With my new system, I've been able to try out titles I previously could not, and one game I really wanted to try was
F.E.A.R., an action/suspense FPS. It's received great reviews and critical acclaim, and after playing the demo, I'm left scratching my head wondering why.
Not that
F.E.A.R.'s Single Player was overly bad, not at all, but it certainly didn't strike me as this amazing, genre re-defining shooter and I have no desire to run out and purchase the thing.
To be fair though, let's start off with what was done right: Enemy AI. This indeed was the coolest part of the demo, as the enemy soldiers I fought had some really great AI, the best AI I've see in a shooter since
Halo 2. The enemy soldiers will indeed work together, unlike what
Valve claims in
Half-Life 2, and they'll continually move from cover to cover, advancing and falling back, flushing you with grenades, and even diving through windows to get a better vantage point or defensive position. They'll notice your Flashlight beem, call for back-up, and not charge you suicidally. Very impressive and even on the default difficulty, I found them challenging.
F.E.A.R. is powered by the
Jupiter EX Engine, and visually, the game looks good, though not
Doom 3 Engine or Source Engine good, and that made it all the more frustrating as I encountered a lot of framerate issues; even on the auto-detected settings. I have read that the final retail version is optimized more than the Single Player demo, but seeing as how the Demo's supposed to make me want to run out and buy the retail product, having it perform so poorly on strong hardware is not a bright selling point. I also found that weapon models looked old, and they're style, size and position, reminded me of the original
Half-Life.
The game also does sport some really good physics. It uses the same physics engine as
Half-Life 2, though not as refined as Valve's shooter. Objects will generally react as you'd expect them to, however I found it annoying to walk over corpses, as the bodies would often bump around slightly. Somewhat realisitic, I guess, but I honestly found that more annoying than anything.
Being a suspense game that's supposed to scare the player, it's drawn a lot of comparisons to
Doom 3 (even though
Doom 3 was more classic horror) in terms of it's lo
ok and lighting, and yes, the game is dark, however you have a Flashlight at any time. Now, many people praised this, complaining about
Doom 3's lack of a weapon/Flashlight combo, however I'm going to slam this right now and say the simple truth:
F.E.A.R.'s Flashlight is a piece of shit. Not only does it illuminate poorly, unlike
Doom 3's, it's on a fucking battery that lasts around 45 seconds. Who the fuck uses a Flashlight that only lasts 45 seconds?!?!? This basically negates the bulk of its use and brings about the same problem I had in the Marine Campaign from
Aliens versus Predator 2, also developed by
Monolith Productions, which is I walk a bit and then stand still bored as the Flashlight recharges. Great way to kill the pacing.
I also must say the story is extremely weak, and from what I've read, a lot of stuff is not explained even by end of retail. Basically, the game starts off with a cheesy, dramatic intro where a lot of people die, and based on the tone of the music I think I was supposed to feel sad and concerened for what was going on, but instead I found it cheesy, poorly acted, and without any rhime or reason for its setup. And of course, without a good setup, the rest of the reason for the game is really shallow.
So, why exactly did the US government create a special "
Ghostbuster" unit? I guess they've been having more problems with supernatural events than they care to admit. At least the few paranormal encounters that do happen in the demo are pretty cool, and a few of them did indeed make me jump.
Another gr
ipe I had was with bullet time, or whatever they want to call it here. Basically, your character has bullet time, and yes, things slow down a lot while you use it. Now, exactly how can your character continually move and react like Neo from
The Matrix, outdoing genetically enhanced supersoldiers? According to the intro, you have good reaction time. That's it. Well, I have good reaction time in real life, but I can't fucking dodge bullets, now can I? If you're going to include something as superhuman as bullet time, at least give me a plausable reason for it.
The game's audio was pretty good, nothing I found amazing but nothing to jump and shout about either (I missed
Doom 3's amazing ambient sound mix though), and I imagine had I not had so many framerate issues, the game would have controlled well.
