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First Encounter Assault Recon
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F.E.A.R. - First Encounter Assault Recon is a first-person shooter psychological horror video game for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It is the first game in the F.E.A.R. series. Developed by Monolith Productions and originally published by Vivendi Universal Games under the Sierra Entertainment label, the game was released for Windows in October 2005 in both a standard edition and a Director's Edition. Day 1 Studios ported the game to the Xbox 360 in October 2006 and to the PlayStation 3 in April 2007. Two standalone expansion packs were released for the Windows and Xbox 360 versions of the game, both developed by TimeGate Studios; F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (2006) and F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (2007). Released on Windows in March 2007, F.E.A.R. Gold Edition includes all the content from the Director's Edition plus Extraction Point, whilst F.E.A.R. Platinum Collection, released for Windows in November 2007, includes the Director's Edition, Extraction Point, and Perseus Mandate. Neither expansion is now considered canon, as the Monolith-developed F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin ignores the events of both.
Graphically, the Xbox 360 version was equivalent to the PC version on maximum settings and Day 1 also increased the native resolution to 720p and added high dynamic range lighting, an advanced particle system, and HD textures. The Xbox version also features an exclusive bonus level not found in the PC original, which depicts Holiday's attempt to extract Bishop from ATC headquarters. This version also features a new weapon – dual-wielded automatic handguns.
The PlayStation 3 version features the same Instant Action mode as the Xbox 360 version. It also has its exclusive additional weapon (a street sweeper shotgun) and bonus mission, which depicts the Delta Force recon team's journey through ATC headquarters before encountering Alma. Like the Xbox version, the game's native resolution was 720p, but the other enhancements were removed for this version. In early November, Sierra announced that the PlayStation 3 port had been pushed back to February 2007. In February, they announced it had been pushed back to April.
Although the atmosphere of the game was heavily influenced by Japanese horror, Monolith's primary goal with F.E.A.R was to make the player feel like the hero of an action film. To this end, they combined a slow-motion technique called "reflex time", a semi-destructible environment, and a highly detailed particle system in an attempt to create as immersive an environment as possible. Another vital element in this is the game's AI, with Monolith employing a never-before-used technique to give hostile NPCs an unusually broad range of actions in response to what the player is doing. This results in NPCs who can also work as a team, such as performing flanking maneuvers, laying down suppressive fire, and attempting to retreat when under heavy fire.
Upon its initial Windows release, F.E.A.R. was very well received, with the AI garnering special praise. Critics also lauded the graphics, atmosphere, sound design, music, and combat mechanics. Common points of criticism were a lack of enemy variety, a weak plot, and repetitive level design. The Xbox 360 version was also well received, but the PlayStation 3 version met with mixed reviews, with many critics unimpressed with the port's technical issues and graphical inferiority. The game was a commercial success, selling over three million units worldwide across all three systems.
Plot
The game's story revolves around the fictional F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) unit, an elite group in the United States Army tasked with investigating supernatural phenomena. When a private military company's secret research program goes wrong and a dangerous and powerful psychic is unleashed, F.E.A.R. is called in, with the player taking on the role of the unit's newest recruit, Point Man. However, it soon becomes apparent there is much more going on than a rogue psychic as Point Man finds himself facing a lethal and unpredictable paranormal menace in the form of a young girl with extraordinary destructive power.
Why You Should Not Be F.E.A.R. ed
- The environments are creepy, along with the terrifying ambient soundtrack.
- The story is unique as it is told through various voicemails that can be found throughout the game.
- This game along with Alien: Isolation, Half-Life series, and Condemned series has one of the best A.I in the entire gaming history, the enemies in this game will respond to each kill you make and the last one will panic once he finds out the others are dead, letting you know when you almost killed them all, they will also try their best to flank you.
- The special particle effects and physics are amazing, along with the lighting effects,
- The plot is quite interesting, you play as a Recon unit named Point Man who has to investigate a supernatural phenomenon while at the same time facing an unpredictable paranormal menace of a young girl named "Alma".
- There are multiple action and terror-filled scenarios, or intervals as called in the game.
- Just like Chaser (but done better than that game), Point Man can use his special reflexes powers such as the slow-mo ability (similar to the "Bullet Time" feature from Max Payne (video game) which is useful for gaining advantage in battle.
- There are several hidden reflex boosters scattered around through every interval to enhance health and the player´s ability to slow down time.
- There is a huge arsenal of weapons to choose from, ranging from simple handguns to rocket launchers and particle weapons. The VK-12 combat shotgun (Franchi SPAS-12) is an excellent choice, it is also one of the best shotguns in games, right next to the Super Shotgun from the Doom series.
- The expansion packs and the console versions extended the arsenal even more, with the console version each having its weapons: The Xbox 360 version has an SM15 Machine Pistol which can be dual-wielded, and the PlayStation 3 version has a Watson Automatic Shotgun.
- The game has a perfect mixture of FPS action shooting gameplay combined with horror and supernatural elements.
- The graphics are outstanding for 2005 standards and they still look impressive for its time and even today.
- It spawned two expansion packs titled: Extraction Point in 2006 and Perseus Mandate in 2007, both of which add more to the game's plot
- The console version while also adding two new weapons each exclusive to the other, also includes an exclusive instant action mode and bonus missions.
- F.E.A.R Files (The Xbox 360 ports for the expansion packs), includes seven new instant action maps and five new multiplayer maps.
Bad Qualities
- The endings for all three games are abrupt and unsatisfying.
- Like Crysis but to a lower extent, the PC port can be very intensive.
- The PS3 version is inferior to the PC port and the Xbox 360 port, due to bad controls, lower framerate, and downgraded graphics.
- Although it did have a better exclusive weapon which is The Watson Automatic Shotgun compared to its weak Xbox 360 weapon exclusive the SM15 Machine Pistol.
- Sadly as good as the two Expansions are, they are considered non-canon, as evident by its sequel.
- The Elite Nightcrawlers in the Perseus Mandate expansion are annoying enemies as they take too much damage to kill and they can kill you instantly, especially with the grenades.
- Even worse, they also have slow-mo ability, and they sometimes don't flinch when they take damage.
Reception
The initial PC release received "generally favorable reviews" and scored 88 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 57 reviews.
Comments
- ↑ Released under the Sierra Entertainment brand.