1. synthesis88

   8

   F.E.A.R. 3 has finally arrived. This game diverges from the basic structure of it's predecessors, with significant changes to the gunplay, atmosphere, graphics, and multiplayer. This isn't terribly surprising, as F.E.A.R. 3 was developed by Day 1 Studios outside of Monolith, the creators of the first two games. It uses a new engine, adopts several modern game mechanics (such as regenerative health, COD like ranking system, cover system), and, perhaps most dramatically, seems to focus more on cooperative play instead of the typical solo nature of the original F.E.A.Rs. I won't lie, my first hour of playtime with this game left me very disappointed. The most immediate flaw in the game is the new engine, which is obviously graphically inferior to Monolith's engine. The crazy bullet effects of the first two games are gone (no more spinning ricochets), and the textures can be downright ugly at times. No, this is a clear departure from the graphically impressive Monolith games, and the gunplay suffers because of it. Everything is more accurate in this game, with unremarkable bullet effects, making the guns feel a little more like COD than FEAR. However... the gunplay still manages to be great fun, with better amputation effects than FEAR 2. The melee system is also different, with a knife attack as your basic melee, instead of the butt of your weapon. The jump kick has been altered as well. No more kung fu flying double jump kicks, more like a boot in the chest. This isn't as bad as it sounds, however. The jump kicks in FEAR 2, while pretty, were almost never used, terribly inaccurate, and just didn't feel like it had much of an impact on the enemies, which isn't the case in FEAR 3. The melee is, well.. better, much better. It's easy to land all of the moves (knife, jump kick, slide kick), and new, melee oriented enemies allow you to actually use these awesome moves quite a bit. Enemies react realistically, flying back, ect. Throw in some bullets, and the FEAR 3 combat system easily excels FEAR 2 in variety and fluidity. It's genuine FUN. Not to mention the fantastic coop and Fettel. 8.5.… Expand

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2. Sh0dan

   6

   A very average game imo. I picked it up for single player, though I am guessing its supposed to be more enjoyable in coop. Not a lot of longevity or re-playability with this one. It does have a decent cover mode and shooting game-play, but not enough weapons or other things to do other than shoot bad guys. Its pretty much a straight shooter, with a bit of a horror vibe. The story probably wont make a deal of sense to anyone but a fan of the previous titles. Personally I'll be trading this one in come the weekend. Just not enough interesting game-play or single player longevity / re-playablity to keep this one hanging around.… Expand

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     2 of 3 users said yes
3. DumbRoDent42

   3

   I loved the first two games in the F.E.A.R. franchise. I loved the insane action, slow-motion roundhouse kicks and bodies exploding into Jell-O(tm) when you pumped a shell into them. I loved the freaky-deaky story, the mysterious protagonist(s) and the occasional flirt with enigmatic storytelling, the screeching, violin-falling-down-the-stairs soundtrack that worked in all its beautiful discordance and hair-raising abruptness. The scripted scares wove ladders, hallways, doors and windows into shockingly intricate little spookouts that contrasted with the bombastic shootouts that framed them, and it all just worked out so WELL. Hell, even the ending of the second game was pretty good in my eyes. And then this thing came out. I hardly know what to say about it, and I hardly have the energy- even now- to summon a full-blown rant on this marvelous marvelous deconstruction of a once-great shooter franchise. The scares? Gone. The lonesome eeriness? Gone. Hope you like playing co-operatively with your psychic **** brother who has lost all of his charm now that you can see how he works and he's always trotting along beside you like a goddamn doberman. The Half-Life-esque presentation that kept you in the protagonist's perspective constantly and almost never thrust you into immersion-punching cutscenes? Hope you didn't like them, because apparently neither did WB. Did I mention that this game isn't scary? It gets most of the action from previous titles right, but it's more than lacking in the horror department. You know. The game called... CALLED... 'Fear'? It doesn't even try to be scary. At all. The game should be called A.P.A.T.H.Y.… Expand

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     1 of 1 users said yes

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