F.E.A.R review

Xbox 360 owners will be familiar with this release and the previous Monolith effort (Condemned: Criminal Origins) as they share many similarities. The emphasis is on psychological terror and fear of the unknown. Entering a pitch black environment, low on torch power and ammunition makes for an anxious if not nerve shredding experience. Whereas Condemned was up close and personal (featuring blunt objects as weapons), in FEAR you are a member of an elite special ops team and thankfully have the technology and skills to match.As part of the elite team you are on the trail of a telepathic captain, who not only has taken control of a battalion of replica troops, but is besotted with visions of a small girl and has developed a taste for flesh. In-between your target and finding out what has gone wrong, are the highly trained and organised clone troops. The only difference between yourself and these puppets is that you possess supreme reflexes (activated by the top left shoulder button), that slows down the action to an almost bullet time effect. This levels the playing field, as otherwise you would be hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.The majority of action is confined to enclosed environments, as you make your way through office space and assorted buildings. While the locations are at times repetitive and graphically drab, the scenery and objects that you move past enhance the eerie atmosphere. Everywhere you can see signs of human activity, hear recorded telephone messages or upload laptop contents, but excluding the odd mechanical sound, it is deathly silent. The only movements you are likely to witness (outside those of opponents) are falling lights, or other subtle horror movie tricks to make you jump off the edge of the sofa.The implementation of audio in FEAR to heighten the senses, engage the player and enhance the storyline is impressive. While the soundtrack can kick in during those high octane moments, maintaining the atmosphere and interest across so many non-descript levels is difficult. Updates and comments are provided by your support team, monitoring your progress in relative safety. Then there are incoming sounds of unknown origin. Most effective and enjoyable of all are the radio conversations between enemy troops, as they prepare to face you The swearing and cursing are delivered with restraint, as these professionals try to stop your progress and formulate tactics. Pity the last survivor of a squad as he calls out for backup and to attempt a roll call, only to realise he is all alone.The psychological aspects of the storyline are played out through flashbacks and moments of sensory loss. At times these are confusing as you can take the role of onlooker or play a part in proceedings. This unsettling effect was no doubt part of the equation. Soon you learn that when the little girl appears, its time to run as very little survives in her path. Ultimately you can enjoy FEAR as a FPS with tense and challenging gun battles or take an added interest in the storyline and explore the environments for more clues and health boosters.Opponent AI is strong and provides a real challenge to those wanting to push themselves on higher difficulty settings. Soldiers seek cover, try to outflank you and will often toss a grenade to flush you out. The control scheme at first is a little disorientating mainly due to the shoulder button configuration. This has your three weapons being cycled by the top right button, with the actual firing by the one underneath. For Gamestyle a reversal would have been welcome. Alternatives are available but nothing removes this oversight, so instead its a case of learning the hard way, and unlike most PS3 releases to date there is no motion control aspect.This version features an exclusive mission, which allows you to play the role of a soldier in the Special Force Operational Detachment squad, who were the first arrivals at the Armacham building. While this does add a little more depth to the story, it is a convenient inclusion as it uses the same environment that you will explore later as a member of FEAR. However the level manages install a sense of humbleness, as without the reflex power you appreciate how difficult the clone troops are to overcome.Online FEAR dispenses with the supernatural and offers an urban FPS experience similar to Rainbow Six. Online uptake seems mixed as at times Gamestyle struggled to find a range of matches outside of the sixteen player death match. This free-for-all handles well, but the whole experience depends on the host and at times frame rate issues were evident. The online mode boosts the longevity of this release, but is an also-ran when pitched against what Fall of Man offers. Then the arcade mode offers a continuous supply of opponents for you take on, across a selected level. It is fun for a shortwhile before coming repetitive.The core strengths of FEAR presist inspite of the disappointing visuals, lighting and loading times. When pitched alongside the Xbox 360 version, then clearly the Microsoft version is graphically superior. Although FEAR is starting to show its age, the twisted plot and strong gunfights overcome such obstacles, delivering a memorable experience to the PlayStation 3.