Life isn't always fair. Sometimes you get what you want, while other times find you wishing that things could be different. So it is in the world of video games, where there are dozens of exclusive titles that you'll never be able to play on your favorite system. We know that we won't be seeing a game like Gears of War on the Nintendo Wii, just as it's not likely that Metal Gear Solid 4 will appear on the Xbox 360. When F.E.A.R. was released last year for the PC, Xbox 360 owners were disappointed to hear that there were no plans to bring the game to next-gen consoles. As has happened so many times before, we looked to our PC-owning brethren with more than just a little bit of jealousy in our eyes.
What a difference a year makes. On the eve of the last E3 we'll ever attend, we learned that Vivendi planned to bring the game to the Xbox 360 just in time for the holiday season. We've taken a few looks at the game recently, finding what, at first glance, appears to be a straight-forward FPS with some interesting game mechanics and a bit of creepy atmosphere. However, once you spend a good deal of time with the game, you'll find that looks can be deceiving. F.E.A.R. is one of the best shooters you'll see on the Xbox 360, and while it's not quite as unnerving as Monolith's own Condemned: Criminal Origins, it's still got plenty of downright disturbing moments.
F.E.A.R. is actually an acronym for First Encounter Assault Recon, which is basically an elite military squad that deals primarily with the paranormal. As a member of said team, your character is tasked with tracking down and eliminating Paxton Kettel, a powerful psychic who has a tendency to snack on the faces of his fallen foes (he claims that it lets him see their memories). You'll spend the majority of the game chasing him through military complexes, revealing the truth by finding laptops and phones that piece everything together, as well as via in-game cutscenes (that actually don't explain very much). Plus, what the hell is up with the scary little girl who keeps appearing and
While F.E.A.R.'s core story is essentially run-of-the-mill in terms of video game plots, the game makes up for it by creating a world in which danger lurks around every corner. Actually, it's not so much that there's any danger actually there, it's the fact that it could be there that makes the hairs on your neck stand up. For instance, there's a moment early in the game when you turn to get onto a ladder, and Alma (that's the creepy little girl's name) is standing there and looking at you. I jumped about six inches off of my chair, and every time I got on a ladder from then on, I found my body tensing up in preparation for the worst.
For the most part, F.E.A.R. is a fairly run-of-the-mill shooter, albeit one that looks great. You run through a bunch of corridors, blowing away any resistance that you might come across, slowly unraveling the mystery as you go. Since much of the game is shrouded in darkness, you'll quickly come to rely on your trusty headlamp, although it'll run out of juice if you're not careful. Thankfully, it recharges pretty quickly. You can also interact with your environment in a number of ways, from opening doors to flipping switches to setting traps by blasting fire extinguishers.
