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[NullPointer]

The pistol is the odd exception to the 'weak feeling weapons' complaint. Could be the most OP pistol since Halo.

True that. Its solid and I had a good time getting the challenge for it.

The shotgun requires two shots for everybody unless you literally jam it into their face or chest before firing, so I usually avoid it unless in extremely close quarters. The SMG and automatic weapons feel like they should, but enemies don't react to getting shot well enough to fully satisfy. Headshots with the assault rifle are awesome though, and gruesome. Grenade throwing is pretty busted though. It can be hard to get the trajectory right and the grenade is cooking while you're trying to fine tune it, and sometimes you'll end up with some unnatural arc that puts it right into your face or behind you.

Every time I stuck to cover though, it just didn't seem right. The natural rhythm of the gameplay lends itself to running from cover to cover (without attaching mind you) and using slow time for aggressive rushes or as an "oh shit" button. Every time I stuck to cover I felt like I was doing it wrong, only to be reinforced by getting accolades for camping like a bitch ;P

The actual firing of the guns and taking dudes down often works and feels great. Its just the scenario design, and level design for the most part that left me in meh country. The very open and layered first level gave me hope though, although it didn't last long.

 

[MRORANGE]

seems interesting, I kinda want to pick up this game, but not after F.e.a.r. 2, fingers crossed on the slim chance that this game will go on sale on steam in the near future.

 

[Appollowexx]

seems interesting, I kinda want to pick up this game, but not after F.e.a.r. 2, fingers crossed on the slim chance that this game will go on sale on steam in the near future.

I would say avoid, as from what I've played this isn't as good as FEAR 2 (which I loved) but I'd definatley recommend it to fans of the first two games (now on Interval 3).

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

I thought Fear 2 was merely ok. This one feels about the same. The shooting and graphics are competent, but everything else is bland as can be. And like everyone else has said, there's zero story and it's not scary at all. F3 would probably be better if I played it coop but I'm really only a SP guy.

 

[commedieu]

zero story and it's not scary at all.

Nuff said.

I fell in love with the original because of its moments of horror, was really unique. Fear2, I lied to myself and played through it only to have one real jumpy moment, but it really wasn't setup to be horror, 3 from what i've seen isn't even worth the effort.

 

[FlyinJ]

I'm on the 3rd act of 3, and I actually quite like it. It's not scary, but I find that the shooting mechanics are solid, the enemy AI is great at flanking, and I dig the cover system. Did any of the people complaining about how generic the game is try playing through the levels again as the brother? It's a totally new experience, where you possess NPCs to fight through the game.

I also love the way the RPG progression is handled. They reward you for using the systems they've designed for the game. Often times in shooters I'll find the two weapons I like the most and stick with them. In FEAR 3, once I hit the "kill 25 enemies with sub machine gun" +2000 XP, I'll pick up a shotgun instead.

They also reward you for many other systems... such as vaulting over a surface and shooting an enemy. Or killing with the special reverse melee move. Or getting 3 headshots in a row in slow-time. All of this feeds into the overall XP progression, and feels great.

Finally, the multiplayer modes are very unique and fun. Run like fuck is Left 4 Dead with a huge wall of death chasing behind you. Other modes include one player possessing AI NPCs and using them against the other players.

 

[NullPointer]

Finally, the multiplayer modes are very unique and fun. Run like fuck is Left 4 Dead with a huge wall of death chasing behind you. Other modes include one player possessing AI NPCs and using them against the other players.

I don't know which I like better, "Run like Fuck" or "Fucking Run" ;P

 

[SapientWolf]

I'm on the 3rd act of 3, and I actually quite like it. It's not scary, but I find that the shooting mechanics are solid, the enemy AI is great at flanking, and I dig the cover system. Did any of the people complaining about how generic the game is try playing through the levels again as the brother? It's a totally new experience, where you possess NPCs to fight through the game.

I also love the way the RPG progression is handled. They reward you for using the systems they've designed for the game. Often times in shooters I'll find the two weapons I like the most and stick with them. In FEAR 3, once I hit the "kill 25 enemies with sub machine gun" +2000 XP, I'll pick up a shotgun instead.

They also reward you for many other systems... such as vaulting over a surface and shooting an enemy. Or killing with the special reverse melee move. Or getting 3 headshots in a row in slow-time. All of this feeds into the overall XP progression, and feels great.

Finally, the multiplayer modes are very unique and fun. Run like fuck is Left 4 Dead with a huge wall of death chasing behind you. Other modes include one player possessing AI NPCs and using them against the other players.

