F.E.A.R. Review
- Posted June 19th, 2007 by
- 8,827 views
- 3 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 7.0
- Avg. user review score:
- 7.4
Summary
F.E.A.R. is a half-hearted port of an award winning game. For those who have played it before, avoid it. For those that haven't and own a PS3, rent it.
We like
- A.I are extremely smart and ingenious
- Sound quality is solid
- Multiplayer is fun, when people are playing
We dislike
- Load times are unforgivable
- Storyline "bottoms out." Running around will become repetitious
- Framerate drops, glitches, etc show how bad of a port F.E.A.R. is
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
(continued from previous page) ...unique mode called “Slo-mo,” which allows the gamers to play the entire round in F.E.A.R.’s reflex mode. The game allows for very basic avatar customization, as you can choose the build of the elite force you play as in-game. While in-game, you can pick up health packs, body armor, weapons and grenades, much like the campaign mode, and use them to put yourself at an advantage.
The downside to multiplayer combat on the PS3 is that there is no one playing this game. You can sign on to the F.E.A.R. servers and have the option of quick joining or custom joining a match. Either way, if you notice, there is hardly ever over 100 people online playing this title. When you do enter a match, you must choose your weapon before you start. While F.E.A.R. gives you a quick array of the weapons found in the game, it’s pointless to choose any weapon other then the Assault Rifle, which is the best weapon in multiplayer. Since everyone uses it, you would be at a huge disadvantage if you used anything but that. Thus, rendering all other weapons ineffective. What is also dismaying about the multiplayer mode is how you have to wait for a host to start the game. While it may sound like no big deal, if you have 15 people ready to go, and the host is absent, the game will not start, not even if everyone is checked off as ready. However, the good outweighs the bad in this case because as soon as you enter the game, fun and chaos ensue.
Besides campaign and multiplayer modes which the PC version of the game have, F.E.A.R. for the PS3 also has a “Instant Action” mode, that will allow players to instantly jump to an interval in the campaign, usually one of the intervals where a lot of action is taking place. While this is a nice feature to have for shooting frenzy players, the load times act as a buzz kill, and definitely decrease your eagerness to jump into combat. Instant Action mode is scored based upon how many soldiers you kill, how many times you get hit, how many med-packs you use, etc. Once you die, your stats for that Instant Action match are uploaded to an online leaderboard and you can compare them with other players in your region. While this mode doesn’t add much to the game, it’s a great way to train yourself, hone your skills and become familiar with the controls.
Creepy…kind of…
While there is no actual soundtrack to F.E.A.R., the game does support an eerie and frightening ambiance. Often you’ll hear a low humming interlaced with some faints moans, kids laughing, kids crying, etc when running through hallways. When you’re about to enter a battle scene, the ambiance will fade away and louder, chaotic, fighting music will come to the forefront. Or, when you’re walking those dark corridors and a vision pops up on the screen, the ambiance will spike and you will know that something strange is about to happen.
The sound effects are pretty solid as well. When low on health you become abundantly aware that both your heart and breathing rate have increased and become much louder, often overshadowing the ambiance. Shooting a variety of different objects create their own unique sound. Soldiers will shout a variety of different phrases, many of which contain vulgarity, others which let you know if they’re about to flank you or throw a grenade. Overall the sound in F.E.A.R. is very well done, especially for a game that lacks in most other areas.
And the survey says…!
Overall, F.E.A.R. for the PS3 is nothing more then a half-hearted attempt on Sierra’s part to bring their award winning game to another next generation console. Though the graphics seem more lackluster on the PS3, as opposed to the PC and Xbox 360, they still qualify as nex-gen, but only as just barely. F.E.A.R. gives players three modes of gameplay which is nice because variety is always welcomed. The catch is that multiplayer, perhaps the title’s only justification in a purchase, has hardly anyone online playing it. The sound quality is solid, which makes it even more appealing in a game where every ... (continued on next page)
Comments
-
franckribery07
- 11:36am BST - September 10th, 2007
- 1
another game that was good for x360 but sux for ps3 ... this is a bit alarming !!!
-
greywolf955
- 7:09pm GMT - November 13th, 2008
- 2
dirty, they ned something like "hank and core team ten" that was a sick game for ps2
-
Dougifresh |
Leciant_Cruz- 6:37pm GMT - February 28th, 2009
- 3
The fact that the PS3 console is being compared to PC Graphics is actually kind of sad to see written in a review, and makes me want to smash my face against a desk, just because people are really that dumb.
Though lets be real here for a second, A: That would hurt my face, along with whatever else being jabbed in my face would do, and B: You are comparing a game console to a computer, thats like comparing a bicycle to a motorcycle...
The game has a cool story. And by cool I mean amazing. It does a nice job for what it says. It has alot of good suspense parts to the story, the graphics on PS3 in HD look purely amazing. They could have put some more time into how the controller layout is, but it is pretty smooth, just feels rushed. The game its self is a great buy used. If you are a FPS fan, add this one to the collection, you probably will play it once or twice by yourself, and then retire it, but its a game that if you don't have it, you don't know what you are missing out on. Add F.E.A.R. to you library today!
Advertisement