Game Review | June 22, 2011 10:40 pm

By Aldemar

The oft delayed sequel to 2009's FEAR 2: Project Origin finally hit shelves this past week. Marrying the frenzied action of FEAR with Steve Niles, who provided the story for the games, and John Carpenter overseeing the cutscenes; it would seem a recipe for sure-fire success. But Day One Studios sacrificed the intensity and intimacy of the scares to bring Co-Op to the series. Never face FEAR alone was the mantra for the marketing push. You really could face fear alone though, as the scares have been dropped to a minimum; transforming what looked like a promising sequel into something that plays like a horror themed Call of Duty.

FEAR 3's strongest point is the cooperative campaign gameplay, pairing the mute Point Man with his dead, cannibalistic, psychic brother Paxton Fettel. The dynamic duo, with Point Man's Slow-Mo ability and Fettel's ability to possess enemies, are the ultimate co-op pairing. Their skill sets are complementary, yet it is much more fun to play as Paxton Fettel, and you will more than likely squabble with your buddy over who gets to be who. The novelty of possessing your enemies, however, wears out quickly; as Point Man will be better than Fettel in 90% of the firefights you find yourself in. And there are a lot of firefights in the game. Day One Studios cranked the action up tenfold, aided further by the return of the talkative, aggressive AI from the first. Speaking of which...



The AI is another one of FEAR 3's strong points. The FEAR series has long prided itself for delivering AI that is aggressive, and that will work together to flank and annihilate the player. In the first FEAR, the unrelenting AI on higher difficulties proved to be a serious challenge for Shooter Veterans. FEAR 2's AI left a lot to be desired, relying on set paths and tactics. While the AI in FEAR 3 hides behind cover frequently, they will find you. They will kill you. On the higher difficulties in FEAR 3, the AI will distract you while others find routes to flank you. As you fight the AI, who were surprisingly quiet in FEAR 2, you'll learn what they are doing by listening. Enemies react to their allies getting shot, like one instance where they call for a tourniquet (when I blew one of their comrade's arms off with a shotgun). Other highlights of the talkative AI include, "Shit shit."; "Shit fuck."; "You've got to be shitting me." While not on the level of Splinter Cell Conviction's AI, the dialogue can get annoying in prolonged firefights, where you will hide behind cover and curse the shouting from behind your crate.

Cover in first person shooters has always been difficult to execute. FEAR 3 took the cover scheme of Gears of War (press a button to "stick" to cover) and made it work for first person. Surprisingly well, to be honest. Moving around your little crate or block is easy, while peeking up or around to shoot isn't a hassle in the slightest. The only hassle can be unsticking yourself from cover, or mantling over it. Only occasionally. The rest of the gameplay mechanics will pander to fans of Call of Duty and pretty much every other shooter out there. FEAR 3 essentially took the horror that the FEAR franchise was unique for a stripped it away in favour of co-op.

I mentioned earlier that the scares were lacking. With Steve Niles writing the story, I expected more in the way of subtle or atmospheric scares. What FEAR 3 rewards you with are campy, go-bump-in-the-night scares. If you are scared by things that growl and jump at you, avert your eyes. If not, you will find FEAR 3 to be surprisingly not scary. Something that is terribly wrong for a game based on a horror experience. Story wise, the game takes an interesting turn. Alma is no longer an antagonist, sure she'll pop up, but she doesn't go out to harm the player. The Creep is the enemy, appearing far more often that Alma and generally being annoying as hell.



While we are introduced to some familiar faces, the story really doesn't go anywhere. You're really just getting from point A to B, dragging until the very last level of the game, and the final cutscene. It can be entertaining, but someone looking for a "rich and fulfilling" narrative need look elsewhere. FEAR 3 unfolds as an popcorn action-y horror flick. Suitable for John Carpenter, whose cutscenes are directed well; yet take an entirely different look at the brothers.

But enough of the single player, surely you all came to read this review for the multiplayer, right? FEAR 3 comes packaged with four modes, two of which are only available if you are a first time purchaser of the game. However, FEAR 3's game modes are not the typical shooter fanfare. There is no straight up death match. Instead you have Contractions, Fucking Run, Soul King, and Soul Survivor.


Soul King is an interesting take on a collection gametype, where you start off as a Wraith. You get points by possessing the AI enemies and kill others, collecting their souls. It can be quite hectic with a full game of people going, but this is one of the weaker modes in FEAR 3. Aside from the AI surrounding you, fighting your fellow human players turns every round into a royal clusterfuck. Which may or may not be a bad thing, whatever floats your boat .

Soul Survivor is much like Infection from Halo. One person starts off as a Wraith, while the others work together to kill AI enemies. The Wraith can possess and inhabit AI enemies. When the Wraith kills a human player, he joins their ranks. This continues until there is one man standing, or until time runs out. An interesting mode for sure, but the maps to play it on are rather lacking.



Contractions is a Horde mode, like Nazi Zombies. Repair barriers between waves, collect crates and bring them back to your "base" to unlock weapons. You and your teammates must survive each wave of Alma's minions. This is personally one of my favourite modes. However, communication is key. If there is a weak link in the chain that is your team, you will likely fail. While everything seems straight forward, collecting crates to get more weapons and restock pushes you into the fog (which obscures your vision and allows enemies to sneak up on you). Another wrench in the mix is Alma. You will encounter her more than once, finding her skipping around or staring menacingly at you. If you shoot her, she will scream and your screen will go black. You will recover to find yourself elsewhere, possibly surrounded by enemies. Yay.

The final mode is the aptly titled Fucking Run. Here, you yet again work with three other people against the game's AI. Who are literally thrown at you by the dump truck full. Seriously. There are a lot of enemies. You know what's great? When we throw a giant frickin' wall behind you that will violently murder you if it touches you. Oh, and if one of you die, the whole game is over. Yet another mode where crappy teammates will not get you far. By far, this is the best mode in FEAR 3. You'll have to think creatively in some firefights. Or better yet, just fucking run.



The map offering for FEAR 3 is rather sparse, leading me to think DLC is on the cards in the very near future. Overall FEAR 3 is not the strongest of sequels, or games for that matter. But with co-operative game play and challenges for each mission that will earn you points to "rank up", there is some replay value. Achievement hunters can breathe easy, as most of the list is quite easy. One of the main ones that will be a struggle is the Game Completed on Insanity achievement. Insanity is a very wise choice of name for the difficulty. All in all, giving FEAR 3 a 7 out of 10 for the reasons outlined above. A FEAR title in name, but not in spirit; yet a fun shooter to play for several hours. Nothing worth spending sixty to seventy dollars on, but something to keep an eye out for once it hits bargain bins.

- Aldemar

Reviewed: F.E.A.R. 3

Keywords: f3ar; fear 3; day 1 studios; wb games; review