What's the reverse melee move? And do you have to fire while vaulting for that challenge?

 

[darkressurection]

Went ahead and picked this up on PC after enjoying what I played on the OnLive demo. My Steam is monkyofdoom if anyone wants to add me.

 

[AwesomeSauce]

What's the reverse melee move? And do you have to fire while vaulting for that challenge?

When you sneak up on someone's back, you do an instant kill back stab move.

 

[MrWhitefolks]

Man, I was on round 18 of a Contractions game and right before the round ended we got disconnected.

Oh well, at least we developed a decent strategy for the 'this is suicide' map, and held it to that round without much drama (other than Alma griefing the team and random rocket troops punishing the one stupid player we had).

Base idea is to hold on second floor/second floor balcony and bringing supplies there as well. You get high ground advantage in opening 5-8 rounds which helps with base weapons you have, enemies have to climb up to you (especially useful when dealing with cultist types), and you can fall back to adjacent floors as needed if the area gets compromised(ie: rocket troops/snipers/high level soldiers). Just remember to snag crates with 3/4 members while the other repairs and you should be good to go (that, and don't look at Alma, even if she's right next to you - just walk past her looking the other way and you'll be fine).

 

[Flunkie]

How's the MP overall?

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

So let me get this straight, Fear 2 is now considered a good game?

SMH


Granted I liked Fear 2 a lot but the majority of gamers when Fear 2 was released (especially PC gamers) didn't like it one bit. As far as Fear 3 is concerned, I'm liking the game quite a bit.

Yeah, I thought FEAR 2 was as bland & mediocre as you can get. Can't really trust a lot of people's negative opinions on this game when they alternatively praise FEAR 2 so much.

 

[Appollowexx]

Yeah, I thought FEAR 2 was as bland & mediocre as you can get. Can't really trust a lot of people's negative opinions on this game when they alternatively praise FEAR 2 so much.

FEAR 2 was scarier, had better weapons (controlled better / more powerful), more consistant (in game cutscenes don't break the experience), more atmospheric, better story, characters, had mech combat and was less linear.

Now I haven't beaten FEAR 3 yet (on interval 5), however, the only things it's doing better than 2 at the moment are graphical effects (especially explosions / gore), A.I and music. Everything else I think was done better in the previous games. I'm still really enjoying my playthrough though, and it's a worthy addition to the series, in it's own right.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

I'm on chapter 7 now and just want it to be over. Every chapter drags on and on or at least it feels that way.

 

[scorpscarx]

So let me get this straight.

If you liked Fear 2 you will like Fear 3?

Fear 1 is great in it's own right, but so is Fear 2: it's a nice game and I loved my playthrough.

I couldn't put it down... as other's have said, at least it is something different than a military shooter.

 

[Symphonic]

I thought the gunplay in FEAR 3 was more similar to the first, personally. Aside from that though, it is more like FEAR 2 than FEAR 1. It's different in a lot of ways too though, they're all very much different from each other.

 

[legacyzero]

lol. interest in F3AR now zero. Pass. Condemned 2 was so bad.

Whoa now. Dont get ahead of yourself. It might just be me that feels that way. There is one particular urban section that screams Condemned.

 

[mujun]

I gave up on interval 5. This game is crap, pretty disappointed after enjoying Fear 2.

The suicide enemies, wave after wave of enemies sections and crappy level design (samey and hard to tell where you are supposed to go at times) coupled with what is a mediocre game makes this game add up to crap overall. This is 5 out of 10 stuff for me and I'm not going to bother finishing it.

Only high point really is the gunplay, controls feels nice and I like the slow motion ability a lot. Still, not enough to save it for me by any means.

 

[darkressurection]

I really like what they did with their "horde" mode in this game. Going out between waves to collect ammo is a pretty cool mechanic IMO. I also really like how Alma roams around and you can't look at her. I would see that red dress in the corner of my view and do a quick 180 and think "OH FUCK OH FUCK." I am looking forward to messing with the other MP modes.

I am enjoying the campaign too, my favorite part of the FEAR games has always been the gunplay and not really the story stuff so it kinda falls right in my wheelhouse but man the intensity in some of the gun battles when you are behind cover and KNOW that if you don't do something you are gonna get flanked is really thrilling compared the average FPS AI.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

The final level of the game is nonsense.

Spoiler

How do you go from being on the tarmac of an airport to magically appearing inside the lab. Then the final battle takes place in the forest which was from the flashbacks. Who knows how you got there or if it was even real. At least Day 1 closed the book on Alma and Fettal by killing them off. That made me feel better about the end as apposed to the stupid rape ending of Fear 2.