Overall, the
F.E.A.R. demo wasn't bad, but it's poorly contrived plot setup, dark areas with a BS Flashlight, and poor performance hold it back as being purchase worthy. Yet another critically acclaimed title that I simply don't see what all the fuse was about, and don't understand how reviewers can praise it for doing things they slam in other titles.
g now, and can follow you a good way and spiral while in flight making them harder to hit. Imps can also change pounce direction at you mid flight (how the hell does that make sense?), Maggots are now simpler to take out with the Shotgun, Z-Sec Zombies with Shotguns don't seem to have the same, weak mid-range Shotgun that you do, enemies can come onto elevators with you, pathfinding is better with less monsters getting stuck on corners, Cherubs can leap at you from much farther away (I really hate those fuckers), etc. Based on the above, Doom 3 (PC) is a harder game than its console port. Not insanely so, but its worth mentioning, and the AI/weapon changes made it necessary for me to change many of my combat tactics (charging right up to Imps became common place).
e as well is with the game's weapon sounds. The PC version does indeed feature weak sounding weapons, which surprised me as the Xbox version's are louder and more forceful. I guess many of the critiques on the game were listened to and adjusted for its console port.
tter uses for weapons I didn't touch too much on my first play through. I really gave the Nailgun a go, and while not Doom 3's Chaingun, it is quite handy once upgraded with its Needler like homing nails. I actually found it to be the best anti-Berserker weapon. I had to use the Dark Matter Gun on a more regular basis, and I found the Lightning Gun useful too against powerful targets since it can stun them a bit. The Grenade Launcher was great from the get go and is the best Gladiator killer, and I even had some fun with the Blaster while abusing some AI pathfinding exploits I figured out. The Shotgun was my main weapon though, and I found the Machine Gun much less useful, save for its Flashlight, simply due to its lesser damage output.
like a door, and end up in a completely different area; essentially teleporting you from point "A" to "B." It's done differently than basic FPS teleportation, however, and it's something you should check out (there's no loading or changing to another level, and you can see in real time through the portal before you jump through). For gravity, not only can you walk along certain "strips" across ceilings, walls, and the like, but you can also encounter rooms next to rooms that have gravity pulling in different directions, and in some areas, you can change what direction gravity pulls in. Thus far, the Demo has shown some interesting gravity puzzles that where much more amusing than Valve's "pick up brick and put it on object, repeat" physics puzzles from the Half-Life 2 series.
is the two will often conflict, and many of the game's sound effects will drown out communications you may be getting, however the game is straightforward enough that you're never left wondering where to go or what to do should you not hear what an ally is trying to tell you. The game's music is also very well done, adding an extra bit of rush to a charge against Strogg forces, or hightening a tense moment when everything goes to hell.
e noted that the Doom 3 Engine's physics have been vastly improved over Doom 3. They're still not Half-Life 2 quality, but they get the job done and don't scream "fake" like the Grenades in Doom 3 did. It was after this really clicked for me that I started using and loving the Grenade Launcher; so handy for making things that hide around corners go "boom."
tain, and as with the rest of the series, it is all very character driven. The main perspective is, of course, Merlyn's, as ultimately this is Merlyn's tale, his hopes, dreams, and fears in the Arthurian legend.
d upgrading armies are as simple as it ever was, and it's great to see some hero units mixed in as well. You can ehance groups with Sergeants and your troops even have moral, as well as the option to equip some troops in squads with heavy weapons, flame throwers, etc. You also get an assortment of vehicles, such as mechs and tanks.
ok and lighting, and yes, the game is dark, however you have a Flashlight at any time. Now, many people praised this, complaining about Doom 3's lack of a weapon/Flashlight combo, however I'm going to slam this right now and say the simple truth: F.E.A.R.'s Flashlight is a piece of shit. Not only does it illuminate poorly, unlike Doom 3's, it's on a fucking battery that lasts around 45 seconds. Who the fuck uses a Flashlight that only lasts 45 seconds?!?!? This basically negates the bulk of its use and brings about the same problem I had in the Marine Campaign from Aliens versus Predator 2, also developed by Monolith Productions, which is I walk a bit and then stand still bored as the Flashlight recharges. Great way to kill the pacing.
ipe I had was with bullet time, or whatever they want to call it here. Basically, your character has bullet time, and yes, things slow down a lot while you use it. Now, exactly how can your character continually move and react like Neo from The Matrix, outdoing genetically enhanced supersoldiers? According to the intro, you have good reaction time. That's it. Well, I have good reaction time in real life, but I can't fucking dodge bullets, now can I? If you're going to include something as superhuman as bullet time, at least give me a plausable reason for it.
e been refined a lot in the year plus between the titles, and people look less "rubbery" than they did in Doom 3. The game is also full of fast-paced action. It's a lot like Starship Troopers meets Call of Duty and Star Trek's Borg; some cool sci-fi military action.
