F.E.A.R. Series Catch-All

so this is worth a rental then, eh?

mikeohara wrote:

so this is worth a rental then, eh?

I can't vouch for the console versions, but so far I'm having a good time. The HUD is less intrusive, it runs well, and it has the same fun combat that the series is known for. So far there's not been as many scares as I would have liked, but I'm still just in Interval 01; I'm sure they'll crank it up later on.

Wait a cotton-pickin' minute here! Is the F.E.A.R. organization supplying weapons to Armacham? Dirty dealings indeed...

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/fear31.jpg)

More Spanish! I can't speak a lick of it, but I thought it might be fun to try and translate it. Let's see.. para.. something relating to guarding. So.. Control Center for Prisoner Guards? Was I close?

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/fear32.jpg)

I can't say why, but for some reason the chunky faucet spigot/knob pleases me. That's always amusing when a game stirs some pleasant memory that you didn't know you had.

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/fear33.jpg)

Ooh another one.... Recycle... cans & bottles?

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/fear34.jpg)

I'm amused by some of the enemy chatter. Sometimes they'll say things like 'You see that sh*t?' when all I'm doing is hiding behind a crate. Even my crouching behind a big box skills are eXtreme!

Halfway through the FEAR 3 quick look on Giant Bomb (http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-...) and I have to say the game looks strong. What's interesting is how fluid the Crysis 2/Killzone-style cover system looks and it actually feels like an integral gameplay mechanic. A far cry from the useless "flip over a tiny desk for cover" trigger points of FEAR 2.

This is tragic though. FEAR 3 on console is going for $69.99 for some bizarre reason, which is way too much to pay for a "second-tier" FPS. Seems like a worthy buy after a price drop, but by the time that happens there may not be much of a multiplayer community hanging around, meaning there won't be as much opportunitiy to play the best parts of the game (based on many reviews), multiplayer and co-op.

Maclintok wrote:

Halfway through the FEAR 3 quick look on Giant Bomb (http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-...) and I have to say the game looks strong. What's interesting is how fluid the Crysis 2/Killzone-style cover system looks and it actually feels like an integral gameplay mechanic. A far cry from the useless "flip over a tiny desk for cover" trigger points of FEAR 2.

So far the cover system isn't too annoying, save for the icon that pops up any time you get too close to a potential cover point. If you stay behind cover long enough enemies may forget about you, which is sort of amusing. 'Where'd he go? Area clear!', even though you were shooting at them thirty seconds ago from behind a box.

Just finished Interval 01: 2 hours and five minutes on fearless according to the game timer. That bodes well for the length of the single player game if the other intervals are as long as Interval 01!

EDIT: One thing I'm disappointed in so far is the untapped potential in the psychic links. I so hoped that we would bear witness to a cutscene with a few brief moments of the dead person's memory; a shot of a child on a swingset, a wedding, a folded, unimpressive report card held in a trembling hand, the first fish pulled from a creek on a hot summer day when the air is alive with the buzz of insects. Instead, the corpse just vanishes and we see a '+X points' message. >.<
Missed opportunity!

DrJekl and I started a co-op run (360) on this one last night. Finished the first three intervals. As stated already, the gun mechanics are good and I like the cover system. It's easy to use and feels right.

My biggest gripe is the point/challenge system. FEAR for me has always been about shooting and atmosphere. The story has never been great, but the creepy feel was well done in the first game. It took a bit of a back seat to the attempted shocks and fast action in the second one, and now with the score system the game feels like a shooting gallery. I'd have been ok with this had it been more of a BulletStorm style game, but melding this with the FEAR franchise just detracts from what makes FEAR its own animal.

I'm still enjoying the shooting aspects, but just a bit disappointed in the focus shift.

I thought the psychic links were supposed to tie into that and do something for Fettel if he's your wingman. Not sure where I heard that though. Maybe I dreamt it?

