Review: F.E.A.R. (360*)

Graphics- 9/10
Sound- 9.5/10
Gameplay- 9.5/10
Replay Value- 9/10
Overall- 9.5/10

FEAR was the game to get on the PC awhile back, but now it's on the 360, and that age old question comes up again; did it survive the port?

I had high hopes for FEAR on the 360 for 2 reasons; 1. this generation of consoles has the power to port PC games successfully, and 2. when FEAR came out for the PC, I couldn't run it. Thankfully, the port was a success. The 360 makes fine work of running the game. The graphics, as a shining point of the PC version, was what I scrutinized first. The difference between the graphics on the 360 and those of the PC were non-existent, if anything. The textures were flatter than those in Gears of War, but this is no surprise, as FEAR on the PC is an older game. The resolution, colors, and lighting was top notch, though. The textures did little to hold back the visuals as a whole, as the overall picture was sharp and very easy on the eyes. The most important part of the picture was the lighting, though. As a horror game, FEAR uses the lighting heavily to influence the mood, and it does this quite successfully.

Working together with the lighting, the sound is surprisingly realistic. Every shot fired, every step taken, literally everything has a freakishly crisp, realistic sound. The ambient noises and the music blend seamlessly into the gameplay, effecting the mood and, ultimately, how you play. Gameplay, though, is the best part. It reminded me a lot of Half-Life, where adventure and story line were stuffed right into the action, meaning almost the entire game is from a first-person perspective. The game is filled with weapons and different types of grenades, as with most shooters, but unlike most shooters, there are health and reflex boosters scattered through the levels. Health boosters raise your health permanently, and reflex boosters do the same for your slow motion powers. This feature adds a new angle of gameplay, it's kind of like an RPG in this way, giving you the option to beef up your character through tons of fun, truly frightening exploration. As well, finding all the scattered boosters adds wonderfully to the replay value. The levels, themselves, are quite stunning. FEAR is in no way linear, as the levels have tons of diverging, twisting paths; and it's up to you to choose the ones you want to follow. But don't worry about getting lost; these paths, in the end, will lead you to your objective. Besides adventuring through all those horrifying levels, you'll also be treated to a lot of adrenaline filled firefights. The action is loud, fast, and very satisfying. The slow motion powers add to the fights with lots of action movie moments. Besides raising the fun level, the slow motion is surprisingly useful; it's not just another gimmick. Many times, these powers are the reason you survive the battles.

In the end, FEAR is a superb game. The large, free-form level design along with the multiplayer adds a nice touch of replay value. The game is just plain fun; the level design and health and reflex boosters, along with the wonderfully action packed shootouts make FEAR a refreshingly fun and exciting shooter with a great adventure game feel to it; and the complex story from a first person view really adds to the depth, tension and fear.

Pros: Great shoot outs; adventure feel adds to the depth of game play; large levels; superb lighting, sounds, and music; very good story; surprisingly scary.
Cons: A bit flat on the textures.

Review: Vedran

*Available on the 360, PS3, and PC. Review for 360 only.