Ben Richards

While perhaps not as well known as some of its peers from it's era such as Half-Life 2 and Doom 3, F.E.A.R. is usually well regarded as being one of the strongest first-person shooters in history and for good reason. Both cerebral and visceral It’s combat is still some of the most thrilling you can get due to it’s Intelligent A.I which still holds up well 15 years later and the incredible particle and physics effects which help make the firefights feel both explosive and real in how they impact the environment. Grenades and even heavy gunfire can leave the room in a thick smoky haze blinding you from your enemies for a very tense 5 seconds or so, it’s a nice touch. And that’s not to mention the superbly fun slow-mo effect you always have as a regenerating gauge, allowing you to play the game as if it’s the Matrix on steroids. Being able to activate the slow-mo then enter and clear out a room full of enemies with a shotgun before it finishes never stops being satisfying. The game’s premise and story is also intriguing having a blend of sci-fi and horror to spice up the classic hard-boiled special forces action. My only issue is quite subjective and that is that the attempts to scare generally fall flat and some of the pieces of story and it’s revelations didn’t feel as clearly conveyed as they could’ve. Nevertheless the horror-tinged set pieces and hallucinations are still memorable and help cement the story and tone of the game that help make it unique. I must add I played what is possibly the worst version of the game on the PS3 and going into it knowing that it didn’t ever affect my enjoyment of it. I highly recommend F.E.A.R. to any fan of FPS games, especially to those who perhaps aren’t fond of the migration that the genre has largely made to the open-world and the service-driven multiplayer of recent years. This is a game of it’s time without ever feeling dated, the mark of a classic.