Review: F.E.A.R. 3 (360/PS3) | Gaming Blog

This spine-tingling threequel?s blood-spattered scenery and gripping campaign make it one of 2011?s most enjoyable shooters.

• by Patrick Shaw
• June 20, 2011 21:00 PM PT

F.E.A.R. 3?s opening level is a terrible representation of the rest of the game. while many video games begin with a strong first level designed to immediately grab your attention, F.E.A.R. 3?s rust-covered Armacham penitentiary is as generic and lifeless as prison levels get. It?s as if the level designers intentionally start you off with such a bland introduction to their game so that when you experience what it really has to offer, it hits you with all the force of a freight train. In that regard, the game?s first level is effective?I just hope that players aren?t so turned off by their initial taste of F.E.A.R. 3 that they don?t stick around for the rest of the game, which is an exceptionally designed first-person shooter with a satisfying blend of action and horror.

Following the conclusion of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin ? in which psychic phantom Alma is impregnated ? F.E.A.R. 3 puts you in the combat boots of the Point Man, who?s joined by his recently-resurrected sibling, Paxton Fettel. In the first game, Point Man shoots his brother in the face (check out the ugly bullet hole in the middle of his forehead), and now Fettel?s alive once more and armed with paranormal powers, including the ability to possess the bodies of enemy soldiers.

When playing the campaign in co-op (either locally via split-screen or online), the second player controls Fettel, while the first player controls Point Man, who?s your more traditional, albeit genetically-enhanced, soldier that fights with shotguns and assault rifles instead of paranormal abilities. you can play the game alone, but the campaign is infinitely more enjoyable with a friend. And if you don?t have one, you can always team up with a stranger online.

Even though the story is handled by horror genre pros ? Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) on main storyline duties and John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) on the cinematics ? it falls a little flat. And while the horror-infused narrative is certainly no BioShock, the unwieldy dynamic between the two brothers is an interesting idea that works for the most part.

What F.E.A.R. 3 lacks in original storytelling it definitely makes up for with its campaign. As a video game writer, you?re constantly exposed to such a high volume of games that you sometimes lose some of the joy of playing video games (I know, boo hoo, right?). with F.E.A.R. 3, however, I was completely immersed in its riveting, remarkably diverse campaign. For a horror game, F.E.A.R. 3 is anything but just a bunch of dimly lit corridors and sepia-colored boiler rooms. The game?s actually quite colorful, with each ?Interval? featuring its own distinct color palette and aesthetic. For instance, the bridge mission features a lot of warm colors, which is amplified in the sky?s mesmerizing blood-red storm clouds. this contrasts sharply with the airport mission?s dark blues and cool colors. I know this is a video game we?re talking about and not an oil painting, but despite all the gore and chaos on screen, I couldn?t help but take in how pretty it is at times.

In terms of mission variety, the campaign includes locales like poverty-stricken ghettos, a sprawling metropolis, suburbs, an airport ? there?s even a massive Costco-sized store that you can wreak havoc in. The store level ? which features various departments like a haunted Best Buy-like electronics section with flickering TVs in total darkness, and a Lowes-like outdoor garden section with suicide bomber cultists amidst Delilah fern plants ? showcases the tremendous attention to detail that F.E.A.R. 3?s environment artists put into the settings.

It might sound like an oddly specific thing to call out in a 1,000 word review, but the developer has done a great job making these places feel authentically weathered, lived in, vandalized ? and in some cases, outright trashed. One office break room, for instance, is a good example of the high level of detail in settings. Newspaper ads and assorted debris ? including a sink torn out of the wall ? litter the floor, ?going green? and flex benefits notices are pinned to a nearby bulletin board, and a child?s crayon drawings are stuck to a refrigerator. this area also has a morbid masterpiece on its wall that?s comprised of spirals, a message written in a strange language, and eerie skeletal faces all painted in blood in other bodily juices.

Source: http://gaming-blog.org/?p=10977

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