According to these user reviews FEAR seems to be a love or hate experience. People junk this game for repetitive levels, bad graphics, and lack of enemy diversity. I just don't see any of that except maybe the bad level complaint is valid. Although who cares about how the levels look when the gameplay is so solid. I just played this game again in 2011 and it's still an awesome game. My one complaint with this game is even on the hardest difficulty it is still a bit too easy. The reason people love or hate this game is because its focus is the same gameplay over and over in different variations so if you don't like the shooting mechanic you will pretty much hate the whole game. Monolith has an epic resume of games… Expand

The game is scary.Scary as hell.But not the scary type you will find in doom 3.A much much more scary fear.The japanese kind of fear inducing.The one which really disturbes you.And you will be scared.I felt chills cod as ice on the back when i saw Alma first time.The game is full of tension.The shooting is tactical.The weapons are ok.Even the soldiers scared me sometimes.Good.

FEAR is one of my personal favorites because it gets a lot of things right for me. The atmosphere, scares, and intriguing story really sets FEAR out to be a creative title. The variety of weapons are fantastic and fun though the environments may become repetitive. Slowly discovering the truth behind Alma and Fettel's past is extremely interesting and the end will leave you very satisfied. Overall a great shooter that every PC gamer should try out!… Expand

Has to be one of the best first person horror shooters ever made. Before F.E.A.R., there was very little to choose from in the action horror genre. Monolith Timegate really did a great job in putting together a quality game that will give you chills. It reminds me of those horror movies like The Ring and The Grudge. It provides the right complement of shooting action combined with well placed cut scenes. Many of the enemies are quite unique and offer some serious challenge on the higher difficulty settings. The slow motion feature does make the game a little easy, but you can deliberately not use it. The ideal way to experience this game is to create a scare factor atmosphere by playing it at night with the lights turned off. Highly recommended if you've never played it.… Expand

I recently revisited F.E.A.R. for the first time in five years, and to say it's aged well would be a huge understatement. F.E.A.R. is truly creepy - there's very little of the unexpected scares (monsters jumping out at you etc.) that most horror games are filled with, and instead the game relies on the slow buildup of an incredibly tense atmosphere through cutaway flashes and gruesome visuals.
All the weapons (especially the combat shotgun) feel powerful and really pack a punch. Unlike most FPS games I found myself reguarly switching between different guns, rather than sticking to the same three the whole game. The slomo bullet-time feature, despite being done before, was a great addition and added to the tactical gameplay. Using it to blast off your enemies limbs and heads never got old. The AI is really impressive, with soldiers really working together to outflank you or flush you out of cover with grenades. It's true that the levels are somewhat repetitive, but I like how Monolith have payed homage to classic shooters like DOOM and Half-Life in their semi-linear interior layouts; offering the choice to follow the main hallways and storm through the levels, or take the time to explore and be rewarded with medkits, ammo and intriguing voicemail. F.E.A.R. is a huge achievement for Monolith, and despite the lacklustre sequels it will long be known as one of their greatest triumphs.… Expand

Hands down, best horror game ever. And yes, I have played Amnesia. The incredible A.I, buckets full of blood, paranormal events and that creepy feeling you get when you walk around a corner .. hands down best horror game ever and best game in the F.E.A.R. series. But those robots and automatic defense systems are poor and that's why this is not rated a ten. Get this game, now!

so realistic game. and the subject is such original. weapons, environments and game play are fantastic. maybe the game would be more long. my point is 11/10.

A horror fps, with very clever scare tactics. Not like your run of the mill horror style shooter, the tension really builds up as you go along, and once you find out the true story of the games, leave you even more shocked. A must play for any fans of fps/psychological horror games.

uterly perfect, the game is beautiful creepy and has a great story, the only fault is the very crappy multiplayer. A great buy!

Bo B, you have a 5600. Thing can barely play invisible war. The game is amazing. Scarier than Doom 3 as it doesn't depend on pure jump out of your seat moments. The firefights are amazing, it's not too much of a system hog. Well, maybe it is. Very well done.

Yes it's repetitive, but as with Max Payne, blasting away endless rooms of goons with the benefit of bullet-time never gets old! Very atmostpheric, nervy gameplay that's more about jumps than horror. You'd better have good reflexes!

