F.3.A.R. (2011 Video Game) User Reviews

Just you try pronouncing the title without sounding Yiddish

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 7/10 · 4 April 2012]

Fettel is back(again… oh, wait, we're ignoring the expansion packs, right), and rescues the Point Man(finally a face on him... maybe he'll eventually graduate to having a name, and some day, a voice), in one of the few clever bits, a cutscene that shows off the powers of both, and ends with ambiguity(was he actually trying to kill…? I won't give it away). It's been nine months(according to the online manual… which means that everyone has just been… waiting…?), so Alma(who we also see… ugh) is close to giving birth, and going by the reddening sky and emergence of Rage Zombies(the former residents of Fairport, now running at you attacking with their one melee strike(your own, by the way, can now be a knife; that makes sense, seeing as how dangerous it is)… until they are suddenly suicide bombers, 2 minutes after they were established… and then they start standing above you, chucking stones at you or something, developers, please make up your minds, and why even put in someone who needs to get close if you're just going to allow them to strike from a distance soon after), it is going to be Armageddon(reminds me of an ex). So, the two are going to… stop that? Experience it? And they're working for… themselves? The F.E.A.R. squad? Eh, don't start asking questions of this paperthin excuse for a plot. Anyway, as the first thing, you have to find Jin, who I guess has been on the run for 3/4 of a year. You trudge endlessly through the clearly manufactured(who positioned these things to hinder or allow your progress? It's like they thought an organic, natural feel to it would be a negative) base/prison, sewer, slums, airport etc., all of them ugly, grimy and dark(no Silent Hill-ish eerie school, and other equally far more distinguished and interesting locations, of the second one(you know, the one that was good), merely generic crap), making it all the more dull(only halfway through does it start getting compelling, and even so, only a little of this is engaging and enjoyable). I can't believe that this is short enough that you could complete it in 4 to 5 hours. That makes this the briefest, in addition to the worst. Oh, you can play it for longer. Once you've beaten one of the eight levels, each roughly half an hour in length, you can redo it with Paxton, who can stun/kill at range, toss explosive objects(yup, those ones that are simply lying around, demanding you to use them to blow up foes… and, yeah, nothing we haven't already seen in recent releases in this genre, such as BioShock, which beats these in innovation, idea and execution any day of the week), and possess enemies, if you have enough of the special ability meter(the same one as the slow-mo with PM), and to prolong that, you have to keep killing others and collecting their essences(if your host gets offed, you won't die, though you will be in a bad situation, surrounded by opposition), and then you're essentially the same as the lead(without the standard advantage of these), really, a straight FPS… I don't know which of following that shows more, how pointless the addition of him is, or, how poor, in both idea and execution, the concept of playing as him is. The sibling rivalry thing came out of nowhere, though at least it matters who the "favorite son" is, I believe there are two different endings(life's too short to check). This is about what the others are, a positive is that you have freedom in the frequent fights, you can approach it in different ways. First person perspective(only broken in the cutscenes, because why stick with one of the few nice gimmicks?) with a reasonable cover system(pretty much lives up to current expectations for such, you can move quickly from where you hug a wall to another, jump over them, peek out from behind them, even move all the way around some of them, etc.). This does build atmosphere sometimes(it's almost devoid of creepy realizations, unlike the predecessors, however), if it tends to confuse tense for scary, and the marriage of John Woo and Asian horror is still an odd couple. It focuses on the action, and it gets to be repetitious – you fight those teleporting, and rather angry(they need to get laid… or maybe they're infuriated with their troops always announcing every tactic they're going to use(even if they're the last surviving member of their squad) so that you have an easier time disposing of them(at least the AI is solid, they try to flank you and the like)… heck, it could even be that it's his way of telling them that the swear jar is officially full(while I'm not a prude, not by a long shot, this is frankly ridiculously excessive, constant swearing, the words lose their meaning and impact)), phase commanders like, a dozen times, and they don't even appear right away. You get to use mechs in this again, it's nowhere near as badass as it was last time around. This is big on participation trophies, as it's constantly showering you with medals(or at least letting you know your progress in earning them); it literally rewards you just for playing and using weapons! How insecure is this game? It's also less intimidating on account of this XP system, and supernatural abilities under your control. The original AvP has bonuses you can unlock by doing certain things in areas, without losing its terrifying quality, partially because *it's not constantly telling you*. MP sounds great, if only it worked and anyone was playing it(…I have a feeling those are connected). The graphics are fantastic(other than tone and look, as already explained), reflections, lighting, shadows, all that good stuff. 4 difficulty settings mean everyone can be challenged, and there's lots of battles. There is gruesome, bloody, gory and disturbing content in this. I recommend this only to those who can't get enough of this franchise. 7/10

