Review: F.E.A.R. (360)

F.E.A.R.'s wafer thin plot sees the player taking on the role of point man for First Encounter Assault Recon (F.E.A.R.), a secret government unit charged with dealing with paranormal threats. It's up to you to track down and neutralise rogue soldier Paxton Fettel, a gentleman who possesses physic powers which he utilises to command an army of cloned soldiers known as Replicas. As the game progresses, more facts are unearthed about Fettel's shadowy past and a ghostly young girl who seems to appear and disappear at will. Only a handful of cut-scenes are used to explain the plot, with the majority of the revelations being obtained by hacking laptops and having your superior read out the information contained therein, or by listening to answer phone messages. While unintrusive, it makes keeping track of events more of a chore than it should be.

As time is spent with F.E.A.R., it becomes apparent that the game's developers are aiming to create quite a unique FPS, in terms of atmosphere at least. Bucking the increasing trend for ever larger, explorable environments, F.E.A.R. is very much about creating a sense of tension and claustrophobia... and scaring the wits out of the player. Whilst it might be easy to dismiss F.E.A.R. as relying on an antiquated 'rooms and corridors' formula to create its shocks, to do so would be churlish. Every part of the game experience is designed to ratchet the tension up another notch. The player is shepherded into dark, narrow corridors, filled with blind turns; yet the confinement provides a strange sense of security, meaning that, when a more open room or area emerges before you, you almost dread stepping into the open for fear of what might happen next. The superb lighting effects also play their part; they are beautifully observed and integral to the game. Use of your flashlight near Replicas can be enough to give your location away. Similarly, shadows can be used to pinpoint enemies when you can't see them, best illustrated during a journey through an underground parking garage where stopping to look at where a shadow falls can mean the difference between life and death.

Sound also has an integral part to play in F.E.A.R and the use of both spot effects and incidental music are an almost faultless part of the experience. The score ranges from brooding and tension building to discordant and jarring to set nerves on edge. Visual flourishes are also used to scare the player - be it blood dripping from a vent, the strange ghostly effects which seem to take you to another place or a body flying through a window when you least expect it. Gamestyle isn't afraid to say that we jumped on more than one occasion.

Of course, for a FPS to work, the gunplay mechanics have to work as well, and F.E.A.R. doesn't disappoint. The range of weapons is excellent, with the immense shotgun being Gamestyle's personal favourite. The enemy AI is perhaps the best to date in any FPS: Replicas will make cover for themselves, try and launch flanking or pincer attacks where possible and work as a team in order to ensure your untimely demise. Replicas can be difficult to deal with on the lowest difficulty setting; start cranking it up and F.E.A.R. presents a serious challenge to even the most grizzled FPS veteran. The levels are also pleasingly destructible; gun battles will leave chunks blown out of walls, floors and furniture, with smoke drifting away from the impact. There's also a mightily impressive set of ragdoll physics for defeated foes. Gamestyle fondly remembers a shotgun blast to the midriff of one Replica which tore their body in two; the top half of the torso span away, with gun still firing in hand.

Sadly F.E.A.R is not without its faults. There are very few different enemy types and the interior colour palette rarely ventures beyond hues of grey and brown. Indeed, given some of the locales used in the most famed exponents of this genre (Mars springs to mind), the decision by F.E.A.R.'s designers to set the game in relatively plain environments such as water treatment plants and offices seems curious to say the least. F.E.A.R is also starting to show its age; the character models and surface textures are not as good as those in more recent 360 titles such as Dead Rising. The swimming mechanic is also very poor.

The campaign mode is fairly brief, spanning just 11 levels, so the game can be over all too quickly as well. However, to prolong F.E.A.R.'s life, the game also features an instant action mode and a meagre single bonus mission, neither of which were found in the PC original. Instant action features four levels adapted from campaign missions and is perhaps best described as a single player deathmatch. This might not sound particularly interesting, but trying to beat your best scores soon becomes compulsive.

F.E.A.R. also supports Xbox live, and all the usual modes are present and correct, such as capture the flag and deathmatches. There's an excellent array of customisation options available for the host; the maps are a decent size and games are frenetic and enjoyable. But as ever on Live, when matched against random players, the game is populated by serial disconnectors who bail out as soon as it becomes apparent that they aren't going to win the match. The most disappointing aspect of the Live experience, however, is the lack of an after game lobby - you're just dumped back at the multiplayer menu and if you want a rematch it can be difficult to track down those you just played.

F.E.A.R. is a great FPS. The incredibly sharp AI provides a real challenge making this a game you'll come back to - if you haven't played the PC original. If you have, there probably isn't enough new content here to make this a worthy purchase. For the rest of us, though, this is probably the best FPS on the 360. Just make sure you leave the lights on when you play.

Rating: 8 / 10

Words by Andy Lucas