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[Templar Wizard]

finally europe gets a game before US due to timezone.
i have been playing FEAR for the last few hours and first impressions point to fun. the story and 'eastern' horror really arent much to talk about and (so far) dont add up to much.
but crank up the difficulty and you have the most fun with combat AI since the smoke and mirrors of HL. no stand and soak here.
dust, smoke, bullet casings, sparks all fly as you are sutting your way through the 'enemy' (who all sound like they have been lifted from Killzone)

im not too sure what i think about the slo/mo... i usually try not to use it, but i lean and reload and jump and jump kick like a motherfucker.

im also playing it in 640x res so i can get some form of stable framerate with my 3d glasses.

any north american impressions?

 

[epmode]

im not too sure what i think about the slo/mo... i usually try not to use it, but i lean and reload and jump and jump kick like a motherfucker.

If the demo is any indication, slomo MAKES the game. Such amazing animation (to say nothing of the particle effects,) looks even better slowed down.

I just ordered the collector's edition from ebgames.com (free 1 day shipping.)

 

[Jerkface]

any north american impressions?

Not without gaining three hundred pounds!

As an Englishman I consider this game to be a shining example of gimmicks taking precedent over a properly structured game. The singleplayer demo contained pretty much everything the game has to offer (save for two decent enemy types and two AWFUL ones)

Corridor after corridor, pipe after pipe and ladder after ladder, it just seems such a bloody waste of some excellent ideas.

 

[Templar Wizard]

im not disputing its effect and so on, its very pretty but i prefer the keep the combat fluid, i prefer to fight my way to a reload spot for a brief second and then jump out shooting.

perhaps later if there are some 'bosses' i may touch it occasionally

 

[Vashu]

The ripple effect when there's an explosion in slo/mo is amazing, this effect alone warrants the ATI card I'm about to buy in a few weeks. Played the demo on an X300, but that little thing could hardly handle it :lol. And with the other amazing games coming out soon, I have to.

But, the atmosphere is great, the controls are good, and the effects are (again) amazing. Have fun with it Templar.

 

[eLGee]

Got my copy today. Running on recommended settings, so no high res-pics, sadly.

"Oh, I'm just hangin'."

 

[Ecrofirt]

How do you get it to display the FPS?

 

[Helznicht]

Played the demo on an X300, but that little thing could hardly handle it .

An X800 cant handle it either... :-/

 

[Ash Housewares]

I look down and see my legs, good enough for me

 

[FlyinJ]

I have to agree somewhat with Jerkface.

I've been playing it for about 4 hours. The game is *very* repetitve. The first 10 levels look exactly the same (the same pipes/corridors of the demo). And I do mean exactly the same. I've seen some room layouts repeated at least three times.

There isn't much enemy variety either. At least from what I've seen... I've only fought three typess of enemies the entire time.

And the horror elements really lose their charm after they use the same gimmick for the fifth time.

On the other hand, the combat is really damn fun. The AI and enemy placement constantly keeps you on your toes at Hard difficulty or higher.

I'm still having a great time with the game, although it would have been absolutely incredible if they just added some variety to the horror elements, environments and enemies.

Edit : For perspective, my opinion so far is:

Far Cry > HalfLife 2 > FEAR > Doom3

 

[eLGee]

How do you get it to display the FPS?

I's with magic, brotha'.

Seriously, I downloaded something called "ATI Tray Tools", and since then, I see my framerate on every game I own. Even on my vids. Nice.

Another pic for funs sake.

 

[Deg]

How do you get it to display the FPS?

Looks like Fraps. A very handy tool.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Picked up my copy today. I am trying to wait my new PC is built. This is so tempting. :lol

 

[Raiden]

I look down and see my legs, good enough for me

Amen

 

[El_Victor]

A bit repetive, but the fire fights is probably the best ever in an FPS.
Threw a grenade at a guy, missed him and it flew behind him and he was like: "oh yeah?", then I was like: "oh yeah" and shot the grenade with my dual pistols while it was still flying behind him.
Then I was like: "yeah".
And he was like dead.

 

[Templar Wizard]

the best effect i have seen in the game: shoot into the water. very nice.

it is repetitive. extremely, but those gun fights are so chaotic. i just wish there were more open areas and the AI used better fire and maneouver tactics.
the 'horror' gets crapper by level.

 

[Ecrofirt]

I was hoping there's be some kind of command cour could enable via the talk function that would show your FPS.

I'd rather not run FRAPS or anything, as I'm afraid it would only lower my framerate even more. I'm on an X800XT, and I still get shitty performance.

 

[siege]

I became bored with the game around Interval 6. I just can't get past the environments all looking identical and facing the same couple of enemies over and over. The B-movie plot doesn't help at trying to pull you into the game either.

