Post by laserx on Nov 26, 2006 16:29:29 GMT -5
Oh why hello there, welcome to my first review. As the subject of this post would suggest, I am reviewing the blockbuster PC game (of last fall), F.E.A.R.. Hey, the Xbox 360 version just came out so this review is kind of timely, right?
Alright let's start from the beginning... basic plot description. Since I would undoubtedly fail at this task (by simultaneously confusing you to the point that you have no idea what the story is about while still managing to spoil every major plot point of the story). Instead, I will take this excerpt from the Gamespot* review:
"...you play as the newest member of the First Encounter Assault Recon (#Thomas' note: get it... F.E.A.R... corny, am i right?#), the military's top-secret task force assigned to deal with paranormal situations. And the mission in F.E.A.R. certainly counts as above and beyond the regular call of duty. As explained in the opening cinematic (which is also game's only third-person cut scene), a military commander named Paxton Fettel goes insane and takes command of a secret army of cloned soldiers that are telepathically linked to him. Fettel and the battalion of elite soldiers then go on the rampage in a nondescript American city. They appear to be searching for something, though their objective is a mystery. It's up to you and the rest of the F.E.A.R. team, along with units of Delta Force, to find out what it is they're looking for and stop them..."
-gamespot.com
Alright, now let's get down to business:
Graphics: 6/7
It's hard not to mention Doom 3 when looking at F.E.A.R.'s graphics. They are, first and foremost, gorgeous (better than Doom 3's without doubt) and the enemy models are especially nice. I believe they speak for themselves:
Some pics from a website I found... if you want more full size pictures, just go to any major game website around... they got plenty...
Unfortunately, like Doom 3 as well, this game is a beast to run. Running on my computer with 3.2 ghz HT, 1 gig of (crappy) RAM, and a 7600XT (slightly OC), I could run it pretty smoothly at 1024x768, medium texture quality, Anti-aliasing x2 (without this on, the game had quite a few jaggies going on... the edges on everything looked sharper than a porcupine taped to a cactus) and anisotropic x2 texture filtering. It still looked pretty good but I was quite displeased that the game did not support 1280x1024 (my LCD monitors native resolution... a.k.a. my screen looks prettiest at this rez). I also didn't get any of the cool effects like softening shadows. Anyways, tech jumbo aside, this game can potentially own your computer with the amount of power it can use up.
The most disappointing thing about the graphics though, in my opinion, is how under utilized they are. In this game you go through exciting locations like warehouses, offices, garages, and, occasionally, you even get to go outside into... BACK ALLEYS! Man, I really wish they had made a level where you were in the middle of a desert (on a horse with no name). Not only are these lame settings a waste of the graphics, they are also hurtful to the gameplay (shows a distinct lack of originality and makes the game feel much more repetitive than it needs too).
Presentation and Sound: 6/7
Presentation in this game is pretty good. Everything is very polished and the even the menu is pretty cool and fits in with the atmosphere in the story. The sounds are pretty good but, like the graphics, can get repetitive (especially what the enemies say). Also, some of the sounds are kinda weird. A couple of times when I stepped on a can it made an extremely loud banging noise. I don’t know if this was done on purpose to frighten the player or if the game is just buggy. Overall the sound effects were very good though… The voice acting in this game was excellent (for a video game) and the music fits perfectly with the creepy mood of the game.
Gameplay: 11/14
An interesting thing to point out about the gameplay that makes it somewhat difference than many FPS games is the ability to do some cool melee attacks (bicycle kicks and slide kicks) that can actually be useful in the game. However, the best part of this game is the guns. If guns are phallic symbols than the guns in this game are (insert joke here). Anyways, the guns are really cool… they really carry a sense of power with them. The coolest gun in the game, in my opinion, is the shotgun. It’s exhilarating to see enemies flying back with the power of rag doll physics (although, let’s make no mistakes, the physics in this game are no HL2), especially with bullet time slow-mo on. Speaking of bullet time, it is excellently done in this game. It’s got the cool bullet trails and that funky blur on the sides of the screen confirming that you are, in fact, in bullet time mode. Most importantly, it is actually a useful tool without being overpowered. There is nothing more annoying than waiting for bullet time to recharge so you can rush into a room and basically just be immortal. This is not the case in this game, you can still get your ass kicked very easily even in bullet time mode (it’s a good thing).
The main downside to this game (in gameplay and in plenty of other areas) is how repetitive it is. I mean, you fight a clone army… so I guess you know repetitively is to be expected from the beginning. But even that said, it’s hard to overlook the excellence and polish put into the actual combat (from the power that you feel from behind the guns to the cool melee attacks you can pull off).
