Monolith Productions developed a love it or leave it title for the launch of Xbox 360 last year by the name of Condemened: Criminal Origins. While some loved the eerie presentation, others couldn't get past the slow melee combat. At the same time, and using some of the same development tools and assets, Monolith was also putting together a game for the PC called F.E.A.R. This critically acclaimed game had all of the spooky atmosphere of Condemned with some phenomenal AI, intense action and excellent graphics and sound. A year later, F.E.A.R. has found its way to Xbox 360, maintaining the excellent atmosphere and fast paced combat giving console shooter fans the opportunity to experience one outstanding game.
The controls are obviously different from the PC, but they map to the 360 controller quite well. The stick sensitivity has been turned down from the much faster default setting on the PC to one that is much tighter enabling you to aim with accuracy. The sensitivity can be changed through the menu if you find the defaults aren’t to your liking. You can also adjust the button configurations between five different options, though there isn’t any way to play with a southpaw or legacy setup.
F.E.A.R. on PC forced you to make full use of the quick save option since you never knew just when you were going to run into another fight. The save anywhere feature has been dropped for the console in lieu of a checkpoint system. The checkpoints work perfectly as they’re positioned slightly prior to or just after major action sequences. Thus death doesn’t mean replaying long stretches of the game.
The multiplayer side of F.E.A.R. plays in much the same way as it did on PC. There are a few new maps, but the game modes are the same. Those are your standard deathmatch, capture the flag, and elimination (along with team variants of each). The other mode unique to F.E.A.R. allows one person to control the SlowMo by maintaining possession of a booster with the penalty of becoming highlighted on everyone else’s HUD.
The multiplayer game is set for up to 16 players, though you’ll only be able to play one person per console. There is no co-operative mode and you can only take one person online at a time. There also isn’t any system link option, so if you’re without an Xbox Live account you’re out of luck for multiplayer action.
Still, F.E.A.R. multiplayer on Xbox 360 maintains many of the customization options that PC gamers typically enjoy, such as the host’s ability to adjust winning conditions, running speed, weapon restrictions and even point rewards and penalties for specific actions. Turning the running speed up to 1.5 makes the game move in a hectic Quake-like manner and brings the action to a level close to total insanity. We’re fans, made even more so by the lack of lag during our online experience with the retail copy.
F.E.A.R.'s multiplayer is fun and has some excellent options for tweaking the game, but it has a serious hiccup in the lobby. That being the lack of a post-game lobby. As soon as you finish a game, you’ll be kicked back out to the menu screen without so much as a chance to say goodbye. This happens even on unranked matches where you are presumably playing with friends making it more than a little frustrating to get into an extended online session with some buddies. When asked about any plans to update this, we were told that none were in the pipeline as of yet.
As we’ve stated before, the graphics are a sight to behold. Although the environments are repetitive, a great attention to detail is present that brings the world to life. Everything looks realistic with great models and textures, making the imagery that much more disturbing. The lighting keeps you in the dark, pun intended, as to what you’ll come across next. It encourages you to explore nooks with your flashlight in hopes of finding just one more health pack. The lighting also adds enough to the atmosphere to keep you on the edge of your seat and isn’t just there for looks. You’ll find many of the lighting tricks help add to the sense of impending danger that comes so often throughout F.E.A.R.
If the graphics are good, the sound is exceptional. Put this game in a home theater that can handle 5.1 surround sound and you have one great auditory experience. Trickling water, droning bass, and giant explosions that come out of nowhere break the silence in ways that will suck you into the game and then quickly shake you out of your trance. Even the generic elevator music you’ll hear periodically throughout the game hits you in a way that is oddly unsettling. F.E.A.R. was the runner-up to the IGN PC Channels award for “Best use of Sound” last year with good reason; and it all holds up on Xbox 360.
Verdict
F.E.A.R. is great experience that isn’t without its faults. The repetitive environments and less than ideal online and multiplayer situations are a letdown, for sure. F.E.A.R. has made it from the PC to 360 with everything that made it an outstanding experience along with a few new additions including the fantastic Instant Action mode, making it hard to lodge any huge complaints against the game. Those who have played F.E.A.R. on PC may not find enough of a reason to purchase the game again as the added content is fairly limited. If you haven’t yet seen why F.E.A.R. has attracted so many fans, this port to the console is your chance to experience a truly scary game with some great combat. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you when you are lying in bed too scared to find out what is making that shadow on your ceiling.
1·1 year ago