[ZmaN]

I just downloaded the single player demo and all I can say is HOLY FRIKKIN CRAP!!!!  This game is the BEST FPS I've ever played...  And the AI is incredibly stunning!!  I put the demo on moderate difficulty, and I died 6 times (no I'm not exaggerating) and a specific part about halfway through the demo level....

I havent tried the multiplayer demo yet but that time will come....

I Love it!!!

[Mefustae]

*Mefustae smacks ZmaN over the back of the head with a two-by-four

[CP5670]

yeah, if FEAR is the best FPS you have ever played, you must not play a lot of games.

[ZmaN]

gee thanks for ruining the moment....
what is better than FEAR, might I ask...

[CP5670]

Go back a few years and play Deus Ex. Or try Chronicles of Riddick for something more recent.

FEAR is a pretty nice game, but it's hardly the best FPS ever.

[neo_hermes]

don't forget about System Shock 1 & 2.

[Jetmech Jr.]

Go back a few years and play Deus Ex. Or try Chronicles of Riddick for something more recent.

FEAR is a pretty nice game, but it's hardly the best FPS ever.

Deus Ex sucked when I played it (right when it came out). Bore fest.

FEAR is indeed one of the best FPS games I've ever played. I can't help but feel unstoppable vaping clones and crushing heads with my l33t skills in that game. It's almost enough to make me forget being scared of the dark spooky things around every corner. Almost.

[Mefustae]

Nor Metroid Prime 1 & 2.

[Grug]

You old school gamers flog off, accept they were good games and move on!

FEAR is one of the best games I've played over the last year. I love the melee component mixed in. I only wish it went longer. 

*awaits sequel*

[Ashrak]

i like fear, cuz its pretty and its scary

[Turnsky]

Go back a few years and play Deus Ex. Or try Chronicles of Riddick for something more recent.

FEAR is a pretty nice game, but it's hardly the best FPS ever.

Deus Ex sucked when I played it (right when it came out). Bore fest.

FEAR is indeed one of the best FPS games I've ever played. I can't help but feel unstoppable vaping clones and crushing heads with my l33t skills in that game. It's almost enough to make me forget being scared of the dark spooky things around every corner. Almost.

deus ex was brilliant, it's sequel left much to be desired, however, fear was good, real good, but it was missing something, i can't quite put my finger on it, however.  Fear, however, did set the standard for onscreen pixel shader effects in mid air.
Fear needs a sequel, yes.

[Nix]

Wow. This is one of the rare times I will agree with Mefustae here.

Tons of eyecandy, and an actually decent implementation of FPS Bullet-Time, but other than that the story was predictible, and is so linear, I've not replayed it since I finished it.  Also, one of those games that you'll finish in a weekend if you really want to.  Way too short.

Deus Ex, SS1 and 2, are NOT for the people who what the wham-bam-thankyouma'am action that you get with any recently developed FPS (Save for SWAT 4 and maybe Riddick).  Since there's such of an overabundance of these games out there today, it's just boring to us who miss what devs put into games in the pastL  Heart and soul.  They're so concerned about eyecandy that it's sickening. 

I refuse to move on.  I'm sure that STALKER will revitalize the whole character development FPS that Deus Ex was.  Games need what FS2 and DX1 and SS2 have in them.  Make it more than a "cinematic gaming experience."  If I want that, I'll go rent a movie from Hollywood Video instead of spending 45 dollars on a game. 

[Fineus]

Agreed.

That said I'd like to point out a bit of a flaw I found in FEAR. Its design was too modular. If you'll notice - as you go through the levels you rarely find a mix of scary-bits and action at the same time. It's almost always long bits of nothing or action or scary-bits.

Once you work out that formula it's fairly easy to tear through the nothing/scary bits because you have little chance of being harmed.

That said, overall it was a great game and I really did love the ending. It'd be quite fun if they went further in a sort of ghostbusters/conspiracy type direction with it... sending you off to hunt down supposed paranormal/unexplained threats that turned out to be tied into your charachter somehow.