Anyway, I'm into the 2nd Interval now and I'm generally pleased. I need to tweak the controls though because I played 1 on the PC and have moved to console for 3. The feel is "off" for me but that might be the lack of mouse accuracy. Still, it's never stopped being fun to go slow mo, paste one Armacham PMC with a shotgun and then slide kick his partner into a pile of boxes.

I kind of like the challenges earning level-up points. It's a good way to make me mix it up and try out other tactics since I'm robbing myself of my next level and new combat moves or perks if I just use the same gun or same approach over and over again.

There are some good scares. So far the room that most messed me and my wife up was just empty space with pulsing red lights. Not even a ghost, just the anticipation of one.

About the arms dealing, weren't FEAR created by Armacham through some backdoor dealings as their clean-up crew? Pointman is their baby after all. Makes sense that they would reroute the guns to their own PMCs then, rather than letting them get into the hands of their rogue paramilitary unit. Of course, then we just go and take them . . .

gains wrote:

I thought the psychic links were supposed to tie into that and do something for Fettel if he's your wingman. Not sure where I heard that though. Maybe I dreamt it?

Ah, that would make sense. As it is now in the single player it feels more like an 'Eat corpse! Gain 1500 points!' sort of endeavor.

About the arms dealing, weren't FEAR created by Armacham through some backdoor dealings as their clean-up crew? Pointman is their baby after all. Makes sense that they would reroute the guns to their own PMCs then, rather than letting them get into the hands of their rogue paramilitary unit. Of course, then we just go and take them . . .

Hmm... I thought that the F.E.A.R. team was a secret arm of the U.S. government designed to handle paranormal hi-jinx. Still, Armacham has its fingers in so many pockets that it could very well be engaged in some weapons deals; have to keep those foul-mouthed employees armed somehow.

Can you also play the multiplayer modes in splitscreen?

Puce Moose wrote:

More Spanish! I can't speak a lick of it, but I thought it might be fun to try and translate it. Let's see.. para.. something relating to guarding. So.. Control Center for Prisoner Guards? Was I close?

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/fear32.jpg)

I can't say why, but for some reason the chunky faucet spigot/knob pleases me. That's always amusing when a game stirs some pleasant memory that you didn't know you had.

Ooh another one.... Recycle... cans & bottles?

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/fear34.jpg)

That's "door control room." (Room of control for doors)

Backwards, but yes. "Jars and cans."

Frascos e latas?

"E" is only used for "Y" (And) when the word after it starts with a phoneticall "I".EG: "Aguja e hilo"=needle and thread

/derail= Freaking Ghosts! Slow mo!

Feeank wrote:

Frascos e latas?

"E" is only used for "Y" (And) when the word after it starts with a phoneticall "I".EG: "Aguja e hilo"=needle and thread

/derail= Freaking Ghosts! Slow mo!

Good. Let the hate flow through you.

AcidCat wrote:

Can you also play the multiplayer modes in splitscreen?

You can on the 360 and PS3 versions.

Thanks for the translation assistance! I realize that I could just plug all of this stuff into a boring ol' online translator, but it's far more enjoyable to have some community input. I'm in Interval 02 and I found another one.

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/fear35.jpg)

Mini Mercado - based on the Mini, I'm going to imagine that mercado is market.
Leoncio - Hmm.. Leonine, Lion?
Carne - ah! I bet that's meat. Carnivore, etc. I've seen carne asada tacos as well.
Fresca - I've consumed a diet beverage named Fresca. I believe it means fresh.
Frutas y Verduras. Ah! Giveaway, based on the frutas. Fruits and vegetables!
So...
LION MINI MARKET
FRESH MEAT
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

wordsmythe wrote:
Feeank wrote:

Frascos e latas?

"E" is only used for "Y" (And) when the word after it starts with a phoneticall "I".EG: "Aguja e hilo"=needle and thread

/derail= Freaking Ghosts! Slow mo!

Good. Let the hate flow through you.

I'll never join you Wordpatine!

Seriously though, this trend of no scares and plenty of grammatical horrors worries me.

