F.E.A.R. - All SP Games Should be made like this

[Seeruk]

I'm astonished this one didnt beep louder on my radar but what an AWESOME game!!

All single player games should have production values like these. FEAR has taken most games selling points (uber gfx, great sound, incredible physics etc ) and said OK they are the bare essentials we need to tell our story, nothing more.

Now we need A STORY yes a real story with real care and attention to frightening the ****** out of people in a different way every time. None of this Doom crap where you approach a corner a know that a) a monster will pop out of a wall & b) just as you finish dealing with him another will appear behind you c) rinse and repeat. We are gonna grab people by the balls and scare them, then we are gonna have them shitting their pants when they inadvertently knock a chair over. Then we are gonna build the suspense with the freaky psychological tricks and have them scared to go to bed in the dark!!!

Horror films never ever scare me, any computer game that has attempted to scare me has usually had me laughing my head off at it, but FEAR does it!

I am really impressed with this game in every way - I normally get bored of any single player game in 3 seconds flat. I am multiplayer through and through, only the battle of human wits will suffice for me but this game had me playing 8 hours solid last night and I recommend it to anyone sat on the fence about buying it.

Bravo!

 

[skace]

Not sure if this is where I should post my comments, I had thought of making a new thread. But yesterday marked my completion of FEAR as well as HL2 Lost Coast (well, that was really fast). I also beat Quake4 last week so I have a good perspective on all these games.

FEAR was interesting and impressed me in a few ways. Some of the scary effects were original and unique. The fire fights were very fun to participate in and the different death scenarios for the bad guys were also equally cool (legs getting blown off, torsos severing, etc). But I'd also say that, playing Lost Coast afterwards reminded me of what HL2 could do and I had this overwhelming feeling that FEAR did not really do any favors by using it's own engine. The question is could they have implemented their slow motion effects in the Source enigne, if so, I think the game would have been way better.

Now the other main attraction outside of FEAR's fire fights was the appeal of how scary this game could possibly be. And in that respect, I think it did an OK job, but nothing paramount. See, the problem with FEAR is that the scariest moment in the entire game is in the demo. Yes, I said it and you can probably guess which one, the ladder scene. Boom, catches you off guard beyond all belief and they don't manage to do it with such finesse ever again.

Another main problem with the scaryness of FEAR was that the scares did not go hand in hand with health damage. This is an aspect that for me made Doom3 so scary. I'd be getting scared but at the same time I'd have to keep my composure. In FEAR, most of the scary moments are not health losing moments, so you can get scared and it doesn't really matter. Infact, the scary moments don't matter so much, that if you don't like them you can just turn your flashlight off and run through them because they are only fluff. Infact, if it wasn't for the music changes, you'd most likely outright miss several supposedly scary moments.

Due to their design decisions in regards to scary moments, by the second half of the game I was trucking through levels like I was playing Duke Nukem. If I saw a ghost, I'd run right up to its face or start shooting it in the head. I'd purposefully go out of my way to be scared but fail miserably. I'd chase after shadows or voices. I'd run down dark hallways hoping my vision would blur or the music would change.

So was it a bad game? No not at all, I enjoyed it a lot. I'd say Undying, a game I played ages ago was much scarier though. I also question how reviewers gave Quake4 an 80% and FEAR a 95% because through my playthroughs I simply cannot see the discrepancy.

This brings me to Quake4. First off, I don't think Quake4 was perfect and my first major gripe was the outdoor areas. I understand they wanted to include a vehicle or 2 and give somewhat of an outdoor environment. But it is clearly obvious the engine was not built to pull off large outdoor environments and the maps that are supposed to be outdoors just feel like larger hallways.

Now the things that really impressed me about Quake4. I absolutely loved the indoor architecture. Quake4 proved that if there is one thing the Doom3 engine does that is completely unmatched in any other game at this point (most likely until the new Unreal engine comes out) is indoor architecture. Bridges unfolding piece by piece, massive machinery with a rediculous level of detail everywhere you look. The blue fog lighting on some of the levels is beautiful. The other aspect of the game that I thoroughly enjoyed was the combat. I felt they did a good job supplying difficult encounters without any gimmicks such as slow motion. The weapons felt really nice, I loved the way they did reloading on the Rocket Launcher and Dark Matter Gun.

The one thing that really made me enjoy the end of Quake4 more than FEAR (Fear pulled an HL2) was the bos fights. Those were some of the most enjoyable _FPS_ bos fights I've played in awhile (outside of Metroid Prime, which other games simply can't touch). When I reached the end of Quake4, I knew it was the end and I knew I was going to have to earn the victory. In a way it reminded me of the end of Doom2 except in some ways easier and in some ways harder.