While the firefights are entertaining at first, the game fails to deliver anything else to keep you playing. Hardcore FPS fans will probably love it, but I think the whole genre needs a kick in the pants.

 

[hukasmokincaterpillar]

I was hoping there's be some kind of command cour could enable via the talk function that would show your FPS.

There's gotta be a console command for that, Im sure it'll pop up soon.

If you're trying to play on a res higher than 1024x768 with any card below 7800gtx level you're probably going to get pretty bad performance in a lot of areas. Higher res with FEAR is a lot more stressful on the gpu than most recent games for some reason, maybe to do with the heavy shader use?

 

[thewird]

I F.E.A.R. thee.

thewird

 

[hukasmokincaterpillar]

While the firefights are entertaining at first, the game fails to deliver anything else to keep you playing. Hardcore FPS fans will probably love it, but I think the whole genre needs a kick in the pants.

I dunno, I think folks need to stop going in expecting a revolution everytime a new FPS comes out. You're going to be disapointed everytime. FPS is a stalwart genre thats evolved at a snails pace. There's a new tweak here and a new concept there but it aint gonna be turned on its head anytime soon. Take it or leave it.

The firefights and AI in FEAR are among the best Ive seen in a long long time, thats plenty to have me excited about it.

 

[Ecrofirt]

There's gotta be a console command for that, Im sure it'll pop up soon.

If you're trying to play on a res higher than 1024x768 with any card below 7800gtx level you're probably going to get pretty bad performance in a lot of areas. Higher res with FEAR is a lot more stressful on the gpu than most recent games for some reason, maybe to do with the heavy shader use?

thanks for the info. I've got the game set to 1024x768, but I always notive the game become completely unresponsive for awhile if i'm near a spot where it's loading new daa.

 

[Acosta]

I reviewed some weeks ago, let me tell you something.

It gets even better.

 

[God's Hand]

Amazing game. One of the best FPSs ever made. Even though you're always in doors in office spaces, it never feels repetative like Halo does for me.

 

[modojojo]

Yeah, I've been playing It also. Although It's not better than HL2, Farcry and Doom3 It does stand out to go right behind the 3 fps In the upper tier In PC FPS . Even though It's a bit repetitive the atmosphere Is excellent . The horror element Is ripped off from a number of movies ( The Ring ect...) It still provides good tension In the game and Is quite frankly well done. My major gripe Is that the game Is to short when compared to the others. I read It's about 10hrs.

 

[Excelion]

first half of game is bad, it's like playing in the same room for 6 hours. Second part is good, i'm still disapointed by the story. I wonder what's the point of this AI, they jump around like a band of rabbits even when there's a place to hide right next to them. Gunplay is pretty boring. Overall it was a good experience, but it was short and i will never play it again.

 

[Victrix]

The demo made me yawn, and the comments here are just reinforcing my opinions.

Plus I absolutely hate the weapons and the aiming mechanism they have in place.

Pass on this one.

 

[hukasmokincaterpillar]

Gunplay is pretty boring.

Compared to what?

 

[Brandon F]

So sad.

This was once my most anticipated PC release of the year. Now I'm getting a whole Contract J.A.C.K. vibe.

 

[Ark-AMN]

Hmm, I was hoping it'd have a NOLF vibe with similar game design. Though it seems that they decided to go do something similar to Half Life. Oh well, hopefully it'll entertain me enough

 

[Alien Bob]

I was showing videos of it to a WoW nerd at school yesterday, all he could say was "oh, what a cliche" "oh, I'm not afraid at all!" "god, that's sooooo original, and I mean that in a sarcastic way." etc. etc. etc., and then he went on with some dorky WoW-speak that I'm just too cool to understand.

I'm glad I can download this from my school's servers, I'm too poor to buy it.

 

[Funky Papa]

I reviewed some weeks ago, let me tell you something.

It gets even better.

Some weeks ago? I assume it was for a printed mag, dare I ask the one your wrote it for? What was your favourite thing? My game is still flying somewhere from Play.com's warehouse to my home =(

I was showing videos of it to a WoW nerd at school yesterday, all he could say was "oh, what a cliche" "oh, I'm not afraid at all!" "god, that's sooooo original, and I mean that in a sarcastic way." etc. etc. etc., and then he went on with some dorky WoW-speak that I'm just too cool to understand.

You have a great future here, buddy.

 

[Sinatar]

I was showing videos of it to a WoW nerd at school yesterday, all he could say was "oh, what a cliche" "oh, I'm not afraid at all!" "god, that's sooooo original, and I mean that in a sarcastic way." etc. etc. etc., and then he went on with some dorky WoW-speak that I'm just too cool to understand.

I'm glad I can download this from my school's servers, I'm too poor to buy it.