[Turnsky]

I'm sure that STALKER will revitalize the whole character development FPS that Deus Ex was.

reports say you'll haveta wait until 2007 for it, thanks to THQ

[Nix]

I'm sure that STALKER will revitalize the whole character development FPS that Deus Ex was.

reports say you'll haveta wait until 2007 for it, thanks to THQ

THQ is not behind the delays, the developer is behind the delays.  The developers needed more time to make the real-world simulation work better, and THQ has been cooperative in giving them the time they need to finish it proper.  At least THQ didn't do what Eidos did to Ionstorm and botched two potentially great games because they wanted them released by a deadline.  (Anachronox and DX:IW)

Agreed.

That said I'd like to point out a bit of a flaw I found in FEAR. Its design was too modular. If you'll notice - as you go through the levels you rarely find a mix of scary-bits and action at the same time. It's almost always long bits of nothing or action or scary-bits.

Once you work out that formula it's fairly easy to tear through the nothing/scary bits because you have little chance of being harmed.

That said, overall it was a great game and I really did love the ending. It'd be quite fun if they went further in a sort of ghostbusters/conspiracy type direction with it... sending you off to hunt down supposed paranormal/unexplained threats that turned out to be tied into your charachter somehow.

That's the beauty of SS2, it's spooky no matter where you go.  This is why I'm also hoping that BioShock is going to be a nice new approach to Scary, done in ss2-style spookiness.   To think.. SS2 with dynamic lighting, 5.1 surround sound.. hearing the echoes of footsteps while running around through the coolant tubes.. aawwgh..  FEAR doesnt have that magic.  It's mostly eyecandy, with a traditional "something sinister" plot. 
You'll be on the rooftops in FEAR, fighting off goons, blasting away, then come upon a really tough guy or a slew of neverending goons.  THEN you'll be treated to a spooky part.  Then, in some cases, you'll be treated to an extremely empty part with absolutely nothing going on, supposedly to give you that "what's around that next corner" feel.  The crackling HUD is very annoying to me too, whenever something's just about to happen.  Totally spoils the whole spook effect for me.  It's like.. Cracklecrackle, oh I know something wierd's gonna happen.  The ending WAS good, but came way too fast.  Well, not the very last part, but the start of the ending sequence was pretty cool.  I'm a guy who despises most horror films, and I feel the ending was.. well.. cheap.  I'd rather go watch Event Horizion again. 

[starfox]

Little mixed feelings about F.E.A.R , I don't know...I really wanted to be part of the 3-4 man team and see all those reactions of my team mates when looking at those chewed corpses 

I liked the game alright, it had some really haunting situations and occasional spooky atmosphere, but it just lacked...something. Perhaps few AI buddies, intelligently acting team mates, who find these things be as much as freightful as you do.

Well, maybe I try it again...It think the game's audio was the best part of the game, along with very intelligent enemies.

speaking of audio...this is the perfect game to testride my new Z5500 5.1 system, along with
X-FI Extrememusic. 

[Turnsky]

  Well, not the very last part, but the start of the ending sequence was pretty cool.  I'm a guy who despises most horror films, and I feel the ending was.. well.. cheap.  I'd rather go watch Event Horizion again. 

i hate to sound like a fortune cookie, but, it's not the destination, but it's the journey itself that is the most worthwhile.
either way, yes, the end was abrupt, but, the game itself was a hoot.

[CP5670]

FEAR was overall a solid and polished game and one of the better games I have played recently, but the thing is it didn't really stand out in any way. I certainly liked it a lot, but best FPS ever? Not by a long shot. Although it's definitely worth a replay.

As for the "fear" aspect, I don't get how anyone can find this game scary. The only fear-inducing thing about FEAR was the framerate, although that was really quite the horror experience.

FEAR is one of the best games I've played over the last year. I love the melee component mixed in. I only wish it went longer.

Considering that we had maybe four major FPS games released last year, that's not saying much (and SCCT was waaaay better IMO). 2005 wasn't such a great year for games in general, with very few standout titles. This year looks like it's set to be much better.

[Deepblue]

FEAR was a forgetable experience. Especially since the multiplayer is crap.

[Roanoke]

I hate bullet time