The end result is that I thoroughly enjoyed both of these games.

 

[Seeruk]

Nice writeups. But the thing with quake was there was nothing to drive me on through the game. I knew what was coming and when it was coming just like Doom 3. FEAR had me almost desperate to know who that freaky biatch is (bit like the suit guy in HL) why am I having these hallucinations about character A or B, and Really I would like to f**ckin know what the hell made that shadow above my head etc etc.

Some of the Q4 levels were purdy, but to be honest once I saw the ridiculously poor outside scenes all sense of immersion was lost. I have never seen such a bad skybox as those outdoor levels since I made a few UT levels, and from that point on the engine's magic was broken and everything I looked at disintegrated into its component parts.

 

[rstrohkirch]

Originally posted by: skace
I'd say Undying, a game I played ages ago was much scarier though.

Compared to other generic FPS FEAR has a decent story and mood but others have done it better and long before it. I agree with the above post because it was one of those titles...playing through the first sections of this game with the lights out and the headphones up is quite creepy.

One of the things I really didn't care for in FEAR was the lack of linearity in the story in terms of information given. It's like a cheap murder mystery TV show, they give you very small bits and pieces then throw all the information needed to complete the story at you in the last couple minutes. I got to the point where I was just playing the game to finish it because honestly, the lack of any real development in the story made it boring.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: Seeruk
Some of the Q4 levels were purdy, but to be honest once I saw the ridiculously poor outside scenes all sense of immersion was lost. I have never seen such a bad skybox as those outdoor levels since I made a few UT levels, and from that point on the engine's magic was broken and everything I looked at disintegrated into its component parts.

Yea, it is funny, Doom3 was nailed for not having any outdoors, Quake4 attempted to remedy that only to leave people realizing that theres a reason Doom3 didn't have any outdoors.

And yea you are right about the girl egging you on. It is good to want to find out what is happening and FEAR did execute that better than Quake4. The problem though is that the phone voicemails and data analysis were very hard to listen to in my game. Any noise or gunshot completely drowned it out and left me going huh? By the end of the game I think I know what was going on, but there were never any real moments of great revelation. None at the level of say, finding the data vault in Fallout or the level of plot development Geist had (another game about ghosts with a little girl ghost that most people will never play because it slipped in low profile on the gamecube).

 

[Seeruk]

I agree Undying was a decent one (i.e. Horror/FPS) but if my terrible memory serves me right that was almost entirely down to the use of sound! I played it just like you (dark room and headphones) and they really did use sound brilliantly. But that is done just as well in FEAR and has awesome graphics too....

I differ from you in that I despise Linearity of any description (thus my hatred of most SP games - Read Q4, COD2, D3, and countless others I havent wasted a moment on) and whilst I wouldnt call FEAR non-linear, it has just enough flexibilty to make it feel like you are stumbling around discovering things as opposed to being led by the nose to the next script. It hasnt pulled it off entirely but I guess my OP was to say its refreshing to see a game these days that isnt just a technology demo, that some thought to plot and imagination had gone into it.

 

[skace]

Yea, Undying had sound, but it had so much more. The entire ambience was set perfectly, from the start of the game where that giant beasts runs past the entrance gate. Undying had the scrying stone, which when used showed you stuff in front of you that you couldn't see otherwise (Sometimes ghosts, sometimes stuff from the past). It captured the horror element to perfection. Dishes would throw themselves at you, the trip into the basement taxed my nerves, the paintings that changed in the scrying stone were freaky, the empty mansion was utterly frightening just to be in. Undying also had legit boss fights.

Also one of the scarier moments in Undying was that hallway full of open windows where all the curtains were blowing out. Not only that, but it had A LOT of different environments. From the mansion to the catacombs to the old gregorian monastery.

Had to reminis a little there, that was a good game

 

[jjzelinski]

Originally posted by: skace
Yea, Undying had sound, but it had so much more. The entire ambience was set perfectly, from the start of the game where that giant beasts runs past the entrance gate. Undying had the scrying stone, which when used showed you stuff in front of you that you couldn't see otherwise (Sometimes ghosts, sometimes stuff from the past). It captured the horror element to perfection. Dishes would throw themselves at you, the trip into the basement taxed my nerves, the paintings that changed in the scrying stone were freaky, the empty mansion was utterly frightening just to be in. Undying also had legit boss fights.

Also one of the scarier moments in Undying was that hallway full of open windows where all the curtains were blowing out. Not only that, but it had A LOT of different environments. From the mansion to the catacombs to the old gregorian monastery.

