Don't let your F.E.A.R. consume you.

I was messing around GameFAQs when I saw a rather neat summary of a preview at the bottom of the page.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/fear/preview_6130811.html

So, being a huge fan of horror games ever since Silent Hill 3 touched my lips, I decided to give the preview a look. The fact that it's named "Best of E3 (Yearly gaming convention)" merely enhanced my interest.

And man, was it interesting.

For those who are too lazy to read it, it's basically on some dudes who want to set up a clone army, controlled by a psychic commander. Like all other games of this genre, something goes wrong, in this case, the commander is driven insane by a little girl. So, you, being part of F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assault Recon....>_>), will be called in to clean up the trash.

Of course, everyone dies within 5 minutes, and you are left all alone. However, you have this cool Neo type ability which you can use to slow time, allowing you to move faster then anyone around you.

Sadly, that's all the preview says, but I'm not blaming them, since no one will buy the game if everything is leaked. However, as the Single Player Demo is released (Google it), I decided to play it to see whether it's worth the hype.

In some aspects, yes.

The enemy AI is really good, as said in the preview. I remember being flanked by two groups of enemies when I first played the game and nubishly walked right into a room full of enemies. Thankfully, there's only 4 of them. Any more, and I would probably be dead. The enemy also know when to hide, where to hide, and when to camp. If you camp for too long, hoping that they are like all the other nubs who will rush at you, you will be sorely mistaken. They will rush, yes, but they will do it carefully. Using the universal ability to peer around corners, standing still in one place isn't exactly a good idea, since grenades will come flying in your direction shortly. Killing one enemy by shooting him will result in another few coming around to check things out. However, if you killed him by smacking your gun against him (Every gun is also a melee weapon.), no one will know what happened instead. Yet, this is the beauty of this game, as the enemies almost act as though they are real players, reacting on sound.

The bullet-time, or the Neo-thingy is rather cool as well. However, as I can only play it on low, due to my Graphic card being an ass, I can barely see the path of the bullets. However, gamespot's video showed that you can actually see the path of the bullets, if you played on a high resolution. The trick is to use the time-slowing ability, then blast the head of your enemy. However, unlike other games where you are the only one with this ability, it seems like some of the enemies have this ability as well, and so, you need to really move fast if you want to get away from them.

The graphics themselves are excellent, using a totally new engine altogether. Even at low, the details are rather neat, as I could see people's faces rather clearly. On medium (my Frame rate dropped almost insanely), I could even see the bullet holes on the walls. Shoot hanging light, and it will swing wildly, casting rather interesting shadows all over the area.

The new engine itself allows you to interact with almost everything at hand. However, unlike some games where the interactable objects are totally for show (Counter-Strike:Source), the enemies get to use them as well. In one scene of the damo, you will see an enemy push a bookcase down to block your path, only to crawl under it to hit you from the back if you did not deal with him before continuing. Of course, he's absolutely easy to kill when he's crawling (One grenade, and he goes "Oh ****"). Of course, since the game is not released yet, I have no idea what else is installed. The environment could play a rather large part of your survival, such as the one in Half Life 2. However, again, this is only my Speculations.

Now that we are done with the good, now comes the bad.

The horror part of this game is just poor. Absolutely poor. Since I've had my fair share of horror games, I can only say that this game's horror element is almost on par with Doom 3, using rather poor cheap scares to scare you. For those who don't know what a cheap scare is, it's just like those guys popping out and shouting "BOO!" in front of you when you are enjoying a leisurely stroll down the corridor. Yes, so far, there are some areas where the atmosphere is used to scare you, but more often then not, it's those sudden ghost appearances which gives you the jitters. A pity really, because during the first 3 minutes, they used the environment to scare players (Blinking lights, dark hallways...). However, it soon descended down the path of cheap scares as they start to pop up right in your face. It's scary at first, but it won't be a second time. The feeling is just different.

I have to say that I'm extremely disappointed with the horror part. Yes, it isn't a horror game, but if they want to inject horror into the game, F.E.A.R. should not have these kind of cheap scares. Look at Silent Hill 2 and 3, I don't remember any cheap scares, but they basically used the atmosphere to scare the crap out of your pants (Come over to my place if you want to try it ou. I think the CD I still hidden somewhere). The level details, the darkness, and the fact that you know that the monsters are out there, somewhere, really can be scary.

However, if you look past these poor attempts to scare you, it's actually a rather neat FPS. I might just buy it, on top of Quake 4.

However, I will definately look at the reviews first. If they don't give it a rather decent review, I might just obtain it.

