FEAR 3 Review – First Impressions
[UPDATED (July 14, 2011)]
[Ive published my FULL F.E.A.R. 3 Review. Click HERE.]
The developers of the third installment in the PC horror first-person shooter have addressed several things that bogged down FEAR 2. This FEAR 3 review will cover my initial thoughts about the improvements made. These are:
- The cover system is back
- The submachine gun now sounds right
- Level designs have been improved
- Return of the REV powered armor mechs
Since this is a "First Impressions" article, I will of course, make a full critique after I finish the game.
I dont think the game is short. Three hours in and I still have yet to see any serious plot development.The FEAR 3 review after the jump.
First off is FEAR 3�s submachine gun.
The new submachine gun feels powerful without sounding over the top. It�s very satisfying to fire and it even sounds better than the first FEAR�s RPL. Kudos to Day One for rectifying the horrible mistake that was the Andra.
Tactical Firefights
The developers of the PC game have reinstated the cover system---and then some. In addition to leaning, they�ve copied Mass Effect�s cover system, allowing players to pop in and out of cover to take potshots at enemy troops. They�ve also included vaulting and have innovated by implementing a dive feature; pressing space while strafing and in cover causes you to dive to whatever cover is nearby.
Level Design
While most of the levels I�ve ran were mostly corridors, there were a lot of places that allowed the AI to flank me. I�m very happy with this development as FEAR 2 only presented me with enemies that didnt try to maximize their firing arcs. In FEAR 3, ATC forces successfully flanked me a handful of times.
Weapon and Enemy Design
While I�ve yet to encounter Replica forces, FEAR 3 this time has a more cohesive design scheme with the rest of the series. The guns now conform to the art style utilized by FEAR 2; bulky black-grey affairs with touches of color here and there. In my opinion, these are more appealing than the monochromatic guns of the first FEAR.
>>>See my "How to Fix the Jitter Bug in F.E.A.R. 3" article (includes steps on how to go about forcing DirectX 9 in FEAR 3)
The ATC forces are different from the guards in FEAR 1 but I don�t really find them disturbing as much as the Variant VIIs, which deviated radically from the clones present in the first FEAR (see my FEAR 2 Cons Review).
What really struck me as impressive is the developers� decision to include, once again, REV powered armors in the game. In a series that has drastically changed in art style, these one-man ambulatory weapons platforms have always been the staple. Monolith and Day One should have included more of these �constants� though --- a series always needs them. BioShock has its Big Daddys. Metal Gear has its main characters swathed in form-fitting black outfits. The weapons and the mechs are a start though and maybe the developers have decided that the design scheme of the first game is the odd man of the bunch (seeing that FEAR 2 and 3�s firearms look more alike than those of the first FEAR�s.)
UPDATE: The PC release currently suffers from stuttering/jitter problem. No one has posted a solution to but a patch should hopefully be in the works. That or Day One Studios will suffer a major reputation problem.
I�ll expand on this once I finish the campaign. (I will also review the campaign---without giving away spoilers of course.)
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