Overall Fear 3 was just another middle of the road shooter. I'd rank Fear 2 a 7/10 and this one a 6.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

I'm doing co-op and we are on the 3rd Interval in the 'Store'

This thing is NOT scary..

WTF??

Also the 2nd player gets shafted a bit. The take over skill is cool but its limited in time and then you can't immediately take over another so your attacks are limited

Oh and the level design is sometimes terrible because it is hard to find where the hell you are supposed to go. In at least 5 places now I've struggled for a few mins to find where the hell me and my friend were supposed to go.

 

[Symphonic]

Also the 2nd player gets shafted a bit. The take over skill is cool but its limited in time and then you can't immediately take over another so your attacks are limited

Huh? Fettel is extremely overpowered. You can pick up and one-shot melee kill any enemy in the game except mechs and the other small bosses. Possessing is only one of his powers, and on of the more weak ones at that.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Huh? Fettel is extremely overpowered. You can pick up and one-shot melee kill any enemy in the game except mechs and the other small bosses. Possessing is only one of his powers, and on of the more weak ones at that.

Maybe I'm doing this wrong.. But pick up and then just walk up and melee?

Just feels tough with so many fucking guys that shoot in the god damn game

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Oh and the level design is sometimes terrible because it is hard to find where the hell you are supposed to go. In at least 5 places now I've struggled for a few mins to find where the hell me and my friend were supposed to go.

Look for doorknobs. If it has a knob it's usually where your suppose to go.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Look for doorknobs. If it has a knob it's usually where your suppose to go.

It's more so the colors they use in some areas.

It took me like 10-15 mins to find a small skinny blue ladder along a hall/corridor in the fucking 'Store' level because there are so many multi colored boxes including blue all over the place and this thing was like stuck in the most odd corner and stuff.

 

[mujun]

It's more so the colors they use in some areas.

It took me like 10-15 mins to find a small skinny blue ladder along a hall/corridor in the fucking 'Store' level because there are so many multi colored boxes including blue all over the place and this thing was like stuck in the most odd corner and stuff.

Yep, that was frigging irritating.

 

[samus4ever]

Maybe I'm doing this wrong.. But pick up and then just walk up and melee?

Just feels tough with so many fucking guys that shoot in the god damn game

You can pick up those glowing orbs and make them explode killing a lot of the enemies too. Playing with Fettel is like taking candy from a baby.

 

[Zenith]

Finished. It was ok. Slightly worse than FEAR 2. Not a patch on FEAR 1. Felt most similar to Homefront. Also felt halfway between an expansion pack and a full entry.

It's more like a prequel with all the focus on your childhood. Nice to see Fettel's first synchronicity event.

I agree it jumped all over the place. From a bridge to suddenly an airport.

No context on current events. Armacham was a dead duck after Fear 1&2. Board members arrested, ATC caught firing on US Delta Force in public. So why exactly it's powerful enough to operate in the open and take over whole towns is beyond me. Fear 1 was good in that it gave news reports of the conflict so you knew how it was viewed from the outside. With Fear 3 you got nothing. You have no idea if people are aware of the portal or what happened to the nuked city. There's one radar screen that seems to imply the shockwaves are covering half the US.

Really nice rain graphics and sound on that one level.

Like other cover shooters if you go into the open you get wailed on which is not what FEAR's gunplay should be about.

4 weapon limit goes down to 2. ugh.

I really disliked phase commanders as enemies. Didn't seem to fit with the feel of the universe.

Very little variety in enemies. There's only 1 supernatural type, 4 soldier types, 2 classic Fear sci-fi weapons (the laser and the penetrator). Even FEAR 1's expansion packs had more content.

Have to disagree with the weapons being weak or not having enough effect. Nearly every weapon can get a kill with one burst if you're lucky and most can do it in 2. Enemies flinch accordingly.

The XP system was useless and contributed nothing to the game.

So many times the screen and sound would go weird when Alma did here pop-up appearance like in previous games but I never saw them. I must have missed like half, the number of times the screen freaked out but nothing actually happened.

It just occured to me that for Alma to be pregnant Beckett must have orgasmed during his rape. What a way to go.

I actually enjoy Fear's storyline and hope to see it continue.

Something I'm finding I'm doing with games recently is seeing how much better they are than Duke Nukem Forever, how much more memorable and how little time they took to be made in comparison.

 

[Untracked]

So many times the screen and sound would go weird when Alma did here pop-up appearance like in previous games but I never saw them. I must have missed like half, the number of times the screen freaked out but nothing actually happened.