Great atmosphere, but losing touch with it's roots

[nascentt · 15 March 2012]

Atmospherically, F3ar a great game still. It takes what made Fear 1 + 2 great and amps up the kinetic events and scares. Sadly what I loved about Fear 1 + 2 was the suspense. It had a Resident Evil atmosphere, of slow and deliberate. With gradual and intermittent horror. F3ar has decided that suspense isn't as good as constant horror. There's never a quiet moment, it's either battling mechs and soldiers, or demons and zombie-like enemies with explosives strapped to their chests. Gone are the ghosts and spirits from the prequels, and instead it is now Hell on Earth.

It actually feels less like a FEAR game now, and more like Dead Space, a series I also love a great deal. But Dead Space 2 also amped up it's horror and action as a trade-in for suspense, but the overall feel of the game stayed pretty much the same. F3ar 3 has basically ditched the entire spirit/kinetic system and gone for a more physical-battle approach.

Point man now has a face, but awkwardly no voice, the brother is now personified and this results in quite silly and dull cut-scenes. Alma is pretty much only in child-form, which is a good decision, but she pretty much poses no threat at all now. Gone are the health and reflex boosters, and the answering machine messages which simulated the Resident Evil diaries.

There are many demonic enemies, some taking great deal of time to kill. I had to use the slow-mo far more in this game than in any of the prequels (in fact I seldom used slow-mo in the previous games), it's quite challenging.

I do have to say it's my least favourite of the 3. It's probably not one I'll replay. The plot was very shallow and basic, more like a Resistance game than a FEAR game.

With so many similar games: FEAR, Dead Space, Resistance, and in part Bioshock. It seems silly for FEAR to lose so much of it's individualism. I will definitely be more hesitant about buying a sequel, and I hope they return to their Resident Evil homage roots.

But as far as gameplay goes, the atmosphere was good, the weapons and combat worked well, and aside from some battles feeling too long, and others feeling too short, it'd be a better game to play in short bursts than try to plough through for the plot as I did.

F.E.A.R. buckets of blood.

[wadehatfield98 · 1 October 2011]

When I heard about this sequel, I was surprised and wondered how can they can make this more creepy then F.E.A.R. 2's ending? Well, the answer is they pulled out all the stops on this one making it the bloody and craziest installment in a series I have ever played and encountered. F.E.A.R 3 is a bloody good time and a very fun co-op. The story was strange but in a Gothic fun way. You can be placed in the badass blood boots of the Point Man (which a very great update on his facial features), or the insane Paxton Fettel. Both from the first game. The shocks and jolts in the story shows that the writers will do whatever they can to make you unaware of who will die and who will live. The mood and texture were very detailed to pour dread upon players and place them in a angry atmosphere of evil. The problems I had were the game lack the scares the first two games tried so hard to deliver. I felt the game was to short and that they could have mashed some more story into it. But otherwise, the single player story was a little creepy, but not scary. The co-op was probably the funniest I've played this year. Fettel attacks are pretty bloody for first person view, and the combos they both do makes a satisfied gorefest! 8.0/10