F.E.A.R. 3 Review

You’ll find that we’re no strangers to the characters that inhabit F.E.A.R. 3. Returning from the first game is point man, who served as the main protagonist and his brother Paxton Fettel, the original Fear’s main antagonist. Also back is Alma, who is the mother of apparently every character in the game.

Now I probably don’t need to tell you this, but there’s something seriously messed up with the plot of these games. Alma Wade is the daughter of Harlan Wade, the pioneer behind project Origin, which created Point Man and Fettel. Now in Fear 2, Alma sexually assaulted the main character, Beckett. So she’s pregnant, and the world is victim to her violent contractions.

This is where the game starts with Point Man in a prison guarded by Armacham Security. He is being brutally interrogated when he is saved by Fettel, which is considered an odd occurrence. Mainly because, Point Man was sent on a mission to kill Fettel and he succeeded. So Fettel is back and you’re both on two very different missions. Fettel is out to consume Alma’s child to grow more powerful, and Point Man is trying to destroy it.

The first time through you’re forced to play as “Point-Man” the more average gameplay style of the two brothers. Point man has all the capabilities you’ve come to expect from the Fear series. He can slow down time, as well as wield almost every weapon the game offers. The problem with the point man and the game’s notion of being “scary” is, you’re just too capable. You can slow down time and wield a powerful assault rifle. What scares you?

This forms the basis of my problem with Fear 3. It just isn’t scary, it’s a game called Fear and it’s known as a series for its scares. I played through this entire game and I never jumped once, I never felt dread, or that I survived through a horror. I felt like the very capable soldier from the Call of Duty series had bullet-time and was forced to fight the occasional demon.

If you play this game not really interested in being afraid the whole time. Then you will like it. The gameplay is technically efficient. It’s incredibly smooth and all of the mechanics work without a hitch. While it doesn’t offer anything new, it’s a take on what’s important in the world of First Person Shooters. You’re able to sprint and end your run with a slide. There’s a FPS cover system, much like the one in Crysis 2. This is incredibly effective when playing as point-man. This is what I believe, Fear 3 does well. It’s an action shooter that doesn’t revolutionize the genre. Not every game has to change the way video games are. Sometimes developers make what they know and they benefit from their pool of knowledge.

Now judging this as Shooter and holding up to some of the standards of the genre I have some problems that keep this from being a great shooter. The weapons are vastly unoriginal and the only real flare comes with the Nail-gun. Every other gun you’ve seen before, the smooth red dot sight SMG, the shotgun, and a pistol.

The checkpoint system is a mess. All of the checkpoints are placed in the middle of areas or moments that are designed to build tension or fear. These are moments we should only experience once, because we know what they’re going to do. They should be placed right outside the door of a big encounter, because it’s most likely that the player will die the first time they play through this

Once you play through the game, or play co-op. You’re given access to Fettel. The more psychedelic of the two brothers, your two main powers are psych blast, which sends a red mind blast out of the point of Fettel’s finger; this is basically his version of a pistol. The second ability is the power of possession, which sounds awesome. Fettel can suspend an enemy in the air and if his meter is full, possess them. In most cases, you’ll be using this to possess a regular soldier. This is the part that disappoints me most. When you possess a soldier you’re given a gun and nothing else. The problem with that is, if you put Fettel in the body of a guy with just a gun isn’t he point-man without bullet-time? Now you could be thinking, well at least possessing someone has tactical implications such as, using one of them to slip through an area or gaining the element of surprise. Well, as soon as you take hold of someone. Every enemy in the area immediately knows you’re Fettel. So you can throw out any strategy this might have provided.

Later in the game you start encountering lots of different enemy types with unique skills. Freaks; that have feral abilities, shock troops, power armor wearers, and phase walkers who have the ability to move through objects. Now the thought that comes to mind is in possessing these folks, I will gain their unique skills or powers. Nope. The game almost always has a clever reasoning why you can’t access the powers that make them unique. Such as my favorite, “Foreign Body Detected, Phase systems Offline” which basically turns you into armored version of point-man. Some enemy types have explosives strapped to them and when you assume direct control of them you’re given the ability to self-destruct yourself. This is as unique as it gets.  

So all in all Fear 3 is a game that promoted itself terribly, they want you to think the latest and greatest horror game is buried deep in there for you, but no dice. It is however; decently fun for the dumb action game it is, an average experience that doesn’t take any risks, leaving you a little disappointed when considering what could have been. Co-op is fun but you’re basically just two point men. Multiplayer is okay, but offers little that will sustain you. So check below for my verdict.

Buy: You really shouldn’t buy this game; it’s a flash in the pan experience. It’s fun and then it’s done, but you should buy it if you love action-shooters and would like one to play with your friend.

Rent: This is my primary suggestion for this game, if you spent eight bucks on this game and came away with the same experience I had. It would be worth more than what you paid. It’s a fun shooter, and it doesn’t require a lot of your time.

Run Away: If you think this is going to be a really terrifying game that will scare you every second.