Puce: Leoncio is just a noun, the name of the minimarket

[size=8]Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she all right?[/size]

LEONCIO! That gave me quite a laugh. My best friend reads a lot of porno... err, urban fantasy/period fiction, and she often encounters male leads with amusing (considering uncultured southern U.S. tastes) names.
Maximus!
Gregarius!
Forlantio!

And now.. LEONCIO! I'll have to ask her if she's ever read a book with a dashing male with such a name.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program. I hope that the rest of FEAR 3 is better than Interval 02, because, frankly, it was downright awful.
It reminded me, repeatedly, of HOMEFRONT. The feel, the level design, the enemy placement. Now, I don't have any great hate against HOMEFRONT, but the LAST thing I want my survival horror FPS game to remind me of is.. HOMEFRONT. Mediocre voice acting, hordes of enemies, fighting through identical set-pieces (apparently everyone in this Spanish town has the same Jesus painting on the wall), even the 'race to the chopper' segment. Yuck.
Perhaps most egregious was the growing suspicion that the weapon crates were tailored to the weapons that I was carrying; that sort of pandering always drives me into a rage; call it a personal pet peeve.
The A.I. also seemed dumber than I have ever remembered; as I hid behind a closed door, enemies kicked open the door after a nearly identical second count before being pulped by my shotgun, followed by the squad saying 'lost contact'. Rinse, lather, repeat until the area was clear. I never remember FEAR 1/2 having that sort of stupidity, though maybe it's rose-tinted glasses speaking.

Nowhere but up from here, kiddos! Hopefully I'll have a glowing report on Interval 03.

Hmm.. I wonder what I'm doing to keep my aggression so low? It was a zero (or maybe 1) in Interval 01 as well. Perhaps it's all of my hiding and bucket-standing.

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/fear36.jpg)

Hooray! So far Interval 03 is back to that good ol' cozy FEAR style instead of feeling like an icky Call of Duty. Creeping through a damaged warehouse, no fighting, lots of scares, creepy bloody drawings - sweet!

Well, Giantbomb's review is in, and it isn't good.

Although I would have preferred that Brad review this particular game (since his tastes are similar to my own), Ryan's review points out a number of fatal flaws the in game's key mechanics and pacing:

Ryan wrote:
Spoiler:

With its shared, relatively short single-player and co-op structure, F.E.A.R. 3 seems to operate under the presumption that you'll want to play through these scenarios repeatedly--even if you have no interest in co-op.

Ryan wrote:
Spoiler:

The game feels impatient, unwilling to allow any tension to build, constantly pushing you forward into the next firefight. I feel like it's incredibly telling that, in addition to a number of combat challenges that can earn you enhanced character abilities, each chapter has a pace time for you to beat. It's a point that tells players "don't worry about the mood, just run as fast as you can!" and it's a notion that's anathema to the spirit of F.E.A.R..

There's no doubt I'll be buying this game at some point, but I am seriously bummed.

Deadmonkeys wrote:

There's no doubt I'll be buying this game at some point, but I am seriously bummed.

I've not finished it yet, and I haven't read completely through any reviews, but I did take a peek at your spoilers. I agree with those comments. I'm a grizzled old grunion, a single-player-only-FPS-player. If I could stuff a live cockroach in the mouth of any developer who mentioned co-op in conjunction with FPS series I enjoy, I'd do it in a heartbeat. That said, I've enjoyed FEAR 3. I've actually been mentally planning a long, slightly snarky interview-style (Puce Moose interviews the FEAR 3 devs!) review that I plan to post here when I beat the game (currently playing an interval a night (each interval has taken me about two hours so far; I'm tripling the recommended 'pace' times so far without exception, so hopefully those are intended to be speed run times)), which will hopefully be of benefit to those who partake of FEAR as a spooky, lights out, slow-crawl single-player experience. There's so much wrong with it, yet I'm still having fun. It should make for an interesting read, at least for me. Err, I mean, for those like me. Who aren't me. Well, you know what I mean.