Had to reminis a little there, that was a good game

You just convinced me to grab it from a bargin bin

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: jjzelinski
You just convinced me to grab it from a bargin bin

Cool . What does it cost these days, 10 bucks?

 

[Seeruk]

Originally posted by: skace
the trip into the basement taxed my nerves

Christ yeah! Forgot all about that <shivers run down spine>

 

[niggles]

Originally posted by: Seeruk
I agree Undying was a decent one (i.e. Horror/FPS) but if my terrible memory serves me right that was almost entirely down to the use of sound! I played it just like you (dark room and headphones) and they really did use sound brilliantly. But that is done just as well in FEAR and has awesome graphics too....

I would say Undying had a lot more than sound going on. The level design was some of the best I have ever seen. The story is well thought out and delivered. Some of the time shifting was brilliant. There was even back story on some of the various monsters that you'd encounter. It was a really really rich environment that turned into environments. It was only the absolute end that I felt a little let down. It's the closest thing to an HP lovecraft book that I've seen turned into a game. The Clive Barker title is a misnomer in my opinion. It is entirely a Lovecraft derivative.

Based on what I'm reading here I'm quite interested in getting F.E.A.R. I've been avoiding it because I understand it's a pig of a game on your system resources, far more than it should be. Still, if the story is that good then maybe I should have a look.

Originally posted by: skace

Originally posted by: jjzelinski
You just convinced me to grab it from a bargin bin

Cool . What does it cost these days, 10 bucks?

In Canada I have seen it for $5... it should be around that in the US.

 

[LiekOMG]

Did you guys who say Undying was scary actually play through the entire game? I mean i'll admit, the first 1/4 or so of the game - the part that still involved you inside that mansion was pretty frightening at times. But anything after that was just a joke. I mean, you go into the past and fight evil monks, and then you fly through some crazy dimensions, and lastly you kill pirates in caves. The game lost its appeal after 2-3 hours of gameplay to me.

If you truly want to play something not just scary, but *terrifying*, try System Shock 2. Nothing beats the level of suspense and fear you get from that game. Except maybe the Shalebridge Cradle level in Thief 3

 

[nfamous]

I haven't finished FEAR yet, I'm in the middle. Other people have made this comment too, but the middle is boring!! How many more offices can I walk through? If it wasn't for the fact that the firefights are so amazing, I would have stopped playing. Kudos to HL2 & COD2, the changing enviroments kept things very interesting. D3, Fear, & Q4 all have too much level sameness... Also, the first bit of the game it was something spooky every few minutes...now...it's every 20, 30 minutes..

The ladder thing was the spookiest....i jumped out of my seat. I want more of that in the game!

 

[niggles]

Originally posted by: DOACleric
Did you guys who say Undying was scary actually play through the entire game? I mean i'll admit, the first 1/4 or so of the game - the part that still involved you inside that mansion was pretty frightening at times. But anything after that was just a joke. I mean, you go into the past and fight evil monks, and then you fly through some crazy dimensions, and lastly you kill pirates in caves. The game lost its appeal after 2-3 hours of gameplay to me.

If you truly want to play something not just scary, but *terrifying*, try System Shock 2. Nothing beats the level of suspense and fear you get from that game. Except maybe the Shalebridge Cradle level in Thief 3

I'm not going to play blank was better than blank... SS2 was an absolutly awesome game, but for different reasons. I've played through undying twice and both times I loved it. Certainly the pirate caves were not frightening, but the monestary had me going the first time through as I didn't know what was going to be in there. The crypts were also pretty damn creapy. Certainly the second time through was no where near as scary, but the first time was brilliant. It didn't necessarily scare me all the time, but when it did it did it well. When it didn't I was actually a little relieved, I needed a break from my pounding heart.

 

[Todd33]

I'm like 6 hours into FER. I don't have a clue what the story is about. I am forever chasing the bad guy, I'm always alone and the environment is some bland concrete sewer or office building. Every turn looks like the previous turn. The combat is fun, but the level design and texture art is pretty bland. The physics are also pretty bad, stuff wobbles and shoots sideways too often. So far the fun thing are the grenades and slowmo, solid 7/10. Mush better than D3, but that isn't saying much.

It reminds me of Sin sometimes.

 

[skace]

Yea, you should have caught the bad guy within the first few levels and he should have given you some decent plot developement and then sent you after something else. The funniest thing is the loading screens in FEAR are always listing the same objectives. Find this guy, ok still finding this guy, ok operation93 you still can't find this guy. Haha.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: DOACleric
If you truly want to play something not just scary, but *terrifying*, try System Shock 2. Nothing beats the level of suspense and fear you get from that game. Except maybe the Shalebridge Cradle level in Thief 3

Well, when I brought up Undying it wasn't to make the statement that it was the best ever. SS2 is a very scary game also. The Shalebridge level is pretty scary too, yes. Personally, to me though if you didn't get more scared of Undying than Shalebridge than something was wrong. Because the encounters in Shalebridge are just the tip of what Undying had to offer.