Other Stuff: 5/7
+Pacing is good
+Game actually succeeds at being scary
+Is not that expensive anymore
-Only about 10 hours of gameplay
-Multiplayer (which is pretty cool) is available for free now even if you don’t own the game (so I can't really count it as part of the game)
-The story is not as cool as it could be
-Uninspired level design
-Seems like it takes itself a little too seriously sometimes**
My Rating:
5+/7 (upper five mark band)
Meta Review:
88.8% (~6/7 middle six mark band)
*= I feel it's important to point out that Gamespot reviews are, in general, teh sux
**= Doesn’t ALWAYS take itself completely seriously (see below)
Alright let's start from the beginning... basic plot description. Since I would undoubtedly fail at this task (by simultaneously confusing you to the point that you have no idea what the story is about while still managing to spoil every major plot point of the story). Instead, I will take this excerpt from the Gamespot* review:
"...you play as the newest member of the First Encounter Assault Recon (#Thomas' note: get it... F.E.A.R... corny, am i right?#), the military's top-secret task force assigned to deal with paranormal situations. And the mission in F.E.A.R. certainly counts as above and beyond the regular call of duty. As explained in the opening cinematic (which is also game's only third-person cut scene), a military commander named Paxton Fettel goes insane and takes command of a secret army of cloned soldiers that are telepathically linked to him. Fettel and the battalion of elite soldiers then go on the rampage in a nondescript American city. They appear to be searching for something, though their objective is a mystery. It's up to you and the rest of the F.E.A.R. team, along with units of Delta Force, to find out what it is they're looking for and stop them..."
-gamespot.com
Alright, now let's get down to business:
Graphics: 6/7
It's hard not to mention Doom 3 when looking at F.E.A.R.'s graphics. They are, first and foremost, gorgeous (better than Doom 3's without doubt) and the enemy models are especially nice. I believe they speak for themselves:
Some pics from a website I found... if you want more full size pictures, just go to any major game website around... they got plenty...
Unfortunately, like Doom 3 as well, this game is a beast to run. Running on my computer with 3.2 ghz HT, 1 gig of (crappy) RAM, and a 7600XT (slightly OC), I could run it pretty smoothly at 1024x768, medium texture quality, Anti-aliasing x2 (without this on, the game had quite a few jaggies going on... the edges on everything looked sharper than a porcupine taped to a cactus) and anisotropic x2 texture filtering. It still looked pretty good but I was quite displeased that the game did not support 1280x1024 (my LCD monitors native resolution... a.k.a. my screen looks prettiest at this rez). I also didn't get any of the cool effects like softening shadows. Anyways, tech jumbo aside, this game can potentially own your computer with the amount of power it can use up.
The most disappointing thing about the graphics though, in my opinion, is how under utilized they are. In this game you go through exciting locations like warehouses, offices, garages, and, occasionally, you even get to go outside into... BACK ALLEYS! Man, I really wish they had made a level where you were in the middle of a desert (on a horse with no name). Not only are these lame settings a waste of the graphics, they are also hurtful to the gameplay (shows a distinct lack of originality and makes the game feel much more repetitive than it needs too).
Presentation and Sound: 6/7
Presentation in this game is pretty good. Everything is very polished and the even the menu is pretty cool and fits in with the atmosphere in the story. The sounds are pretty good but, like the graphics, can get repetitive (especially what the enemies say). Also, some of the sounds are kinda weird. A couple of times when I stepped on a can it made an extremely loud banging noise. I don’t know if this was done on purpose to frighten the player or if the game is just buggy. Overall the sound effects were very good though… The voice acting in this game was excellent (for a video game) and the music fits perfectly with the creepy mood of the game.
Gameplay: 11/14
An interesting thing to point out about the gameplay that makes it somewhat difference than many FPS games is the ability to do some cool melee attacks (bicycle kicks and slide kicks) that can actually be useful in the game. However, the best part of this game is the guns. If guns are phallic symbols than the guns in this game are (insert joke here). Anyways, the guns are really cool… they really carry a sense of power with them. The coolest gun in the game, in my opinion, is the shotgun. It’s exhilarating to see enemies flying back with the power of rag doll physics (although, let’s make no mistakes, the physics in this game are no HL2), especially with bullet time slow-mo on. Speaking of bullet time, it is excellently done in this game. It’s got the cool bullet trails and that funky blur on the sides of the screen confirming that you are, in fact, in bullet time mode. Most importantly, it is actually a useful tool without being overpowered. There is nothing more annoying than waiting for bullet time to recharge so you can rush into a room and basically just be immortal. This is not the case in this game, you can still get your ass kicked very easily even in bullet time mode (it’s a good thing).
The main downside to this game (in gameplay and in plenty of other areas) is how repetitive it is. I mean, you fight a clone army… so I guess you know repetitively is to be expected from the beginning. But even that said, it’s hard to overlook the excellence and polish put into the actual combat (from the power that you feel from behind the guns to the cool melee attacks you can pull off).
Other Stuff: 5/7
+Pacing is good
+Game actually succeeds at being scary
+Is not that expensive anymore
-Only about 10 hours of gameplay
-Multiplayer (which is pretty cool) is available for free now even if you don’t own the game (so I can't really count it as part of the game)
-The story is not as cool as it could be
-Uninspired level design
-Seems like it takes itself a little too seriously sometimes**
My Rating:
5+/7 (upper five mark band)
Meta Review:
88.8% (~6/7 middle six mark band)
*= I feel it's important to point out that Gamespot reviews are, in general, teh sux
**= Doesn’t ALWAYS take itself completely seriously (see below)