I had the same experience

I've played through it co-op on Fearless difficulty, it took us around 4 hours. The combat is fun. I still enjoy slo-mo, the shotgun and kicking enemies in the face.
The story is total bollocks to me, cutscenes are really dull with Fettel delivering dialogue slowly in a horrible voice. I'm not one for skipping cutscenes but I was so tempted in this.
I didn't find any of it scary in the slightest, which is very disappointing.
The multiplayer is fun so far but I dont think it's gonna last long or be very popular. It won't help that there's the "First Purchase Maps and Modes" DLC. Anybody renting or buying pre-owned will be missing content.
It's not a bad game but I do wish I'd rented it.

 

[Grisby]

Rented a bit ago. Is there a soft filter or something on the PS3 version? Its kinda messing with my eyes (which is a first).

I know sometimes Ps3 games have a softer image look and was wondering if this was the case.

Also, how many intervals? :3

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I am playing through the first FEAR, and the level design is horrid!

I'm on Interval Five, and I'm stuck in some endless maze of corridors and tiny offices, and I don't know where to go.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Rented a bit ago. Is there a soft filter or something on the PS3 version? Its kinda messing with my eyes (which is a first).

I know sometimes Ps3 games have a softer image look and was wondering if this was the case.

PS3 version looked fine to me. It didn't look soft or blurry.

Also, how many intervals? :3

There are 8 intervals. And the final one is very short.

 

[Untracked]

Rented a bit ago. Is there a soft filter or something on the PS3 version? Its kinda messing with my eyes (which is a first).

I know sometimes Ps3 games have a softer image look and was wondering if this was the case.

Also, how many intervals? :3

There are 8 intervals in total.
Edit: Beaten.
I just ran through it on Insane difficulty but the Achievement didn't unlock.

 

[ArjanN]

I had the same experience

I've played through it co-op on Fearless difficulty, it took us around 4 hours. The combat is fun. I still enjoy slo-mo, the shotgun and kicking enemies in the face.
The story is total bollocks to me, cutscenes are really dull with Fettel delivering dialogue slowly in a horrible voice. I'm not one for skipping cutscenes but I was so tempted in this.
I didn't find any of it scary in the slightest, which is very disappointing.

I'm about half way, and playing on hard in single-player easily adds a couple of hours, co-op makes it way easier.

Even if it's not really scary, there's still some good atmosphere, which comes across better in single-player I think.

Quite enjoying it so far, mostly because of the incredibly solid combat mechanics. I generallly dislike first-person cover systems but this is probably the best I've seen it been done.

 

[Untracked]

I'm about half way, and playing on hard in single-player this game easily adds a couple of hours, co-op makes it way easier.
Quite enjoying it so far, mostly because of the incredibly solid combat mechanics. I generallly dislike first-person cover systems but this is probably the best I've seen it been done.

Totally agree about the cover system, it works really well.
I played as Fettel earlier and quite enjoyed it. The posession ability adds a cool twist to the gameplay.

 

[MeBecomingI]

I'm about half way, and playing on hard in single-player easily adds a couple of hours, co-op makes it way easier.

Even if it's not really scary, there's still some good atmosphere, which comes across better in single-player I think.

Quite enjoying it so far, mostly because of the incredibly solid combat mechanics. I generallly dislike first-person cover systems but this is probably the best I've seen it been done.

Ditto on the "not really scary." Likewise with the atmosphere; they did a great job with it. Although personally, I wish the game focused more on the horror and suspense like the first game.

I feel with people like Niles and Carpenter attached to the game, a less is more approach would have been better. The original game had a morbid sense of tension, making you move slowly (I did...) through the game at a snails pace because you were afraid of everything and moving anywhere. Both F.E.A.R 2 and F.E.A.R 3 (I won't use the leet!) seemed to have moved away from that to quicken up the pace and extend more focus towards moving you from one combat scenario to another as quick as possible as opposed to the original games understanding using the slow pace to build into a new combat scenario. That said, I do appreciate some of the things F.E.A.R 3 does, and I do like the game. It just doesn't feel like F.E.A.R to me anymore.

I agree about the solid combat mechanics though. I might bitch about moving away from the heightened tension of the first and focusing more on action, but they did a good job with combat. However, I think the game would have been a better fit to bring in a Crysis 2 style "cover system"; where the cover is active and all the leaning is done by just moving around the space as opposed to the Killzone 2/3 style of locking into cover. I think it would just flow better with the game. I love the first person cover system mechanic in general though. I am a huge fan of it and I like it more than the third person systems that Rainbow Six: Vegas employed. Personally, I think Killzone 3 has the best first person cover system in games right now, but I really like the one in this game. They did a good job with it... it was nice to jump between the two.