I think some people are missing the point. It is impossible for a game to be every other fantastic game ever produced in a genre simultaneously, and it foolish to expect them to be as well. This game does what it sets out to do very well: to create an endless wealth of gunfight possibilities utilizing fantastic particle effects. Not to mention incorporating some fantastic elements of Asian horror films to create the atmosphere. Heck, I'm still playing it because I enjoy all the various ways I can take out whole squads using different combinations of weapons/tactics. Also, I disagree w/ all the commentary on bad graphics. I thought the game looked extremely tasty on my setup (P4 3.0 Ghz, 1 Gig Ram, 6800GT) with almost all the graphic options enabled. The level design, as some has said, is not mind-blowing. It is, however, good at keeping the action coming. I recommend F.E.A.R. without question, and suggest that you try downloading the single-player demo before you listen to nay-saying posts.… Expand

This game is great. The physics are unbelievable. I only played the demo, but from what I experienced, I will surely buy this game. Great graphics, environment, and weapons. Story was pretty good from the small demo as well. Great special effects, noticably the physics of the effect that walking and running have on the aim, and control of the character.

I haven't played a FPS this good since HL2 and the whole added fun factor of kicking people in the head has rearly opend my eye's to the fact that melee combat has been missing for far to long in FPS. P.S. Can't wait for a sequel.

This game was one of very few that actually made me jump. There were points that I almost stopped playing out of pure FEAR.
I'm glad I didn't though.

Only reason I wouldn't give this a 10 is because the replay value isn't at it's fullest. After playing the game a few times, you start to memorize where things will jump out, which spoils half the thrill of the game. Unfortunately that is unavoidable.

Still one of the best games I've ever played though.… Expand

FEAR isn't the most original game, but like Rise of Nations did for the RTS genre, FEAR takes the best bits of all of the best FPS and shooter games out there, and does it better. What you have then is Max Payne's Bullet time, Half-Life's immersion, Doom's creepiness, etc. As far as the system requirements, yes they are steep, but by no means do you need 3 Gig of RAM like someone wrote; I have 1Gig and my game runs fine at 1024x768 with most bells and whistles. The bigger necessity is a good video card--if you have a 7800 you will love this game!… Expand

You must get this one! its really worth it, the best thing around since half-life... it shines, it swings, it's perfect... J.

the best combat I've ever played - isn't that what a shooter is all about?

Hyvä juoni ja grafiikka.

Very polished.

A really nice shooter. Immensly fun and good fealing. It feels like you are in the middle of all those firefights. The game is an extreme adrenaline rush and as all such, it looses its new shiny loko with each experience, but the first time through is a rush. Wonderful. A few more patching to make it a bit more stable and overall 'nicer' would be great. Have not yet ried MP.

It really strains your nerves you at same parts, so you just wait when the freaky girl or fextton will show up, but i think it's a little bit to closed. You have practically no freedom of moving and the places look all more or less alike.

The best. two thumbs up the best shooters of all shooters

"on the top of all shooters and scarrers."

As scary as DOOM 3 and with smooth, fluid controls. A must have for people who like the HALO/DOOM/UNREAL TOURNAMENT gameplay.

This game has better AI than some individuals I know. It's worth playing just for the AI, and graphics, and sound, and weapons, and particle effects.

I finally picked this baby up over the holidays. All I can say is this: If you've got even the slightest interest in FPS games, you owe it to yourself to play this gem!

This game drips with style and atmosphere, and in this post Half-Life 2 game scene, this is the sort of storytelling and game play that should be acceptable. As for the mechanics, the physics and detail displayed during gun battles are some of the most exhilarating, if not entirely accurate, I have ever experienced in a FPS. It must be said that this game set out to do exactly what it has accomplished, provide a modern horror story wrapped up in an astoundingly beautiful bullet riddled world. A must buy for those who have the machine to run it, and who share with me the love for the contemporary FPS genre.… Expand

One of the best FPS I've ever played. The levels weren't so much bland as realistic. If you want to play an FPS to stare at how pretty the wall is don't play fear. Awesome graphics, best AI I've ever played against, and a story/gameplay combination that makes all horror movies laughable in comparison. The storyline some ppl may not like because it doesn't spell everything out for them... get an imagination ppl. High replay value and excellent multiplayer.… Expand

Easily the greatest FPS of 2005, amazing single player and multiplayer experience. The developers have continued to release new multiplayer content throughout the past year and a half. Highly recommended.

