Page 2
After you have picked off the first one or two members of a squad the remaining few will become aware of their worsening predicament and start to pull back and retreat. Often you will find a stray soldier has taken up a new position further down the corridor waiting for you to run unsuspectingly around the corner only to be greeted by a fresh hail of bullets. Even if you are quick enough to thwart this surprise attack, the soldier in question is more than capable of randomly firing off his weapon in your vicinity as his dying body slumps to the ground. The A.I. is challenging to say the least, and you really have to make use of all the cover available to you, and proceed with caution. In the largest fire fights, and at a higher difficulty setting you really do see it come into its own, with the enemy truly working as part of a team, flanking and surrounding you. Just when you think youve got them pinned down, you find that somehow one of them has made it down your right flank only to deliver that killer shot. The intensity of some of the set pieces is just fantastic, and luckily you have one more card up your sleeve to help you get past Fettels forces. Each member of F.E.A.R. has one special skill, yours being enhanced reflexs. This means the implementation of arguably the coolest thing to hit FPS slow motion or bullet time if you prefer.
On the face of it, this seems like a gimmicky addition to pull in the punters, but as you become accustomed to the level of intelligence your opponents display you begin to realise that it has been integrated as an essential part of F.E.A.R.s game play mechanic. Most of the encounters you get in F.E.A.R would be extremely difficult if not impossible without timely use of slo-mo, giving you that extra edge to pick your spot and get those essential headshots mid battle before the enemy has time to react not to mention that it looks damn cool! It really is great fun to use and really shows off the cinematics that the game engine is capable of. Ahhh, yes cinematics. Cinematic is a term somewhat over used in the world of FPSs, and sure enough, F.E.A.R. is one of those games aiming to reach such distinction. However, unlike most, F.E.A.R. really does have moments that can truly be described as such. From the opening music and credits, to the relentless brooding atmosphere. When you hit that slo-mo key, the whole game hits another level.
The physics engine is just fantastic, providing some stunning special effects as chunks of masonry fly through the air leaving craters in walls and floors, boxes and cans litter the room, and well, I can safely say Ive never seen so many sparks fly in a game before. Monolith really has re-created the Matrix lobby scene in a game, and the effect is astounding to say the least. Seeing this all happen before your eyes in slow motion is just sublime. There is such a level of satisfaction with the set pieces in F.E.A.R. it leaves you wanting more. This is no game for the kids either, with liberal levels of claret splattered around the place, and dismemberable bodies. There is a certain macabre satisfaction at meeting an enemy square in the face with a shotgun only to see chunks of his flesh go flying through the air and his body evaporate into a cloud of blood that soaks the surrounding area. Talking of shotguns, this brings me conveniently to the ever-important question of weapons.