Admitting to piracy on the forums, good plan. I'll keep this quoted in case you try some creative editing.

Nice knowing you! :lol

 

[GashPrex]

this game rocks, nothing better than slowing down time and ripping around the corner the blowing away a enemy with the combat shotgun and watching their body come apart in slow-mo. Plus the effects are just awsome, especially in slow mo. I really enjoy the game, one of the best FPS I have played in a long time. The combat/gameplay is very enjoyable for me, even if first few levels are similiar. And I still get the shit scared out of me

 

[bishoptl]

I'm glad I can download this from my school's servers, I'm too poor to buy it.

Poor people need to FUCK OFF.

 

[Mrbob]

Does the final version run better than the demo? The demo ran ALL RIGHT on my PC. So I will buy this game tommorrow and may not play it until I get a slightly more powerful rig. Perhaps wait for one of the X1800 cards to come out and grab one.

 

[Ecrofirt]

Poor people need to FUCK OFF.

amen.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

This is the sequel to Half-Life I've been waiting for. Some of the best firefights I've had in ages. I don't even bother with slo-mo, but then I'm playing it on the default difficulty level. The shotty rocks!

It runs a bit better than the demo, but still kind of choppy at times. I could definitely use a bit more RAM, though.

 

[blackadde]

I've been playing enough console games lately that a crisp, 8XAF 640 actually looks good. Thank god. :lol

Anyways, yeah. The gunfights are really vicious, probably more so than any other game I've ever played. I think the term 'gun porn' was used to describe BLACK, but man does it ever fit here.

 

[God's Hand]

Was that the ending? Fucking shitty.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

I would agree with the gun porn analogy. However, the game stutters a lot for me in transitional areas (a lot like Half-Life 2 did when it first came out). Hopefully Monolith will address it in a later patch. BTW, I am running it at 1280X960 with everything maxed with a P4 3.4; x800xt; with 2 GB of RAM. 30-40fps with occasional stutter and some framerate issues when in some of the wide open areas.

 

[VOOK]

Im running it on a P4 3.2gz, 1 GIG, 6600GT and its on 1024, with High Computer specs Custom Graphics. here is a Screen its been JPGed a bit

It runs fine I dont care if it looks as sexy and Ferrari

 

[Raiden]

Best use of CQC online ever!(and SP)

Edit: This is running on a 6600Gt as well, but the screen is from the Mp beta, dont have the full game...yet.

 

[GashPrex]

this game rocks, nothing better than slowing down time and ripping around the corner the blowing away a enemy with the combat shotgun and watching their body come apart in slow-mo. Plus the effects are just awsome, especially in slow mo. I really enjoy the game, one of the best FPS I have played in a long time. The combat/gameplay is very enjoyable for me, even if first few levels are similiar. And I still get the shit scared out of me

this fucker tried to flank me

showing off the sweet slow-mo effects

using the 10mm penetrator does fun things with headshots, like sticking them to the wall

shot in the back blood spray

FiRE!!

My comp is p4,3ghz, 1gb ram, 9700 128

had to adjust the settings but the game runs and looks great in 1024

 

[Acosta]

Some weeks ago? I assume it was for a printed mag, dare I ask the one your wrote it for? What was your favourite thing? My game is still flying somewhere from Play.com's warehouse to my home =(

Yes, a print mag. And yes, of course, I wrote it for PC Juegos y Jugadores (some time ago it was the spanish version of PC Gamer UK, now it´s an standalone magazine).

My favourite thing? a lot of things. First, I think the gaming design it´s real good and does a great work giving you both an scary game and a action game. Lot of games try to scary you with its monsters, but it´s easy to loose the respect for them when you kill them so easily and you are packed with weapons and ammo. F.E.A.R combines very well both so the intense action doesn´t makes you feel too confident about yourself when it comes the fear moments. Weakness drive to fear.

Another things, that gets into game design as well, is that the direction of the "scary" moments it´s really good. Maybe with light and people around you it loose its effect, or that people here see a ton of terror films, but for me that played it in a empty dark room, it offered some memorable panic moments that I will remember for life. Those scenes are very well directed. The story is not fantastic, sure, but some of the most important terror films doen´t have a good story neither. It´s about what it makes you feeling.

And of course, combat. Visually fantastic, quite tactic, with very different situations, clever I.A that will make you look everywhere like crazy, and very, very intense. I can understand people calling it "repetetive", from the first levels, they could have shorten them a little. But one you reach certain point and you start to fight other type of enemies, it´s crazy. I won´t spoil for anyone, but at some advanced levels there are some really crazy battles. I would say that combat goes from really good to orgasmic.

Was that the ending? Fucking shitty.