Really good story-driven FPS. The enemy AI was usually brilliant and some of the triggered events were very well done. Some of the environments get a bit repetitive as it's nearly all set indoors but the way the very adult storyline reveals itself gradually was awesome. Highly recommended game that deserves to be compared to the mighty Half-Life series.

Best Game Ever

I must say that I am ticked off, ticked off that people are trolling this game for no reason. The game is still quite facinating, even in 2008. I put off getting this game for 3 years, but I am glad it is still this amazing, the physics DON'T suck compared to even the SOURCE engine, the graphics are still above par, and the AI isn't dumber than a jar of sod. All in all, this game is a facinating ride (even in 2008) and with the Platinum edition for 30 bucks, it can't be a better value on the game market today.… Expand

First of all i want to say is that F.E.A.R is a awesome game that has action,horror etc. The game made me take short breaks because of its scariness and i always switched on my flashlight in every dark place. The game took me like 2 months to finish because it's scariness . It is a game which makes you feel cool and when you finish the game you are relieved that you didn't have a heart attack. Best horror game i have ever played… Expand

Best FPS ever for me. This game includes more horror as Condemned or Doom, ii's full of many shocking moments, also SlowMo is very nice.

Perfekt Horror-Action!!!

Perfect blend of action, shooting, horror and probably the best AI on the market today or ever.

Awesome game! addicted like on coffee Gj builders!

Fab game! i get to run it on max specs and let me tell you... it really shines, best i've seen so far! forget about the high end machine, and dont worry about bad code.... my p4 3000, 1000 ram with a geforce 7800gtx did it again. top notch! j.

Jeez. This game rocks.

simply amazing. the multiplayer is a blast, the single player is scary as shite, and you can jump kick people. nuff said.

Perhaps a 10 isn't the right score, because the game has flaws. The enviroments could be more varied, and I wish there was a more extensive character set. The reason I gave it a 10 anyway is because FEAR delivers the best gun fights I have ever seen in a 1st person shooter. The AI, weapon effects, and overall chaos of combat has never been presented this well before. I can play this game over and over again. The action is that good.… Expand

Phenomenal! Good AI, stellar graphics, and obsene death animations! Great FPS with a supernatural twist... keeps you on the edge of your seat at times. Just an awesome game! Get it, you'll be glad you did.

Anyone rating this game low because it has "bad graphics" or is a system hog is a moron. That isn't the game's fault. Your rig just doesn't have the guts to run it. The recommended system requirements LISTED ON THE BOX are pretty stiff. Don't buy it if you don't have them. I don't have a killer system (3.0, 1gig RAM, ATI 9800 XT), but by tweaking the game performance levels and closing out a lot of my background apps, it runs great and looks great. Don't listen to the haters. If are able to play the game for what it is and not compare it to your lofty expectations or to your all-time favorite game, then it is a great buy. It is deserving of all the high scores it is receiving.… Expand

Best shooter out there period.

I played the demo and before I was worried it would be a knockoff of max payne or half life 2 but hoping monolith would pull it out... so far it is the shizzle, like if DOOM had been good. incredible graphics, physics and slo mo etc... too bad you need a couple grand to do it justice, everyone should play it. good movie feel.

A remarkable game that was well worth the wait. Incredible graphics, physics, sound effects and gameplay combine to form one of the best FPS titles in recent memory. Monolith have truely created a work of genious and we can only hope that an equally outstanding sequel will turn up within the near future.

This game... just.. has it all. This game is a piece of poetry told through a pc. Horror+action= F.E.A.R buy it. It is a must have.

This game is the most action-intensive FPS ever made. With a creepy atmosphere, extremely intelligent A.I., and some of the most intense moments in gaming, this game is definetely worth playing for any PC gamer.

One of the best games I have ever played. Take an excellent FPS with good AI, graphics, and control; and mix that with a great horror story; and finally add in some new tweaks that make it even more orginal for it's genre.... then you have F.E.A.R. VERY impressive game and I cannot wait until the sequal comes out. Go out and get it right now!

The game is simply amazing, the best... the special effects, the blood, your enemies, and the little girl(Alma), the story is just perfect... to me this is a very good game.

The best things about it are the AI,sound effects,the hallucination sequences,the grenade effects.

