platform: PS3
year: 2005
Upon waiting for an event in my schedule I had some time to kill. What better way to do that with some gaming. Now I wasn't really in the mood for stealth or diving into a an open world where I would get lost in. But I did feel like playing a shooter. Browsing into PSNOW lead me to F.E.A.R. Basically to see what the fuzz was about.
F.E.A.R. is one of the games I never played because it's a FPS. And back then I wasn't particularly fond of them as I found them to be boring overall. Except if they had elements to them that made them more compelling gameplay wise. The bullet time element definitely is something that could have tied me over. If not for the fact that apart from that the game has nothing else to offer.
Sure I haven't finished the game which goes against my own policy. However if a game fails to grab me from the start what point is there to stick with it. Half-Life 2 for example had me blown away with it's world and immersion. I am sorry to say but you can't even compare the two. F.E.A.R. has the pretension of being cinematic and terrifying. And yes shooting the glass in slow motion never ceases to amaze and perhaps one could say the story is unconventional and abstract. But does that automatically make it more cinematic and good? I get that this game is heavily inspired by John Woo and Japanese horror. Two elements that usually make me very happy. In this case though not so much. I wasn't even aware that the enemies I was fighting were enemies until they greeted me with bullets instead of funny banter. And they all looked alike. Quite lazy if you ask me. Even Doom had more diversity right of the bat. Again if you can't grab my attention from the get go you are failing.
I feel this game is being praised since it offers strategic elements above the usual. I am sure that for them the intelligent A.I. and slow motion makes it more interesting and fun for them. For me though it's not enough. I want to be immersed by events not bored out of my mind.
I know it's not entirely fair to bash a game without having played it fully. And I even admitted digging some elements. But for this game still being praised today when a game like Half Life 2 still can be replayed with the same awe and appreciation as if you were playing it for the first time, I don't get it.
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