I like F.E.A.R 3. It just needed a bit more work to really shine though.

 

[somedevil]

Played it and it took me 7 hours on normal. This probably the hardest of the fear games. The A.I. is much better than fear 2. Also, loved interval 7 great atmosphere. The weapons were also better than 2. The nail gun was as strong as it was in Fear 1 because it was weakened greatly in fear 2.

The flaws though are it as scary as Fear 2. Fear 1 and extraction point did it much better. Also, they messed up the story badly. They had a foundation for fear 3 but they messed it up. Like what happened to all the

Spoiler

super soldiers Alma had in 2 they just dissapeared.

Liked it better than 2 but extraction point and fear 1 are better.

 

[KaYotiX]

Just beat it. Fun game but yeah its not scary or creepy like the first 2. Was a great rental though and now ill try the MP before i send it back.

 

[jakonovski]

Giant Bomb hated the game: http://www.giantbomb.com/fear-3/61-30484/reviews/

 

[Grisby]

I'm up to interval 7 and Jesus, this game is just not good.

Mechanically the shooting is sound but everything else from combat scenarios to atmosphere to presentation just sucks. You might see Alma twice and they bring back a host of Fear series characters but not in any reasonable way.

On the gameplay side the shooting is fine but the cover mechanic forces you to stop and pop a lot more when Fear, to me, was always going in guns blazing and slowing down time.

Theres no atmosphere. Nothing.

I'm sure the game is a much better time co-op but it isn't good for a SP campaign.

This isn't Fear.

 

[SapientWolf]

I'm up to interval 7 and Jesus, this game is just not good.

Mechanically the shooting is sound but everything else from combat scenarios to atmosphere to presentation just sucks. You might see Alma twice and they bring back a host of Fear series characters but not in any reasonable way.

On the gameplay side the shooting is fine but the cover mechanic forces you to stop and pop a lot more when Fear, to me, was always going in guns blazing and slowing down time.

Theres no atmosphere. Nothing.

I'm sure the game is a much better time co-op but it isn't good for a SP campaign.

This isn't Fear.

You don't really have to stop and pop if you don't want to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvroUu5w0IU#t=1m25s

 

[Zeliard]

FEAR should have never been turned into a regen health cover shooter. It's meant to be the opposite of slow and plodding as all those games are, and yet, here we find ourselves.

Monolith ruined the series entirely when they started heading in that direction. Now they don't even seem to care about FEAR anymore, with the publisher handing the reigns over to Day 1 Studios.

It also means the enemies are no longer even remotely interesting, and A.I. was one of FEAR's hallmarks. Instead of navigating the environments in cool ways, they're content to sit behind cover and stop-and-pop. The level design and the style of gameplay doesn't allow for anything remotely interesting in that area.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

I'm at the last levels and the game started to get better. Even level design improved much, though most of the locations are ripped off of Fear 2.

The sound fx for the storm are top notch.

 

[luka]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-QfrYhn2gQ

never forget

 

[FLEABttn]

It's such a shame what's been done to this series. FEAR (and even it's first expac) is a top tier FPS that doesn't seem to be understood why it was so good by any of its developers after 2006.

 

[Stitch]

I wish they would finally patch the PC version so i could start playing this big turd.

Why did they give the FEAR franchise to Day 1? I mean even Monolith didn't really know what to do with it after 1...

But at least it would work... bleh, more time to play through the FEAR 1 expansions.

 

[eshwaaz]

Giant Bomb hated the game: http://www.giantbomb.com/fear-3/61-30484/reviews/

Ryan is dead-on with this one. I'm up to Interval 4, clinging to hope that it will get better, but it doesn't - I actively hate this game. Poor pacing, poor level design, weak sense of place and atomosphere, toothless combat. My most regretted purchase in a long time.

 

[FLEABttn]

But at least it would work... bleh, more time to play through the FEAR 1 expansions.

I wouldn't even bother with Perseus Mandate. I'm not sure I can accurately articulate how bad it is.

 

[Corky]

Just installed the game will probably start playing when it gets abit darker. But I quickly started the game to see if it works, lo and behold...sigh...it's one of "those" games.

One of "those" games that :

- aren't technical nor visual masterpieces
- essentially made for consoles, i.e a port made with 2005 hardware in mind

...yet it runs like crap on my pc. Oh well...