F.E.A.R. series

[icycalm]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1382262

LTTP: the F.E.A.R. trilogy (+ all DLC)

So I just finished the entire F.E.A.R. series, I completely missed the boat on them when they were relevant so I wanted to share my late opinions and hear yours.

Background: I'm very new to PC gaming. I played a few casual titles in the mid 90's but have been strictly a console gamer until last year. I upgraded an old office PC and have been really enjoying the PC gaming space. So naturally, that's why I missed out on F.E.A.R., I only found out about it recently from a friend and bought the series for $5 from Bundlestars. So that's where I'm coming from going into this. I'm newish to PC gaming but heard good things about F.E.A.R., but yes, of course I heard every echo warning me not to play past the first game. Well, let's see about that....


F.E.A.R. - It took me a couple days to get into but I really enjoyed this game more than any other FPS I've played in the past few years. I knew it was something special. The game play was so tight, it's like nothing I experienced on consoles. There's a certain rawness to the game's mechanics and physics which you wouldn't expect from a game that has a slowdown gimmick, but it works amazingly well if you can forgive the occasional glitch. Shotgun + slowdown is a damned religious experience.

I also didn't expect the game to be so unintentionally humorous. I feel like with a game of this age, it probably was scary at the time but today its jump scares and sounds just make me laugh. I also laughed at how 'game-y' the levels are designed. You can instantly tell that you're in a FEAR game when you see doors blocked by boxes on the other side. Other recurring events led to predictable enemy encounters. For instance, elevators are harbingers of doom in the FEAR universe, whenever you get off one be prepared for the fight of your life.

It ended a little more abruptly than I would have liked but I've never been heavy into video game story. I thought it was a great game and immediately wanted to jump into the first DLC pack.


F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (DLC) - The next game didn't disappoint me. It plays just like the first but I immediately noticed it was a lot quicker and more difficult than the first game. I tend to play games on the default difficulty setting because I feel that's how the designer intended the game to be played. While it jumped in difficulty, I didn't mind it and welcomed the challenge. It was frantic but fair. Even as I died multiple times in firefights I never felt that the game was cheating me, I knew the problem could be overcome by getting better at the game.

I feel this standalone DLC is better than the original but it is important to play the original to ease you into the mechanics and prepare you for the added challenge of this one. It was when I completed it that I decided I must play the entire series. Everyone told me I would regret it but with a series like this that was on such a high note, I had to satisfy my curiosity and find out for myself where it all went wrong. I felt it was important to do this in order to get the full FEAR experience.


F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (DLC) - By this point I was fully immersed in the series, maybe that's why I thought this game was a bit easier than Extraction Point. It feels like they dialed down the difficulty. However, I did start to feel the games were becoming too formulaic. Maybe I don't really have a good argument since this is technically just DLC to the first game. But I did fell like I wanted a change up.... I guess you should be careful what you wish for but more on that later.

The game checks all the right boxes, most good, some bad. But it is totally worth playing. One instance where you're up against a rampaging mech in a hospital will go down as one of the most enjoyable boss fights I've ever played and it was genuinely unnerving. A few enemies at the end are nearly invincible but you can still get through it with practice. I know both DLC games are out of cannon for whatever dumb reason but as someone who didn't care about the story to begin with, I still recommend them.


F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin - welp, the series shakeup finally arrived, but like a monkey's paw I paid dearly for my wish. This added new elements to FEAR we hadn't seen before, but the problem is that those new elements were just old elements copied and pasted from other games. Every modern plague is here in full force from quick time events to brown-yellow scenery filled with bloom. Developers need to be sentenced to death by bloom, it really is a disgusting effect. The jump scares went from mildly annoying and humorous to flat out irritating. Worst of all, the game lost its raw edge in a bid to become more cinematic. This doesn't feel like FEAR, it feels like a mediocre shooter trying to incorporate several FEAR mechanics.

You can tell they tried, there was a lot of effort going into this. But effort is no excuse for poor gameplay, you can't shine shit. I guess if you're into those types of overly cinematic, quick time event infused games then this could be right up your alley but not for me.


F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn (DLC) - Had I not made the pledge to play through the whole series I would have stopped at FEAR 2. I'm glad I kept on though because Reborn isn't bad! I was genuinely surprised that it mostly went back to being a frantic shooter again. I don't even recall any quick time events. It's the closest the series came back to its roots even though the level designs could use some help. It's pretty short too and while it's not standalone, you can play this one without completing the main game. Funny thing is, you can only have one save file and so when you start up Reborn you completely lose your FEAR 2 save, oooof! How did it go out like that??


F.E.A.R. 3 - and here's what I just got done playing. I heard this game was the worst in the series and boy, it did not disappoint. Holy shit this game is terrible. It's no wonder it killed the series. It has the same big studio production elements of FEAR 2 but again they copied even more bad elements from other games. I knew that any chance of a good game was gone after it turned into a zombie horde shooter. Ugh.

There are also parts that feel completely unfair, like when you get to an area where an infinite number of ghouls just keep coming until you realize you just have to get to the exit. Again, this is why I feel the early FEAR games were good because they were fair and an infinite amount of enemies to fight until you go to the next story checkpoint is not fair or fun. The ending was stupid. There are other boss fights in the game that were a lot more difficult but I shouldn't complain too much since I just wanted the damn thing to be done with by then. I also hated how you went around at the end destroying physical manifestations of bad memories, it's so dumb.

One thing I didn't expect to hate on was the fact that your character has a face this time. As someone who doesn't care about story I naturally don't care about what the main character looks like either. The earlier FEAR games didn't show your character and it worked well. But there's just something off about this character design in 3. He clearly looks like a villain but he also barely looks human, his features are so exaggerated he looks alien. Not much of a complaint but it sure didn't help the game. I can't recommend it at all, it's total shit.


Summary: Overall, I like FEAR but the sequels definitely have problems. I highly recommend 1 and all of its DLC, then play Reborn, but skip FEAR 2. I know some people wish to see FEAR return but I don't share that feeling. I think the designers were pushing in the wrong direction entirely and I'm not seeing any sign that they would change their ways and return to their roots for another sequel. I think they would just double down and just try to imitate whatever is popular today. I don't consider my time with the later installments to be wasted, I feel it was important to play them all to get a complete understanding.

What do you guys think?

[recoil]

His assessment of the first game and its expansions are good.

On the second game, it's not as shitty as he describes it and the things he complains about are a bit strange. I don't remember any of the QTEs, the jump scares were pretty much the same thing as the first game, and I didn't mind the graphical upgrades and cinematic look. Although, the enemy encounters and weapons (ditching dual pistols was an unforgivable decision) were not as good as the first game.

I haven't played the third game, but I bet he didn't play it with a co-op partner.