Review – F.3.A.R. (360)

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Over the past few days, I have had the pleasure to review Day 1 Studio’s return to the F.E.A.R. series in F.E.A.R. 3. The story continues from F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin, which was developed by Monolith Studios only, and released in 2009. Day 1 Studios developed the original title that released back in 2005 with the help of Monolith Studios, and didn’t participate in the development of Project Origin.

The third installment of this franchise begins with a small, and brutally epic, cinematic that reopens the old wounds of Project Origin and places you inside a jail cell, getting your ass beat by two guards. You paranormal sibling enters and helps you quickly dispose of the two and you’re off!

PROS

F.E.A.R. is an excellent FPS that strays from the traditional genre of desolate war torn wastelands, and places you in a fresh new paranormal experience. With a compelling story, frightening visuals, and some seriously badass slow motion combat, F.E.A.R. 3 is a definite must play. The campaign, while playing co-op, has both players in unique roles in order to help the other advance. These unique, and necessary, challenges provide a pleasant change to average FPS cooperative campaigns. One of you will play as “the prototype”, handling guns and more conventional weapons, while the other will play his brother, a psychotic spirit that invades enemy’s bodies and slings red junk from his hands. The co-op is available in split-screen, as well as via online multiplayer. The introduction to the now increasingly popular challenge system allows for greater campaign replay value. Getting a certain type of kill so many times will reward points that allow your character profile to gain levels. And nothing, and I mean literally nothing, that can compare to activating slow motion while wielding a shotgun, running up to an enemy, putting the barrel as close to his face as physically possible and watching his head explode into red paint.

CONS

There isn’t much to complain about in this title. The aiming feels slightly off, but nothing that can’t be fixed with some minor sensitivity tweaks. The story won’t hold up for those who haven’t played the first two games, so if you are a sucker for a good story, start with the original. The split-screens in co-op play are slightly offset from each other. They have also removed about 25% of available screen space, which is annoying since my screen is now cut in half to begin with. For those of you who love multiplayer, don’t get too excited, the online multiplayer is nothing special, and won’t keep your attention for more than a few hours.

OVERALL

When you play F.E.A.R. 3, you will understand how unique it is to the FPS genre. It’s a fresh take on an extremely played out game style and will keep you interested throughout the horror filled storyline. Even though the multiplayer isn’t that enjoyable, and the split-screen is aggravating, the game plays well and playing with a friend is even more enjoyable.

RATING: 8.5 out of 10

Graphics 80   Audio 80   Gameplay 75 Creativity 70   Execution 60   Offset 85

7.5

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F.E.A.R. 3 is a great game, plain and simple. If you liked the first two, you’ll love this one. The pros heavily outweigh the cons and the co-op play is phenomenal (FIX THE SPLIT-SCREEN!!!) This is why I give F.E.A.R. 3 a very solid 8.5 out of 10.