# GAMERS: F.E.A.R. PC Game -- my reaction. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103 "2005-10-20T16:51:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/1 "2005-10-20T16:51:35Z")
So based on the excellent reviews it’s been getting, I went out and got FEAR last night (I refuse to acknowledge that acronym). I was only able to play for about an hour or two last night after I installed it, but I’ve definitely got a feel for the game. My reaction: it’s great! This game is scary. No, not fucking scary like Doom3. If you played Doom 3, you know that it has what, in the movie world, is known as “cheap scares”. A great gaming term used for it is “Monster Closets”. Basically, in Doom 3 you walk into a room that seems empty. You could even search around every goddamn inch of that room and you’d be positive that it’s empty. But as soon as you reach some invisible trigger point, LITERALLY a hidden wall panel opens up and a monster comes out behind you, of course scaring the piss out of you as it attacks. The game is also DARK as FUCK. OK, enough about Doom 3. But I just wanted to make that clear, to give reference to how **well** FEAR does the horror. In FEAR, things are creepy! It’s not shit that tries to kill you, but rather stuff that just makes you scared. For example, you’ll be walking along down a hallway and suddenly you’ll see some weird zombie looking guy (or the ghost little girl from the cover) walks, just for an instant, across your field of vision. Or, you’ll be walking through a eerily still room, and suddenly a couple boxes just fall off the shelf and it SCARES THE FUCK OUT OF YOU. Now from the reviews I’ve read, you also get scares with “the payoff” at some points too, but not every single time. What happens is the game builds mood and atmosphere very artfully and effectively. The other thing that adds to the whole creep factor is that the settings are all things very familiar. No fucking moon bases on Mars or crazy spaceships. No spooky gothic houses. Dude, I live in Southern California. I’ve never been in those places. What I do know are office complexes, run-down industrial areas, etc. I don’t mean to suggest that this is just a creep-em-out game. Actually, it’s an action game. We’ll I don’t want to go on too much longer, but here’s some cool stuff that’s rubbed off on me: \*Sense of character – when you walk around, you don’t float, but it really feels like you’re walking naturally. SHADOWS! When there’s a light source behind you, you see your whole character’s shadow on the wall. Sometimes this scares the hell out of you (like when you come around a corner), but mostly it just adds to the feeling that you’re actually there. When you look down…holy shit, you actually see your feel. Been a long time since I’ve seen that in an FPS. \*Destructable environments – well I haven’t gotten a rocket launcher yet (there may not be one) and even if I had one, you probably couldn’t blow a hole through a wall with it (when are they gonna make a game like this?). However, let’s just say that after a firefight, the room doesn’t look the same as it did when you walked in. Bullets not only make bullet holes on walls, but also tear out little chunks of concrete. This is especially apparent when you’re shooting at someone who’s covering around the corner of the wall and as you blast little chunks go missing. \*Enemy AI – OK, I’m not really going to go into this, but it’s pretty good. I’ve heard that it’s rare to have scenario play out the same if you play it again. For me, good AI should be standard. I expect it to be good, and I get pissed when it sucks. I think playing online games like Counter-Stike and Battlefield 2 raise one’s standards of AI. \*Weapons – I’ve only got like 4 weapons so far, but they’re cool. They feel like a reasonable mix of fun and realism in terms of accuracy and style. So far I’ve got the dual pistols, submachine gun, assault rifle, shotgun, and this thing called the Penetrator which is kind of like a nail gun. If you shoot someone standing in front of a wall, it actually transfixes them and pins them up on the wall. Not so much gruesome as it is just creepy to see someone hanging there. OK, you can also blast people’s limbs off (with regular guns). They do the Far Cry thing where you can only carry like 3 guns and have to choose and swap out to pick up new ones. Uhh, there’s more, but I’ve already wasted too much time. Bottom line: good game. Not just nice eye candy, but also pretty damn solid gameplay mechanics. Anybody else played it? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/2 "2005-10-20T19:12:12Z")
Thanks for the post **Jayrot**. I came in here specifically today for word on FEAR and Quake 4. Is Q4 still supposed to be released Friday (10/21)? I’ve been home sick, but feeeling better and thinking of venturing down to store for one of these 2. I was leaning toward Q4 because I’ve liked the Quake games in the past, but FEAR may be more my cup of tea (I like games that are a little more involved than just shoot anything that moves). Have you heard anything about Q4? ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/3 "2005-10-20T20:41:07Z")
Right on, man. I haven’t played Q4 myself, but I’ve certainly had my eye on it. Yesterday was a pretty big game release day as FEAR, Quake 4, and Age of Empires III all came out. However, at the local CompUSA yesterday, FEAR was the only one of the three I saw on the shelf. Apparently, Q4 doesn’t suffer any of the aforementioned problems as Doom 3 – which is a really good thing. Since the engine is the same, and the textures and setting look similar, one might think they’d be the same. However, there are supposed to be much more open areas and far less darkness. Q4 vs. FEAR is a tough one since they’re vastly different games. Here are some differences: \*FEAR is definitely more of a solo crawl, whereas Q4 has some light squad-based tactics and major battles (you can check some of the videos [here](http://media.pc.ign.com/media/016/016856/vids_1.html). \*Q4 is definitely more futuristic & sci-fi in terms of weapons and locations (you’re fighting on the planet Stroggos). \*Q4 has vehicles that, while some might roll their eyes, are supposedly fairly well implemented, though perhaps a little too easy. \*The AI in FEAR is bound to be much much better. According to [IGN’s review](http://pc.ign.com/articles/658/658263p2.html), > [@IGN](#): > > single-player combat feels behind the times, with enemies generally choosing to stand right in front of you and fire, with some hopping from side to side to spice things up. Then there’s the next tier that heads right for you. Sometimes they run, sometimes they amble, but there isn’t much tactical consideration to it. One enemy has a grenade launcher that he’ll aim with fairly good accuracy, and there are some units later in the game that do make attempts to keep themselves in one piece, but there’s little of the challenge we’ve experienced in shooters like Call of Duty, Far Cry, Tribes: Vengeance, or Brothers in Arms. This is one of the reasons why it will take you around ten hours, maybe less, to finish the campaign. Haven’t gotten to it myself, but supposedly the FEAR multiplayer is somewhat lacking. However, reviews report that Q4 also skimped on the multiplayer in favor of high-production valued SP. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/4 "2005-10-20T20:42:19Z")
