F.E.A.R.... I don't get it.

[B.E.E.F.]

Why is this game rated so high on most review sites?

I played it and its a B-Shooter. The AI is pretty smart, and the graphics look pretty good in a few scenes. But the levels are very boring, and usually look washed out. And they're repetitive.

Its not even scary. For the first 20min or so its pretty creepy. But nowhere near something like Doom 3 or Resident Evil. Even Half Life 2 is scarier than FEAR.

What is so good about this game?

[ExodusC]

Seriously?

I think it was one of the best shooters I've played, and I've played a lot. FEAR is one of the funnest games to shoot things, in my opinion.

I found it to be somewhat scary at certain parts, but you really have to get into the atmosphere or it won't affect you (night, lights out, volume up with a headset, etc).

[itznfb]

i agree with exodus,,, great FPS. night time, with headphones, on the hardest level, with 32" 1080p. i've definitely jumped several times throughout the game. i haven't played doom3 so i can't compare, and i haven't played resident evil in years, but i'd have to say they are comparable. half life 2 isn't scary ever imo.

[B.E.E.F.]

Sound effects in fear are also pretty weak. And the visuals. FEAR uses gray for visuals like its going out of style. Music is pretty good though.
I guess I need a strong atmosphere to get into it.

Doom 3 had that. Audio files, logs, some cool cutscenes. Made everything really creepy for awhile. Near the end I was expecting things.

[Scubar]

I didnt find Doom3 at all scary. Quite boring infact. F.E.A.R was scarier but the actual gameplay was way more fun, great game.

[MomijiTMO]

I loved FEAR. The only negative was how the story was told mostly via answering machines. The story is pretty much why I liked it and I get excited when Alma tries to kill you.

I see your problem though. FEAR isn't suppose to be the best FPS out there. It's suppose to be an atmospheric game where you have a gun and might have to kill people most of the time. Once you go into the vault in FEAR the action pretty much disappears but the story takes full flight.

[the_pharaoh]

I also thought FEAR was wonderful. The way the large firefights are setup is so perfect IMHO...just that feeling of "suddenly the room is full of bad guys" that gets your adrenaline going instantly. I did feel that the level design was bland and repetitive, as well as the enemies...just the same clone soldiers and robots over and over. However, that wasn't enough to ruin it for me at all. I really enjoyed the Extraction Point expansion campaign also...even more fast-paced and action packed.

Definitely scarier to me than HL2 or Doom3, but this is a pretty personal way to judge a game. If you just rush through the whole game it's not scary in the least though, plays more like a summer action movie if you don't stop to take in the atmosphere.

[cadaveca]

Um, the game is almsot 3 years old now, to expect too much is not going to leave you pleased, but for it's time(October 2005), it was pretty darn good!

[YukonTrooper]

- The game is three years old, so you can't fairly judge the graphics. At the time, they were very good.

- The atmosphere is good, but not great. It's definitely not scary. Doom 3 is scary.

- The level design is OK. Nothing great there.

- I can't remember the sounds.

- The story was good, but it was let down by the level design.

- The fighting mechanics are excellent, and are what make this game worthwhile. Very good immersion with the ability to slow down time, interesting weapon dynamics, and good combat sequences.

My 2 cents. :)

[shaolin95]

Great game and fairly scary but its all about the setup. If you game with your buddies around watching football then obviously its not going to work but try like someone suggested before, alone at night with the right sound set up and its get pretty intense.

[TedShred]

I kinda love FEAR so far (but I haven't got so far, and - having just gone through Ravenholm on HL2 - I totally love the scariness comparison btwn HL2 and FEAR), but FEAR seems an absolute b**ch on these 3870x2's unless I crank the settings down to playground level. Othewise, I get mega, like MEGA, lag. Still pretty cool on crappy settings tho... I must admit I get spooked out..

..A bit rambling, and OTsorrry, but man did I get smoked on the markets today.... need more Heneikens.....

[sirheck]

Did you patch it to the latest patch?

If not the graphics REALLY suck.

[TedShred]

Did you patch it to the latest patch?

If not the graphics REALLY suck.

um, lol.... no?

*totally lookin into it*:D

thank ya!:up:

[sirheck]

Yeah when my hdd or what ever would crash or die and i had to reinstall windows and all that shistuff,
When i re-install FEAR and play it the graphics and overall game play sucked.

This was back on my old 6800gt,s in sli up to my 8800gtx. (yeah i have had to reformatt way to much):(
After patching it to the newest patch it was much better.

When i first got FEAR the day it came out i had 6800gt,s in sli with an FX-60.
Played it for a day or so then left it at my brothers house for like 6 months.

Got it back one day to give it a try(hoping newer NV drivers) would help after 6 months.
It was still kinda (ok), but it said as i opened the game i needed to update to the newest
version. vers. 1.4 at the time i think.

After i did it seemed much more brighter and had much better overall gameplay.

[MomijiTMO]

Hey I forgot about the AI. Stupid grenades =X

[Nasgul]

Aren't all FPS games boring in a way?

I mean it's the same concept, except different scenario/scenes and none different than the other.....point, shoot and kill.

I only play FPS: UT, UT2003, UT2004, UT3, DOOM, FEAR, Quake III, Q3 TA, Quake 4, Painkiller.............currently playing TimeShift.

I'm currently trying to see if I can get Lost Planet, Crysis, Quake Enemy Territory, Stalker, Grid and FallOut.

[Helfarch]

I can't believe anyone found Doom 3 scary, it was the most predictable 'hey we have a new engine you should totally buy it for your game' boring piece of crap. Oh look it went dark YET AGAIN *shoots at most likely position for an enemy* oh look something died no one could have seen that coming :shakes: I loved FEAR multi for a while just not enough people played and in Australia almost every half decent player joined one clan. I must admit I hardly played the single player because I was too busy scissor and slide kicking people. I stopped playing before the expansion came out.