The game certainly feels like it was meant to be played co-op. No doubt about it. I still think the combat is what you would expect from a FEAR game though. Day 1 should be allowed to make a new Soldier of Fortune title. I agree with most of the reviews (which have been surprisingly positive), which is once you get over the lack of atmosphere and art direction, it's still worth a play through.

There's a new patch for the game. One of the most important changes is the ability to modify the field of view & motion blur; there's an options.cfg file that you can modify (with notepad or any other text editor) to change several settings. It should be located in your Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\f.e.a.r. 3 folder.

I'm in Interval 07 right now, and will probably finish the game tonight (assuming Interval 08 isn't enormous.) I've had very mixed feelings on the game, and can't remember a title in recent memory that has seen me vacillate so quickly between enjoyment and irritation. My interview thingie is about half done, so I'll probably post it in a day or two.

Any ideas on this screenshot? I get the feeling that the name of the newspaper should bear an obvious reference, but it's going over my head if so.

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/icky.jpg)

I'm enjoying the game though I'm not sure if it will have any legs for me.

The good: The devs really nailed the gunplay. The weapons and combat feel great. To me this is the most important aspect of an FPS. I can forgive a lot if the combat feels right.

The not so good: I played the first 2 FEAR games and I'm still confused as to what the hell is going on with the plot. It does really feel like it was intended for co-op. Sadly, no one on my friends list (Xbox) is playing the game. The multiplayer 'horde' mode also seems like it would be a lot of fun.

Ryan Davis mentioned on the bombcast that he came to understand that this game was originally in development years ago as F.E.A.R. 2 back when Vivendi still had the rights to the name and Monolith was forced to call their sequel "Project Origin". Then it was cancelled when Vivendi/Sierra got bought out by Activision and Monolith got the name back. It certainly explains the disjointed story that feels like the ties to FEAR 2 are shoehorned in via pre-rendered cutscenes, and how the visual quality of the game is also all over the place.

I finished FEAR 3's single-player campaign this evening. I screen-
shotted the various mission-end screens to generate a reasonably
accurate time-to-finish-single-player-campaign. Look! I even added
them up on a website that does that kind of oh-so-complex math!

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/f31.jpg)

As threatened I'm doing a review of my time spent with the game.I love
the F.E.A.R. series in general, so a lot of my feelings on the third
official main installment may seem snarky, minutae-focused, or
bizarrre. That's fine. I play F.E.A.R. for the spooky single-player
experience, and that's the mindset with which I approach this review.

Before I even began to coax my thoughts into a semi-readable form I
found myself disarmed by Interval 08. I love the fact that the FEAR
series refers to its various game segments as intervals instead of
chapters or episodes. I don't know why, but I do.

After Interval 08, it occured to me that I'm not a good movie critic.
If there's one scene that I really love, I tend to remember the movie
for that one scene and forgive it almost every other flaw. Take the
first Transformers movie; I loved it, and it's largely because of
that initial scene where Blackout wipes out the military base. I
worry my objectivity is similarly compromised with games.

I loved Interval 08. Nothing but a pistol, menacingly surrounded by
exposition, beset on all sides by character development, the ability
to actually get turned around and become disoriented as various new
expository segments opened (!!!!) instead of marching in a straight
path down an enemy-filled corridor, plenty of voice acting,
creepiness, and an enemy we can't kill. I was in heaven. Downright
craziness after that, and then, and THEN! A lengthy stinger after the
credits roll. It's as if the game slapped me in the face repeatedly,
came home at 3am with lipstick on its collar, then, just as I'm
tearily dialing up my divorce lawyer, it makes my favorite meal while
looking me in the eyes with tears running down its cheeks and says
'I'm sorry baby. I was bad to you, but all that's behind us now.'

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/f37.jpg)
The horror and dehumanization was just what I wanted from this segment of the game. I felt warm and cuddly inside.