He

But it was worth. I really want to purchase a final copy and play again. I would love this game as much without the "fear" factor.

 

[Funky Papa]

I won´t spoil for anyone, but at some advanced levels there are some really crazy battles. I would say that combat goes from really good to orgasmic.

And I already found the demo orgasmic... good things to come Thanks.

For anyone interested (most of you, I guess)

F.E.A.R. US retail patch v1.01
Version 1.01
------------

Global:

- Fixed a problem where players could fall under the map after pressing ESC while climbing a ladder.
- Fixed a bug where water FX would play where there was no water in the "Heavy Resistance" level.

Multiplayer:

- Fixed the Game Type filter on the server browser screen.
- Fixed broken ladder animations.
- Spectator "Fly" mode now works as intended.
- SlowMo Score Time is now reported through the in-game server browser for SlowMo CTF games.
- Fixed a problem where players would sometimes spawn into Team Elimination games as a neutral player.
- Team Eliminmation servers will no longer advance to the next round if you are the first to join and then switch teams.
- Dead players will no longer win the round in Elimination game types if they have the highest score when time runs out.
- The score tally on the HUD now works properly in all Elimination game types.
- Remote clients can no longer log into SCMD on hosted games as original intended. SCMD still works as before on dedicated servers.
- The weapon of the player you are watching will no longer appear on the screen when using the "Follow" spectator mode.
- Fixed problem with grenades getting stuck on or bouncing off of breakable windows in certain levels.
- Further optimized performance and fixed minor lighting and art bugs in the Streets CTF level.

Apparently many of the stuttering/pauses are related to memory leaks and some problems with Creative sound cards. Try to use EAX 2.0 instead of HD.

 

[Harmonica]

I've yet to finish the game, but what I have played is pretty hard to pin into a category of "good" or "bad".

I take issues with how the first levels look. It's really genuinely annoying to enter a room that looks just (exactly) like the room you were in 5 minutes ago, and the way the walls and the ceilings and the floors all join together give me a vibe like those levels were from a player-made mod. The second major area (the office building) is pretty brilliant so far though, and feels pretty diverse.

The graphics are also a much more mixed bag than I expected. It has fleeting moments of brilliance, but often feels incredibly plain and not very inspired. This is all remedied when gun fights begin to happen, but walking through those industrial looking first areas really seemed like something that'd look pretty good 2 years ago. The office area looks a great deal better.

BUT OH MY FUCKING GOD FIGHTING THE BAD GUYS IS GLORIOUS. THE PLAIN ENVIRONMENTS DON'T MATTER AT ALL IF YOU'RE FIGHTING BAD GUYS! THE ENVIRONMENTS ARE SET UP PERFECTLY FOR COVER AND OBSTACLES BETWEEN YOU AND THE BADGUYS. THE GUNS ARE THE MOST PERFECT GUNS I'VE EVER SHOT IN A VIDEOGAME. GRENADES OWN AND OH MY GOD THE GAME KICKS ASS.

Seriously. The guns in this game just rule all games before it. Playing Half-Life 2 feels nearly dinky in comparison. Shooting that pea shooter smg and hitting a combine soldier 8 or 9 times before dropping them and them hardly reacting to being shot pisses me off after having seen the bad guys in FEAR limp off after being clipped by my unbelievably powerful sounding shotgun, only to have them end up shooting me to death because I underestimated them after having crippled them. I use each gun in FEAR because each gun is fun as hell to use. I love the dual pistols and the SMG and the shotgun practically equally. The staple gun is always a blast, and the Battle Rifle that feels like it was taken directly from Halo 2 feels like it's firing 3 really deadly bullets with each burst.

In other shooters, it feels like the badguys are annoyed that they are getting shot, and then they are really annoyed when they realize they are dead. In FEAR, the badguys seem like they fucking hate being shot, and when they are finally killed, it feels like you sent them straight to hell!

Also, the sound and physics! They sound and look damn heavy when they bite the bullet! The physics just look much more convincing than the ragdolls in any shooter I've played.

If the story ends up sucking hard, if the game ends up being more of the same until the very end, it still needs to be studied by anyone else making a first person shooter. It has absolutely done the best job of creating incredibly dynamic fire fights that carry an often otherwise mundane game to "greatness" level.

Seriously, this game takes the crown of best single player combat ever.

 

[Ark-AMN]

This game definately needs to be played at night and with either a great soundsystem or with headphones. It was funny that I got creeped out by little things like stepping on a can or wood or making something fall over.

But yeah, the gun porn rules

 

[Mrbob]

Finally snagged a copy today!

Took me awhile to find one, though. Well, the directors edition. I saw regular edition at places but I didn't want that. Need my extras!

 

[Deg]

I might buy this. Really liking pc games lately.