F.E.A.R. 3 – Mother Would Not Approve

Nearly six years and hundreds of shooters later, F.E.A.R. still remains one of my favorites. Even though technology has evolved since then by leaps and bounds, few games have managed to match this title’s penchant for stylish destruction. Fusing balls-to-the-wall action with some truly creepy moments, F.E.A.R. paved the way for a new breed of shooters. And it’s a real pity that none of its predecessors followed that path. The expansion packs that followed weren’t a patch on Monolith’s beast and neither was the full-fledged sequel developed by Monolith themselves. It’s because of this I never really had high hopes for F.E.A.R. 3 or F.3.A.R., as the cool kids call it. And this cynicism has definitely worked in my favor. It’s not that F.E.A.R. 3 is a bad game; it’s just yet another generic shooter with a few enjoyable moments that cannot live up to the legacy laid down by its predecessor.

No need to lose your head over this

F.E.A.R. 3 takes place after the events of the second game and if you haven’t played it or its predecessor, you’re kinda screwed. The game tries to fill players in on all the horrific events of days gone by but you’ll still be left scratching your head at the end of the day wondering how deep the rabbit hole really went. For your first playthrough, you’ll step into the genetically modified boots of Point Man, the nameless protagonist from F.E.A.R. who’s heightened sense of reflexes allow him to slow time down. Plus he’s rocking a beard right now and nothing says I’m a badass more than a well groomed beard.

As Point Man, gameplay is your standard shooter fare where you move from one level to another, slowing time down, shooting enemies in the face. The reason I sound less than excited about F.E.A.R. 3’s single player is because it lacked everything that made the first game a blast. For one, destruction is nearly negligible in this game as opposed to F.E.A.R. where bullets would rip the concrete off walls, shell cases would bounce all over the place and you felt like you were in the midst of an intense gun fight. In fact you can’t even shoot an enemy standing behind a wooden table because your bullets can’t penetrate jack in this game. Grenades when thrown don’t feel like powerful little balls of death setting off shock waves decimating everything in sight. They feel more like powerful little firecrackers in both sight and sound. F.E.A.R was also well known for its wicked AI that made life pretty tough for players. F.E.A.R. 3 on the other hand (on Normal) was a cakewalk with its brain dead AI that allowed me to waltz all over their Neanderthal butts.

Let's play catch the zombie bum

Once you take out the whole chaotic action from the equation, F.E.A.R. 3 becomes nothing more than a generic modern day shooter with a few scares thrown in. As opposed to the first game that made many seasoned gamers pee in their pants, this one’s content with a few flashes of creepy naked girls and a few visual effects that distort vision. The game does pick up a bit towards the end but just as you’re getting into it, it ends.