WOW, this is the game that DEFINES the first person shooter genre. Everything just comes together perfectly in one beautiful FPS. From the intense firefights, to the genuinely creepy horror sequences, it's hard to find anything to hate in this game. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. bullets ricochet off of metal surfaces, shell casings bounce off walls and floors, blood splatters nearby objects. It all just looks amazing and is true candy for your eyes. the sound is some of the best I've heard in a game. The weapons all sound cool and there is such attention to detail in every aspect of the sound design. However the game play is what will have you coming back for more. The AI in this game is so superb, you could swear you were fighting against real people. The Slow-Mo feature adds to the cinematic feel of the game, making every firefight even more spectacular. The Multiplayer portion of the game is just as addictive as the single player. everything you can do in single player is transitioned successfully into the multiplayer, even down to the Slow- Mo. Team based modes and Deathmatches are the heart of the multiplayer experience. The only thing I could ask more of in the multiplayer component is a persistent leaderboard to track stats and ranks. F.E.A.R. is an experience not to be missed and is a must play for every fan of the shooter genre. For those not fond of First Person Shooters, this could be the one that converts you.… Expand

One of the best FPS games I have played. The game has excellent AI, by far the best at the time of its release. I can't wait for the sequel. The levels may not have had a ton of variety, but what kind of office building, warehouse, and research facility has variety? The story was interesting and the scare moments were great. It is one of the most immersive games I've ever played. There was enough enemy variety for the game, I don't see how anyone could expect more variety from a replica army. The weapons are great, the nailgun is my favorite.
What I've played of the multiplayer was fun, nothing too notable though.
Disregard the previous post, it is probably one of my roommate's being an idiot.… Expand

Definitely it was one of the best tactical shooters. Yes, tactical, because of the amazing AI which your computer-managed opponents possessed. This single feature made the game absolutely unique and unforgettable. And if it wasn't there, I'd rate it 5/10, honestly. I can recall several flaws in graphics. Some characters models were slightly disproportional (although not nearly as much as freaky-looking marines from Q4), many textures were low res even on the highest settings (compare the walls with those from with UT2k4 for example and you'll see the difference immediately). The setting was quite dull but some personalities were remarkable: mostly Fettel and that nameless fat guy with "RTFM" on his belt buckle. Alma wasn't frightful at all though. I could only take compassion on her, nothing else.… Expand

I found the game enjoyable with excellent peformance. Albeit some repetition with level design at least it isn't like Doom 3 where you can exactly judge when and where a baddie will jump out and get you. FEAR does require some good specs, and using anything lower than a FX 5900 is going to run the game like trash. Hell, at least FEAR doesn't use my full 2 gigs of ram like Battlefield 2. I have purchased Quake 4, unfortunately that game is a complete rehash of Quake 2, 3 and Doom 3 combined......blah......talk about a lack of originality.… Expand

Totally Rocks.

In order to fully understand the story, I had to play this game twice. The first time you play the game, it sort of leaves you with a WTF? feeling. It makes more sense once you play it a second time. It's like being inside an episode of the X-Files at times. This game has great graphics - so much so that I couldn't set everything to max because my Athelon XP 2100+ is holding me back. However, the ATI Raedon X800 pro makes up for what the CPU lacks, so I can still put off upgrading to AMD x64 until after I graduate DeVry in Feb. The music score ingenious, and even at times Unreal/Deus Ex-like, meaning that the music really creates an environment appropriate to the situations the player is facing in the game. The AI is quite frankly the best I have seen out of any computer game to date. Humanistic. I did notice, at times, the usage of the "s" word was a wee-bit on the excessive side, although nothing like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This is a single-player game. The multplayer is there, however, it is the single-player that makes this game so great.… Expand

I have a Sempron 3300, 1gig 3200 DDR and an ATI x850 XT. Though my graphics card is decent, hardly anything about my system is 'Top-of-the-Line'. I average about 50fps in this game, with most settings at medium, although several 'important' settings are set to Max, such as overall world detail, shadows and a couple others and with lighting set to max, 2x AA and 6x AF. This average isn't based on the 'Test Settings' option in the game, but off of FRAPS.
I would agree that the graphics aren't as epic as some other games, but they get the job done, and if all you're concerned about is eye-candy you need to play something else.
I've only played about 2 hours as of writing this, but I am pleased so far, in comparison to other recent FPS games. I have yet to play Quake 4, though it's installed and waiting for F.E.A.R. to be completed.… Expand

This game is the Suffering meets Half Life. I loved everything about this game. The game is tough, tricky and scary. The plot is a bit lacking, but it's otherwise extremely well done. I have a monster of a system, and I have to run the graphics on low - medium in order to get decent playable framerates. The graphics on this game are absolutely unbelieveable. Once (I kid you not) I actually stopped and stared at a brick wall for a minute because it was so insanely detailed. All in all, a far better game than Quake 4 (which I did not like at all, and you can read my review), and the best game of the season. This is a great game for Halo / Half Life fans. Pick it up, NOW!… Expand

The game got a nice intense atmophere. With alot of nice features and intelligence. Deffently worth a try :D

Excellent game. Love the storyline.Without a doubt the best AI out there!