Preview score: 7.5/10
--

Song of (whatever) switched to YOU by YURIA. A very catchy Opening theme for the anime, Shuffle!, which is a really nice romance anime, which was based on a Hentai-game. No, Shuffle! the anime isn't hentai, but the game was. However, so far, the 6 episodes I've watched are all really nice. In a nutshell, it's about this guy having to choose between 3 girls. The usual stuff, but the character developments are rather nice.

Lyrics (For personal collection) XD:

Shuffle! TV Opening Theme

ＹＯＵ
作詞：ＡｌＡｉ
作曲：アッチョリケ
編曲：鈴木マサキ
唄：ＹＵＲＩＡ

胸に抱くキミへの言葉
いつか伝えたいな

零れる微熱　高鳴る鼓動
始まりは分からないけど
一度気付いた　消せない想い
嘘にはもう出来ないから

出会えたのがありふれた偶然だとしても
特別な意味を感じてる

キミのそばに居られることを
いつも神様に感謝です
迷いのないキミの横顔
ずっと眺めていたい

キミと二人過ごす時間が
揺るぎない力をくれるよ
ふいに浮かぶキミへの言葉
いつか伝えたいな

僅かに触れる暖かい指
優しい台詞　それだけで
夢の続きを見ているような
不思議な気持ちになれるよ

もしもいつの日かお互いを見失っても
また何度でも巡り会える

キミの大切な思い出に
どうか私も居ますように
見たことないキミの世界を
もっと分けて欲しい

キミが願うことの全てを
余すことなく叶えたいよ
信じられるキミのためなら
何にでも変われる

――それは色めく花のように
　　遠く咲き誇る物語
　　決して消えはしない音色が
　　風に乗せて響く――

キミと二人過ごす時間が
揺るぎない力をくれるよ
祈り込めるキミへの言葉
深く届くように

YOU
Lyrics: AlAi
Compose: Acchorike
Arrange: Masaki Suzuki
Vocal: YURIA

mune ni daku kimi eno kotoba
itsuka tsutaetai na

koboreru binetsu, takanaru kodou
hajimari wa wakaranai kedo
ichido kidzuita, kesenai omoi
uso niwa mou dekinai kara

deaeta no ga arifureta guuzen dato shitemo
tokubetsu na imi wo kanjiteru

kimi no soba ni irareru koto wo
itsumo kamisama ni kansha desu
mayoi no nai kimi no yokogao
zutto nagameteitai

kimi to futari sugosu jikan ga
yuruginai chikara wo kureru yo
fui ni ukabu kimi eno kotoba
itsuka tsutaetai na

wazuka ni fureru atatakai yubi
yasashii daishi, sore dake de
yume no tsudzuki wo miteiru you na
fushigi na kimochi ni nareru yo

moshimo itsu no hi ka otagai wo miushinattemo
mata nando demo meguriaeru

kimi no taisetsu na omoide ni
douka watashi mo imasu you ni
mita koto nai kimi no sekai wo
motto wakete hoshii

kimi ga negau koto no subete wo
amasu koto naku kanaetei yo
shinjirareru kimi no tame nara
nanni demo kawareru

--sore wa iromeku hana no youni
tooku sakihokoru monogatari
kesshite kie wa shinai neiro ga
kaze ni nosete hibiku--

kimi to futari sugosu jikan ga
yuruginai chikara wo kureru yo
inori komeru kimi eno kotoba
fukaku todoku you ni

YOU
Lyrics: AlAi
Compose: Acchorike
Arrange: Masaki Suzuki
Vocal: YURIA

These words I hold for you within my heart,
I hold I can tell them to you someday.

Almost feverish as my heart beat faster,
I had no idea what that feeling was at first.
But once I realized it, I can no longer erase my feelings.
I can no longer lie to myself.

Even if meeting you was just a trite accident,
I can sense a special meaning to it.

I give my thanks to god everyday,
For letting me stay beside you.
I want to keep looking at you from your side,
Your profile is always without a trace of hesitation.

The time I spent alone with you,
Gives me unwavering strength.
Unknowingly these words for you came to my mind,
I hope I can tell them to you someday.

A slight touch of your warm fingers
And some words of kindness were all it took.
Almost like watching a dream's continuation,
These strange feelings form within me.

Even if we ever lose sight of each other one day,
We will surely meet again no matter what.

I pray that I'm in your precious memories.
I've never seen before the world you are from,
But I want to know more about it.

I want to grant you everything that you wish for,
And not a single bit less.
I trust you with my heart,
For you, I will change myself into anything.

--Like the colorful flowers,
A story is blooming far away.
The colors that will never disappear,
Ride on the wind and resound--

The time I spent alone with you,
Gives me the strength to support me.
These words filled with prayers for you,
I hope they reach deep into your heart.
-Credits: http://darkmirage.com/lyrics/viewtopic.php?p=143