Lately I've been playing through more FPS than I ever thought I would. As a retrogaming enthusiast, I've often snubbed the genre out of hand, not really wanting to take it seriously. I'm still mad at FPS, RTS, and MMORPGs for hogging all the shelf space (and production funds) for CRPGs and GAGs--my two favorite genres. Nevertheless, I just managed to complete Sierra's F.E.A.R. a few minutes ago, and decided to write up my review while the experience was still fresh in my head. FEAR is much more a tactical FPS than more popular offerings like Doom 3, Quake, and Half-Life 2. The controls are more plentiful. You can, for instance, lean left and right to see around corners (the idea being that this way you expose less of your avatar's body to enemy fire). Your avatar is also limited in carrying capacity--only three guns and a handful of grenades. Perhaps the biggest distinction here, though, is "SLOW-MO," which temporarily (depending on how many powerups you've managed to find) slows down time. This is a neat feature. You can leap into a room crowded with enemies, hit the slow-mo, and belt out three headshots before they have time to yell "Oh, shit!" (which they do quite often.) All this said, FEAR isn't really about having a good time. It's about stealing yourself up for a grueling, unnerving trip through a highrise, a ghetto, and an industrial facility. This game is essentially Half-Life 2 with a slightly better story, more complicated interface, and a great deal more strategy.

One thing I've been focusing on as I play these games is how they attempt to weave a narrative around the action. FEAR does much of that in two ways--you listen to messages left on abandoned answering machines, or "upload" data from laptops to HQ, where your commander can sift through it at lightning speed and give you the relevant points (with a few f-bombs thrown in for spice). You also have very limited interaction with your fellow FEAR operatives, but those these characters (an African-American and an Amerasian) seem quite interesting and fun, they spend precious little time on screen. This is disappointing because some of the best moments of the game come during these tiny segments. After a copter carrying all three of you crashes, the two comrades strike up a conversation, which you can hear if you linger around. The dialogue isn't really pertinent to the mission--the dude is trying to get his "mack on"--but it does add a human dimension to some otherwise cardboard characters.

Probably the best part of FEAR, though, is the flashbacks. Periodically, your character experiences surreal (and always gorey) visions. Sometimes these might literally be just a flash of a graphic--displayed and gone so fast that your brain barely registers it. At other times, though, these sections are extended, and you can walk around in these "dreams" (later on, you are even attacked). What you see and hear in these dreams is mostly the raspy narration of your elusive nemesis. He's a pretty neurotic guy that doesn't even bother to wipe his mouth after feeding on human entrails. I'm betting he doesn't trim his nosehair either. You also encounter a creepy (but adorable) little girl at several points who apparently has a thing for fire and lots of blood. Again, none of this makes any sense until much later in the game, when the "embedded narrative" finally starts to reveal itself.

Of course, like so many other games, the story here is barely up to straight-to-video standards, but I've sat through worse. It's basically yet another variation on the Oedipal theme. I don't want to spoil this for anyone who might actually play the game, but suffice it to say that if you thought Empire Strikes Back had a cruel plot twist, wait until you see this one.

FEAR demonstrates some new storytelling concepts for FPS that will hopefully be improved on in later games. The tools are there; what's missing is more sophisticated pacing and direction. I'd also like a little variation in gameplay. After awhile, all that crouching, ducking, and slow-mo just gets tedious as you laboriously clear room after room of "cloned" soldiers. The "bosses" weren't much fun either. I even managed to slip around one without having to fight him (much to my relief). This game could've easily implemented more "top level" strategy. I was peeved that I never had any say or chance to argue about the team's next move. Your avatar is a "bad ass" Rambo-type who the team just drops at the worst possible strategic location. I'd have much preferred being able to pick where I was dropped, or even how I wanted to pursue the goals. In short, the linearity of the game is a bit obtrusive.

I'll also admit that at times, I had more sympathy than hate for the avatar's nemesis--at least he has a sense of style. Although the "mysterious" hints he drops about your heritage have all the subtlety of a six-story concrete donkey, at least he makes an effort to get to know you. I imagine there will be lots of players who will (like me) think it would be more interesting to join forces with him than take potshots at him with a gun. Unfortunately, at one point you have no choice but to kill him if you want the game to progress. Sigh.

In short, FEAR is a decent game with some mildly interesting narrative innovations.

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