That's not entirely fair. There were other good times; one of the
creepiest moments in the game was not televangelized by foreboding
music; it occured under shadows cast by rain beating on skylights, a
moment of peace amidst turmoil rendered horrific by a silent
passenger, shared only with those who chose to turn their heads to
gaze at their past at an opportune time.

There were moments where firearm triggers were not depressed,
creeping through a broken store. For every awful lowest-common-
denominator CoD style street crawl you subjected me to, there was at
least.. well, there were some FEAR-worthy creep-outs.
Remember in Interval 08, with the sound of the creaking merry-go-
round and the forest there with TREES? You could turn your head and
look at the trees. I remember that.

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/f33.jpg)

But then.. times weren't always so good. I've tried to forget it,
but.. I stll remember it. You'd come home drunk, and force me to pick
up an Uzi or something equally ridiculous for a non-discrete
neutralization team. I tried to play it off with a laugh, but.. you
wouldn't stop. You made me pick up TWO OF THEM. At once. I couldn't
just hold one; you weren't satisfied until you saw me with one in
each hand, firing like a complete idiot. You never even stopped to
think I might just want to pick up one; not even once. It was
something you saw in a movie, wasn't it? You thought it was cool,
never stopping to think how it might make ME feel. Your dancing
little puppeteer.

*Sigh* I can't help but think of the things you used to do to bring a
smile to my face. Do you remember the proximity mines? The mini-
turrets? When was the last time you brought one of those home? It
made you so special, so different from the rest. Now it's just a tiny
assortment of boring, difficult-to-accurately-toss grenades, night
after night. Don't you think I'm pretty and special any more? Where's
that person I fell in love with, who encouraged me to crouch behind a
wall, grinning, as my lovingly-deployed mini-turret chewed up the
opposition?

While I'm on the subject, do you remember when you used to leave
little presents for me? Bits of armor, or lovingly-provided first-aid
kits? I would cherish each one, holding it fast, feeling warmed and
loved for your consideration. Each would be a treasure, used only in
my darkest hour. Lately, though, you don't leave anything behind.
Maybe it's me. Maybe it's fault. Though I do tend to project a
stubborn, stoic facade, healing from any slight within a ridiculously
small time period, I still need you. I still need your consideration,
your thoughts. I want to creep softly through those moments of fear
and isolation, using your gifts only when the hour grows darkest.

Do you remember when you used to leave me messages? I loved the sound
of your voice. And that adorable journal you gave me, filled with
your thoughts on the gifts you've given me? I can't remember the last
time you did something like that for me. I remember eagerly, with
child-like joy, racing for a red blinky light on a phone. Now I get
the feeling you don't want to talk to me any more. Even worse, it
seems like you're trying to distract me with someone else; 'go be
with that other person! Play with him', instead of entertaining me
for hours the way you used to do with your fun stories and messages
and notes. You know, you and me.
(FEAR VOICEMAIL PHONE) image search returned this image, so that's
what you get.
IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/f34.jpg)

While I'm on the subject, I can't help but feel like you're insulting
me. 'Stay still, honey, for 100 seconds behind this box, and I'll
give you a cookie?' Really? Is that what I am to you? Some sort of
challenge, to see what demeaning thing you can get me to do to add
another notch on your bedpost? What happened to the days when we were
in this together, tooth-and-nail, just trying to survive, and see
how this great big rollercoaster played out? I remember running
through darkened halls with your precious gifts clutched to my chest,
hoping to survive to see another day. I wasn't worried about how
stylish I looked while jumping through the door; I just wanted to
make it to the door.

Also, and I don't mean to embarass you, but do you remember how much
I enjoyed your... Penetrator, all those years ago? It was quite a
thrill, and I certainly didn't mind when you decided to call it a
'hammerhead' *giggle* a few years ago. But now.. even though you've
decided to dabble a bit in nostalgia and call it the penetrator
again, I can't help but feel that you've lost touch with what made it
so special in the first place. No offense my dear, but it looks just
like any other... weapon, and it fires too rapidly, seems too weak,
and lacks proper feedback from those it strikes. I didn't even know
that it was the special penetrator until I got close enough to
examine its effect on an enemy! That's no way to treat your most
interesting 'special weapon', my love.