[citabria]

BEEF: I think you are either a flamer or you do not appreciate the games you play.

FEAR was very unique...3 years ago. The AI while not perfect was about as good as any. The AI in most FPS always seems stupid at long distance, where the npc stands there for the easy long range kill. The exception would be UT or Doom where the AI cheated on high difficulty.

The color palate of FEAR seems average to above average to me. In my opinion Gears of War and Hellgate London used too many gray palates of color which to me created the most boring of surroundings.

FEAR has one of the best stories out there and set itself up for a decent sequel.

Just my thoughts...

[B.E.E.F.]

BEEF: I think you are either a flamer or you do not appreciate the games you play.

Way to make judgment Mr. 1 post.



FEAR was very unique...3 years ago. The AI while not perfect was about as good as any. The AI in most FPS always seems stupid at long distance, where the npc stands there for the easy long range kill. The exception would be UT or Doom where the AI cheated on high difficulty.

I said the AI was good. I was not arguing that. Sometimes the AI is really brutal. Like flanking, and fishing me out with grenades.



FEAR has one of the best stories out there and set itself up for a decent sequel.

I got to the office building level. With the fat guy eating cheezy poos. Then I got pissed off since it wasn't getting any better. When does the story take off?


As far as Doom 3. It was scary since I got into the whole atmosphere of the game. Reading all the random bulletins, watching the videos, letters, memos. Gave everything a creepy atmosphere. Without that the game is just a regular shoot-em-up with zombies.

[Newblar]

for me, doom 3 was the scariest game ive ever played.
i think the sound contributed the most to the nature of the game, ive got a pair for sennheiser 280 PRO's and an old audigy sb card, but it just makes that much of a difference

literally every sound i hear, i just run into the corner and look around everywhere. i havent played fear, but i wouldnt expect it to be much worse than doom3

[T_Flight]

If you want true immersion, go out to a farm and find a chicken and get some chicken blood, throw on the walls and the sides of your monitor, and rub a little over your arms for that wounded feeling, then take a hammer and crack yourself on the arms ina few places, and get somebody to pound you in the back with some kidney punches a few times, then run out and go down the road until you find a roadkill possum and bring it back home and throw it in the corner of your computer room for that nice decomp aroma.

You'll get a true "into it, in 'ya face" feeling. You gotta fully commit! :rofl:

[Decami]

I dont see how some people are not frightened by Doom 3. Must have played it in broad daylight on a laptop in a park or something. For me, I bought it at 1 in the morning took it home and cranked my 5.1 and shut all the lights off and boy was that a mistake!! I mean i didnt cry or jump out of my seat or anything, but that game was pretty freaking eerie, and def had my heart racing!

Also lots of people say that the originals were not like that, that all you did was shoot hordes of monsters, and that there wasnt any pop out scares and dark hallways and such. Well it must have been a while since they played the originals, cause I still play them, and Doom 3 was the exact same game with better sounds and graphics, an amazing sequel. Cant wait for 4.

As for FEAR, loved it, its a pretty kick ass shooter, I personally think its a tad over rated, but it still deserves the spot light. Its sorta old though, now. Compared to today and tomorrows shooters, yeah it can be looked at as B shooter to some. But upon its initial release, it was top of the line A shooter.

[Andrew LB]

FEAR was a let down IMO. I got so bored I didn't even finish it.

Doom 3 on the other hand was a solid game. Great engine, sound, and lighting. I think a lot of people who say it sucked were the ones who had overly high expectations due to the years of hype leading up to it's release and were pissed when the game was delayed because of the leaked alpha build which ran like crap and was nowhere near the final product.

[lepper_messiah]

Why is this game rated so high on most review sites?

I played it and its a B-Shooter. The AI is pretty smart, and the graphics look pretty good in a few scenes. But the levels are very boring, and usually look washed out. And they're repetitive.

Its not even scary. For the first 20min or so its pretty creepy. But nowhere near something like Doom 3 or Resident Evil. Even Half Life 2 is scarier than FEAR.

What is so good about this game?

personal preference.

imo fear is one of the best games in terms of gameplay and realism. physics is great, interaction with objects, smart AI, very good combat scenes, movie-like effects and great horror atmosphere. also, another good thing about faer is it takes place in surroundings you visit everyday like offices, hospitals, warehouses etc.

i finished this game about 3 times. scarred the :banana::banana::banana::banana: out of me each time.

[B.E.E.F.]

personal preference.

imo fear is one of the best games in terms of gameplay and realism. physics is great, interaction with objects, smart AI, very good combat scenes, movie-like effects and great horror atmosphere. also, another good thing about faer is it takes place in surroundings you visit everyday like offices, hospitals, warehouses etc.

i finished this game about 3 times. scarred the :banana::banana::banana::banana: out of me each time.

Physics could have used more polish. Whenever FEAR loads a new part of the level, the objects are slightly shifted since the level is offset. When the new level is rendered, all the objects on the level fall a little bit and make a noise. Really annoying.

It sounds like there is someone bumping into stuff. :shocked:

That's the only freaky part I found. Everything else gets pretty soft after awhile. I find it scarier when you don't show exactly what is lurking in the shadows. And if it does come out, it has to be obscured mostly in shadows, and shown very briefly. Horror sets in when its implied and your mind is racing.


Half Life 2 was far more realistic IMO. Its based in Eastern Europe (or Russia), and yes the urban areas, and insides, do look like everyday places. Just a little more colorful.



Any alternatives to the FEAR series? Maybe it just didn't vibe with me.

[YukonTrooper]

Prey?