F.E.A.R. 3

played on hard difficulty in coop. the first few levels of the game seem fun enough, the shooting mechanics are ok, physics seem weighty and the general game feels polished enough. the pacing could be better, especially since about halfway through the game really drops the ball in pretty much every aspect. the level The Bridge is fucking rediculous as in every level previous to it is fucking piss easy, then suddenly it goes from 1 to 11 difficulty all in that level, then never reaches it again. from there its a few more short dull levels, then an incredibly BAD final level where you do nothing but roam around with a narrator talking to you, then a REALLY BAD final boss fight.

Also the story is fucking awful, writing is pretty shit and cliche, ending is lame as hell. a huge step down from all other fear games. (did I mention it has nothing to do with being scary as well?) you unlock the ability to play another character through the entire game once you beat it, as well as insane difficulty. but I already saw the powers he can do in coop, and dont care to play it again on insane obviously.

5.5/10

Pretty underrated as far as im concerned. This is a big stepup from FEAR 2 and i think i may even prefer it to the original level. I play these games for just one reason, and that is the shooting mechanics, and FEAR 3 delivers in this aspect. The weapons are punchy, and enemies reaction to gunfire is very satisfying. The AI is well developed enough that they will flank you and generally make up for a tough challenge. There are a couple of enemies that are bullet sponges and not as enjoyable to fight against, but i didnt find this to be a major issue.

I love the top notch visuals and varied places you get to murder. Soundtrack is pretty unmemorable to me.

This game is only really horror in its aesthetic, and while it can provide a few bone chilling moments, it quickly gets old because most of the time those moments dont impose any sort of danger to the player. The story is pretty lame as well.

On the whole i can see why some people were displeased with it, but for me the stellar gunplay is more than enough to make up for its other flaws. Its a 4 to 5 hour high intensity rollercoaster that is very much worth the time.

Pros
+The combat feels satisfying and there is a pretty good balance of how smart the AI is vs how hard it is for them to kill you. Most of the guns feel good to use as well. Even the pistol is one of the more "fun" pistols in games and I used it often even at the end of the game.
+An interesting concept of adding ranking up and trying for skillshots in singleplayer in order to gain new abilities and bonuses, something usually reserved for multiplayer.
+The series is allowed a mix of gameplay that isn't afforded to most others, and that is mixing regular combat with soldiers with a "horror" aspect. Most horror games you start to get tired of it after a while, but with FEAR, once you tire of it, it ends and you go back to regular combat. Though the third time around it seems as though they've almost given up on trying to make it actually scary.
+Co-op. Everything is better with Co-op.

Cons
-A couple weapons, like the shotgun are ineffective and not fun to use. A pistol shouldn't be more effective in close range than a shotgun.
-Buttons that glue you to cover in a FPS always feel awkward. Though, thankfully, the game is completely playable ignoring the function entirely.
-Some very unforgiving checkpoint placement.
-Melee, particularly the slide kick, can be abused a bit too easy. Especially so against unarmed enemies.

In Summary
While, like the rest of the series, it doesn't seem to be able to live up to what the original F.E.A.R. achieved with a much simpler story and formula, it does still manage to be a competent shooter that, with the new co op aspect, can be enjoyed in a new way.

As a sequel to one of the greatest, most overlooked first-person shooter series, F.E.A.R. 3 fails in many ways for many reasons. For those unfamiliar with the series, the original F.E.A.R. (2005) was an excellently designed corridor shooter that stood out for its still-impressive enemy intelligence, slow-motion ability (think Max Payne) and unexpected and genuinely frightening horror beats. Its 2009 sequel was even better, introducing variety in environments, creative enemies and controllable mechs.

Since Monolith Productions created a solid framework for the series, it’s almost a staggering achievement that newcomer Day 1 Studios has managed to mar the series’ legacy. The developer behind the great Mech Assault series and unbelievably dull Fracture has stepped into the series and created what is best thought of as a “straight-to-DVD” sequel.

The controls, enemy A.I. and sharp graphics helped F.E.A.R. and its sequel stand-out, yet this final entry in the trilogy fails at all three. This can be attributed to Day 1 abandoning the game’s previous engine and adapting the series to its own Despair Engine, last seen underwhelming players in Fracture. F.E.A.R. has never been a series about big ideas. It was the game’s mechanics and the butter-smooth controls that earned its place among the best of the best. Without them, the game’s cliche story and setting fare much worse.

Aside from botching the basics, Day 1’s sequel feels schizophrenic in its design. Like many of its contemporaries, F.E.A.R. 3 focuses on a mix of single-player and multi-player when it would be better served to focus on just one. The single-player is a tiring campaign that can’t decide if it is meant to be played solo or co-op (a new addition). Some areas seem unfairly difficult without a partner to revive you, while others are a cakewalk with a friend.

If having a co-op partner jumping around isn’t enough to kill the game’s atmosphere, the persistent progress bars alerting you that you are “60 ammo pick-ups away from leveling up” will. It’s an odd, tasteless decision that makes it seem as if Day 1 had its own game in mind and just happened upon the F.E.A.R. license.

Multiplayer fares much better than the exhausting, redundant story campaign. The game offers a variety of competitive and co-operative modes (assuming you bought the game new with a “F.E.A.R. Pass” download code), all of which are interesting, but only one is any good.

The cooperative modes, Soul Survivor and Soul King, are perplexing and not the least bit fun. Soul Survivor pits four players against a Spectre ghost player who must kill and convert the others by possessing enemies that populate the map. The balance between the two sides is drastically off, making for a frustrating experience as the Spectre mows down players who have a very limited supply of ammo.

Soul King keeps the same concept, except all four players are Spectres competing for the highest score. Since death means dropping your collected points, the winner has more to do with being at the right place at the right time than any amount of skill. Play it once and forget it exists, moving on to the superior co-op modes.

Along with two new competitive modes, F.E.A.R. 3 introduces two cooperative modes to the series. F---ing Run is an original, yet limiting survival mode in which four players race through alleyways and corridors, battling against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. The twist is that a “Wall of Death” follows the players, resulting in instant death and a game-over screen for the team if any player gets caught in it. When played as a team, this mode is extremely tense and fun. Screaming at a player to climb a ladder quicker or reviving a teammate as the Wall of Death approaches, complemented by ominous bass tones, will get your blood pumping.

Slightly less original is a variation on the Nazi Zombies mode of Call of Duty, called Contractions. Four players must hold down a fort, making repairs, gaining access to new weapons and gunning down the undead that come in waves. The excellent map design and breaks between waves, when players must run out and retrieve ammo crates, make Contractions a welcome alternative to similar modes in other games. Unfortunately, even these co-op modes soon grow tired due to their linear nature.

Even in the best parts of F.E.A.R. 3, the game constantly reminds you of its shoddy making with badly designed menus and network connections that will test your patience. Like any disappointing horror sequel made by an inferior director, F.E.A.R. 3 fumbles with the series’ strengths while introducing a couple off-beat concepts of its own.

Only series fanatics need apply this time, or those in desperate need of a new horror-themed co-op game to play with friends.