Do you remember the way you used to talk to me in that special way?
When you said I was 'too fast', I knew you were talking about the way
I could zip around faster than the eye could see. When you said 'Did
you see that sh*t?', I grinned and knew you were referring to the way
I lithely hopped away from you in a playful fashion. Now, though,
you'll say those things as if you're on autopilot; several times I
caught you saying 'Did you see that sh*t?" when I was just simply
hiding behind a box, or closing a door. It pains me to think that you
say these sweet things just to woo me and make me feel special, and
not because of something clever I've done. It didn't used to be that
way.

Also,and I hate to be relentlessly negative, but you seem to be..
well, a bit stupider than I've ever seen you. I know that sounds
harsh, but I think it may be related to the silly way you've taken to
inserting numbers in place of letters in words. When you were still
my lovable little FEAR I *never* remember you shouting 'all clear' or
'no contact', kicking open a door, getting shot dead by me, then
having one of your buddies repeat the *exact* same ritual 5-10
seconds later, until you and all of your friends were dead. Is it
just because you keep trying to shove me off onto a friend that you
think you can get away with that sort of ignorant behavior? Where I
wouldn't notice, and just be happily burbling/blasting with a friend
while not really paying attention? Sadly, sometimes I think this is
the case.

Maybe it's all in the amount you care for me. Would you have let this
easily-corrected reversed UV-mapped/mirrored texture show up on a
date with me before? Maybe you just don't care anymore.

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/f32.jpg)

Or this one. Do you think I can't even read?

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/f35.jpg)

Most shamefully, this one. You used this texture on the paint bucket, yet here it is on your flare. You couldn't even be bothered to take 45 seconds to UV map a different tex grid for your flares, yet you highlight them with dancing smoke and fire and flame, encouraging me to take a closer look? How is that supposed to make me feel?

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/f36.jpg)

*sigh* Sometimes I think you don't love me anymore. But then.. I remember the time spent running from the dogs on that train on the bridge, or hiding from an enemy I couldn't kill, whipping my head around, trying to hear if it was still after me. Maybe somewhere in there, you still care.

Regarding the 'reversed' ambulance texture, they actually do that in real life so you can read it in your rear view mirror when one is behind you while you're driving.

Scratched wrote:

Regarding the 'reversed' ambulance texture, they actually do that in real life so you can read it in your rear view mirror when one is behind you while you're driving.

Yeah... Every one I've seen for a long time now has been that way.

Thin_J wrote:
Scratched wrote:

Regarding the 'reversed' ambulance texture, they actually do that in real life so you can read it in your rear view mirror when one is behind you while you're driving.

Yeah... Every one I've seen for a long time now has been that way.

Well I learned something new! Strangely I guess I've paid closer attention to them in games than in real life. I feel like I should knock on wood after typing that since that sounds like a great sentence(s) to start a Twilight Zone episode.

So I walked into the store intent on buying a can of compressed air. I came out with can of said air and a copy of FEAR 3. Bastards had knocked $20 off the initial asking price and apparently that was all it took for me to cave. This, after buying some Steam and GOG goodies. Like I don't have enough to play.

Oh, and only played a bit (several minutes into Interval 02) and I like it. Can't wait to try some of the weird multiplayer modes.

I enjoyed the campaign and fully intended to dig in to the multiplayer but the business trip came on sooner than I had thought. Reaching the end of the game made me forgive the points system, once I realized what it's for. Of course, without playing co-op it's still basically useless but with co-op it would make good sense.

$20 off after 3 weeks?

Not cool, Gamestop. Not cool.

From those folks who've dabbled in the multiplayer and been playing online co-op rather than split screen, has the online side of things been behaving?