Great game. Intense firefights and awesome explosions and particle effects had me giddy like a kid on christmas morning. plot was a bit hard to follow, hence the 9 and not a 10.

This is easily the best game I have ever played and I have a lot of good games. The hand to hand combat and shooting adds to the fun of multiplayer and single player. If your computer can handle it, definitely buy this game.

This game rocked the single player is awsome and can nearly make you crap your pants while multiplayer will keep you from getting out of your chair to change your underwear.

The best A.I. I have ever seen period.....

To the point: This was an excellent game, and without a doubt a must buy. The high graphic quality and extreme realism are enough to make the game addicting. however, the plot is also quintessential and b / b+ quality. The only downside, like these fools point out, is the level design sucks and it gets really really boring at times. other than that, its combat and gamplay features make it addicting and extremely fun.

P.S. its not scary. If you laughed while watching the Grudge, like me, you won't find this scary.

END OF IT::::: Listen all you fat geeky pony tailed losers trying to gain some satisfaction out of directing your anger at something, you suck... at life. period. F.E.A.R. was D.O.P.E. end of it.… Expand

[***SPOILERS***] This is the best game I've played since Half-Life 2. The graphics while not HL2 perfect are good none the less. The game play is great because of the Slow motion and the incredible AI. Also you can increase your health and slow mo time. Another thing it this game is down right creepy! The little girl, shes scary. Warning Spoilers! The little girl is actually a woman, and she is your mother. Paxton Fettel the one you are trying to kill is your brother.… Expand

Great AI, Wepons, Sound, and Multiplayer. The bad is the enviorments. They look... bland.

Must-have for people who like horror kind of stuff because it is the scariest game I ever did play. Very fun indeed and there is only one problem; I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks.

This is how scary and high octane action game should look like. And for those saying the story is non-existent or too linear, I guess you weren't paying much of an attention to all those phone messages and research from laptops. 9/10

In 2005 when this came out, it blew away every game in terms of graphics realism, oustanding enemy ai, and solid care gameplay action. It was sometimes repetitive in it's corridor shooter focus, but its strong points made up for it for the most part.

This game is more like a John Woo film with the Grudge thrown in. It is without a doubt one of the funnest fps games I have ever played, probably because the enemy AI is the best I have ever played against, even 6 years later. The story is also interesting, and there are a few great scares, but it DOES get repetitive around the middle levels.

I played all F.E.A.R. games and it really scary even now. I remember that i first played it when i was in middle school, and it was sooooooo horrific and scary!! The atmosphere in this game is awesome, which created a very scary environment. Some people might complain about the graphic but this game is actually a 2005 game, so what kind of graphic are you expecting? Compare to some other game that came out in the same year, F.E.A.R. is actually not bad!! But one thing sad is the multiplayer no longer available...… Expand

A slow, morbid and clever storyline, tense and nervous firefights, a very good balance among weapons, amazing music and sounds, the smartest AI you can find in a FPS. The action part is perfect, the horror part is perfect and the balance between both is perfect. A masterpiece.

GREATEST. GAME. EVER. Nothing more to say. Friggin scary, epic graphics at that time, and awesome dialogue. Too bad Fear2 didn't even reached F.E.A.R to the socks

GG

A classic video game that succeeds at giving you a dead, tense feeling inside. The game delivers exactly what it's supposed to, giving a repetitive, tedious gameplay experience that dives deep into your mind, invading all of your senses while making you drown in the dread of the story. Each skirmish is brought out in a fearful manor, making you watch out intensely each time you go into a door.......... This game knows how to control you......... Buy this game today.… Expand

This game is fantastic now, even ,more so for it's time back in the day. If you havent played it yet, it cant hurt to give it a whirl! The graphics are tolerable and the ambient noises and sound effects in general, plus very solid gunplay and smart AI (their tactics surprised me) are fantastic. Don't regret a thing, in 2012.