the four is ‘Soul King’. In this mode, all the players begin in ‘specter’ form, and must posess enemies and kill other players, collecting their souls to gain points. The catch is that when a player dies, they lose half of their collected souls, so the game can change around in an instant. As a result, the final result often hangs in the balance, and can make for some very tense gameplay. The second mode, ‘Soul Survivor’, is the weakest of the four modes - one player spawns as a ‘specter’ and has to infect the remaining three. It's fun in its own way, but doesn’t really stand up to the quality of the other modes.

F.3.A.R. - as straight to the point as they come ‘Contractions’ is possibly the least inventive of the four modes - it is basically COD’s ‘Nazi Zombies’ mixed with Horde mode from Gears Of War. The four players defend a stronghold from advancing waves of enemies, repairing barricades and collecting supplies to keep them going. If you have played 'Nazi Zombies' then you pretty much know what to expect here, but with so many parts of F.3.A.R., this is no bad thing. Although the ideas aren’t stunningly original, they are flawlessly executed.

The final game mode available is cheerily titled ‘F**king Run’. This mode is fast paced and heart-pounding. All four players must sprint through zones full of enemies, all the time trying to keep pace ahead of an advancing wall of death behind them. If just one player slips up and touches it, the mode is all over. The high stakes and speed of the advancing wall of fog means there there is no time for messing around or relaxing, you really do need to just ‘F**king Run’.

Another interesting feature of the game is that the multiplayer, singleplayer and co-op modes are all tied together by a points system. Each level or online game you play has a series of challenges that, once completed, earns you points. The nature of the challenges varies - from spending a certain amount of time using cover to killing scores of enemies without taking a single hit. The points earned from these challenges are collected and put towards experience, powering up your characters and abilities. This levelling system means that not only is the replay value of the game increased, but it also gives a sense of cohesion between all the different modes; it feels that whatever you are doing you are still working towards a shared goal in the game.

Conclusions

The most damning thing to really say about F.3.A.R. is that there isn’t really any fear in it; this is a game that has defiantly lost its way from being a champion of the horror genre. But what it has lost in genuine shocks it has gained in polish and replay value - there is much more game on offer here than the majority of other shooters, and there are few that provide a more robust and frustration-free experience.

The less than stellar presentation and familiar gameplay are counterbalanced by the strength of the game's audio and the diverse range of game-modes. The addition of both online and split screen co-op can often be enough to sell a game on its own, and there are few new titles that do it as well as F.3.A.R. If you are going to play this game on your own, then it will be worth your while, but if you play it with a friend, you can be sure of a truly stellar experience...even if you won’t actually be scared.

4 stars