 

[Todd33]

I thought there only was one mission screen. LOL.

"We caught his signal, he's just ahead!"
4 houirs later...
"He's just up ahead.."

I think the guys telling me this are just playing a prank on the new guy, making me run around office buildings shooting innocent people.

 

[platinumike]

I played fear Up until interval 3 or so. I didnt like it. The gunplay, man that is amazing, the absolute best in any game yet. However, it just lacked the immersive feeling that HL2 or even the opening part of Doom 3 gave you. I stopped playing because i could see i would get bored of it very very soon, the same environments over and over again. Forgot to mention the ai, that was a real kick, amazing. Other than that, I didnt like the games way of scaring you with random pictures of a gorey dudes face.

-what i wish...If they could take Fear's gameplay...mix it with Half Life 2's immersiveness and cinematic feel mixed with a story like Deus ex....That would be one heckuva game.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: jjzelinski
You just convinced me to grab it from a bargin bin

Ditto. I'd heard of this game before, but didn't realize it was great or anything.

 

[niggles]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: jjzelinski
You just convinced me to grab it from a bargin bin

Ditto. I'd heard of this game before, but didn't realize it was great or anything.

When it came out it was completely underated and over looked. I bought it about a month after it came out and got it in a bargain bin. I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise.

Edit: oh, and I just picked up FEAR, too bad I couldn't get the DVD version. I wish they'd stop releasing these large games on anything but DVD. It's a pain in the butt having to load up 5 cds.

 

[BW86]

what an amazing game. :thumbsup:

 

[Pocatello]

I like the game, but the environment, while very well done, is too repetitive. Actually, the whole thing is too repetitive. It was fun, but I wouldn't want to play it again. The game should be called Doom 3 with built-in flash light, Doom 3.5.

 

[Mo0o]

Here's my writeup, includes SPOILERS

Just finished the game myself. I think overall the game was OK but nothing absolutely ground breaking. Here are more criticisms:

1. The scariness wore off after awhile. They really didn't slip in enough scare tactics and you could always tell when something was going to happen because you saw the "Unknown Origin" status. I wish they would mix in more of Alma's voice and what not. Another cool thing would be to have part of a level in near darkness and when your flashlight went out and you turn it back on, Alma could be right there. Anyways i think good concept but not fully implemented
2. The scenery is repetitive. The level designs are uninspired and I feel like im going around in circles. The level design only got interesting near the end with the Origin base. If you compare this to the Doom3, Quake4, or HL2 it doesn't even feel like the same generation.
3. None of the enemies are very hard to kill and they basically do the same thing. The mechnized units never cross a certain invisible barrier so if you just hid behind a corner a little pass that, you can just toss grenades all day long.
4. Storyline not very developed. I really wish they would have revealed more of the whole plot throughout the missions. What I really would have loved is to see what Alma went through or what Fettel went through. They tried to make Fettel into a tragic victim of Armacham and not just a pure evil character so it would have been interesting to see his psychic training and what not.
5. Plot holes and general oddness:
-Why would the soldiers swear if they're just automatons? And why do they need to "communicate" with each other if Fettel is controlling them.
-What happened to Jancowski? Maybe i just missed this part
-What the hell were those zombies at the end. Cliche and didn't really get explained
-Also why did the armacham boss want to release Alma? What was the point of that.
-I really wanted to see what was inside the round chamber, to see how Alma was kept

 

[BespinReactorShaft]

Originally posted by: DOACleric
Did you guys who say Undying was scary actually play through the entire game? I mean i'll admit, the first 1/4 or so of the game - the part that still involved you inside that mansion was pretty frightening at times. But anything after that was just a joke. I mean, you go into the past and fight evil monks, and then you fly through some crazy dimensions, and lastly you kill pirates in caves. The game lost its appeal after 2-3 hours of gameplay to me.

If you truly want to play something not just scary, but *terrifying*, try System Shock 2. Nothing beats the level of suspense and fear you get from that game. Except maybe the Shalebridge Cradle level in Thief 3

That's kinda good to know. I've got both Undying and SS2 on hold at the moment (too scared to go on ).

FEAR doesn't feel quite the same, perhaps because the things that scare you aren't the ones that put you in mortal danger. Especially in the earlier stages, Undying's howlers and SS2's zombies are able to freak you out and turn you into raw hamburger with equal ease.