RE: FEAR In my “review” above, I also completely failed to mention the whole slowing-down-time-super-reaction-matrix-bullets thingy. Needless to say, it’s pretty cool but I wanted to explain that the fundamental gameplay is solid and not just relying on some gimmicky Max Payne bullet-time. The way it’s implements, too, is it’s more of a help you get through difficult situations rather than a major part of the game. That may change, of course, as I’m only a couple hours in. Regarding computer specs, I do happen to have a high end computer/gfx card and certainly the game is beautiful. But, I believe it’ll scale down pretty well. The options menu is pretty interesting, actually. Instead of just video vs. audio options, they separate it as Computer vs. Video Card options. So if you have a slow processor/memory but a nice video card you can turn down shit like physics and bullet casings hitting the ground but preserve textures/resolution. The converse is true as well. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/5 "2005-10-20T21:43:21Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > For example, you’ll be walking along down a hallway and suddenly you’ll see some weird zombie looking guy (or the ghost little girl from the cover) walks, just for an instant, across your field of vision. Or, you’ll be walking through a eerily still room, and suddenly a couple boxes just fall off the shelf and it SCARES THE FUCK OUT OF YOU. That sounds a lot like the abandoned hotel level in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. It really creeped me out. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/6 "2005-10-20T22:38:02Z")
Doom 3: never has black been rendered so well. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/7 "2005-10-20T23:05:16Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > That sounds a lot like the abandoned hotel level in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. It really creeped me out. Well spotted. That’s exactly what I was referencing. I agree it was creepy, but still, you get my point, right? It’s only creepy because you’ve seen that scene played out in movies before. (unless you’ve spent a lot of time in haunted victorian houses). > [@Quartz](#): > > Doom 3: never has black been rendered so well. Doom 3: never has a flashlight required 2 hands. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/8 "2005-10-21T01:18:40Z")
Is there anything that looks like [this](http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3294&p=7) in the game? Cause that would scare the hell out of me a lot more than a zombie. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/9 "2005-10-21T01:49:09Z")
Picked it up Tuesday (go Fry’s: $36.99 for the Director’s Edition DVD), finally had a chance to play it last night. Overall impression: great stuff. Very atmospheric, with firefights that seem more visceral than in any other game. The shadows work great (I’ve scared the crap out of myself more than once with my own shadow). The AI seems better than most - I’ve been nabbed for using my flashlight (the enemy actually called out “Flashlight!” to his squadmates and then they were on me). I’m only a couple of hours into it, but it’s been great so far. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/10 "2005-10-21T01:50:41Z")
Oh, one more thing: melee fighting. If you can get close to a guy you can kill him with a roundhouse kick to the head. Good stuff, and much more entertaining than the fists of other games. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/11 "2005-10-21T02:29:52Z")
Unfortunately I’ve heard it’s only 10-15 hours long. I’m not paying $90 for that brief a game no matter how good it is so it looks like I’m waiting for the bargain bin! ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/12 "2005-10-21T05:22:57Z")
Well I’m a little deeper now. And I’m on my 5th change of pants. Jeebus, this game is crazy. At the beginning of the game, I hardly ever used the slow-mo button. Almost forgot it was there at times. Well let me just say that later on in the game, I’ve got my finger poised over that CTRL key ready to use it. It’s really nice when you’re battling those invisible-cloaking ninja guys Wish they’d had that ability in Half-Life 2 for those fastmoving zombie guys! ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/13 "2005-10-21T16:51:40Z")
I can see why they call it Super Reaction Time, or whatever. It’s not that it gives Matrixy Godlike abilities. Rather, it just gives you a little extra time to **react**. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/14 "2005-10-24T14:39:18Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > those invisible-cloaking ninja guys Gah! I hate them. Corners and shotgun. And those sticky grenades. They’re worse than thewalking tanks with the nailgun. I understand the three weapon rule. I just don’t like it. Ammo gets to be a real problem if you are not carrying the SMG, as suppression fire works in this game. What are your favorites? I love the dual pistols, but I finally had to drop them. Shotgun, assault rifle and sniper rifle. This game needs more stealth though. Plus, you think someone could give me a new set of body armor on the helicopter ride. This game is scaring Ms. D\_Odds in the other room. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play again until Friday. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/15 "2005-10-24T15:20:24Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Unfortunately I’ve heard it’s only 10-15 hours long. I’m not paying $90 for that brief a game no matter how good it is so it looks like I’m waiting for the bargain bin! $90!!! Where is it $90?? I can get it at Wal-Mart for under $40… ---
**Author:** ![Marine\_One](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marine_one/32/3461_2.png) [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/16 "2005-10-24T15:40:06Z")
Has anyone seen the Alice Wade walking backwards bug yet? If you wait long enough, she starts to lead you to the roof walking backwards! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-f-e-a-r-pc-game-my-reaction/327103/17 "2005-10-24T16:45:19Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > $90!!! Where is it $90?? I can get it at Wal-Mart for under $40… I would suspect in Australia, where **Silentgoldfish** presumably lives.