F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon (PC) Review

By Athanasios 25.08.2020

Review for F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon on PC

It’s 2005. The genre of first-person shooters is filled with mediocre titles that try to compete with a couple of heavy-hitters like Half-Life 2, Doom 3, and Halo 2. Those who wanted to be part of the second group had to do something unique to draw attention to their creation. Monolith Productions, of Blood and No One Lives Forever fame, certainly knew a thing or two about how to make a good FPS with that special extra “something.” Instead of a gory, occult-themed Duke Nukem, or a sexy, Austin Powers-like spy adventure, however, this time the American developer sought to imbue its creation with the horror trends of early ‘00s, fusing together great gunfights, and Ringu-esque spookiness. Take a good trip to the past and learn all about F.E.A.R.

You are the ‘Point Man;’ the faceless, nameless, silent protagonist of First Encounter Assault Recon; a US-based group that deals with paranormal threats, like, for instance, Paxton Fettel, who is a psionic general of sorts that can telepathically control an enormous army of highly trained clones called Replica Soldiers. Yes, it’s one more typical “forbidden military experiments gone haywire” story, but one mostly narrated very well, with an intro that has a very cinematic feel, and the gameplay as well as the overall direction focused in making the player connect with the game’s world. You can see your feet, your body casts a clear shadow, the sound design is stellar making you feel as if you are really there, and, like with DOOM, this rarely takes control from you or breaks the first-person perspective. You aren’t playing the Point Man, you are him, and you are experiencing it all through your very eyes.

Screenshot for F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon on PC

While trying to find and detain Fettel, the Point Man will begin hearing bizarre voices, or seeing visions that range from shadows appearing on the corner of his eyes, to painfully real nightmares. Something weird is going on here, and it seems that tied to it all is a mysterious, frail girl. Yes, this throws in the ‘spooky girl’ trope of Asian horror cinema. Does it do much with it? In all honesty, F.E.A.R. keeps it simple with the story it wants to tell. Thankfully, its focus was never to offer a deep, thought-provoking, or complex plot. Monolith’s creation oozes atmosphere from every pore, and while it’s not the scariest of scary games, it’s definitely a title that’ll have most feel uneasy - and it achieves that, not so much with gore or jump scares, but mostly with how it flawlessly blends mundane, purposely realistic environments, with the right dose of the supernatural.

A typical map follows this straightforward yet effective formula: the Point Man goes from A to B. Along the way he’ll enjoy some gunplay with the Replica Soldiers. These battles, while adrenaline-pumping, sort of lower you guard towards the occult. It masterfully manipulates your subconscious, immersing you into a world that looks as realistic as possible, right before breaking that “boring” veil, and begin to play with your mind. F.E.A.R. manages to make those moments where you fight some skilled troops feel relaxing, and even empowering... and all it takes to start feeling weak and helpless, is the sight of a small kiddo appear in front of you for a brief second during an elevator ride, or static coming through your intercom or, even worse, complete, and utter silence.

Screenshot for F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon on PC

The way the horror aspect gets enhanced by the extremely generic, ordinary environments, wouldn’t work if the visuals weren’t as stunning. Whether roaming through abandoned urban areas and warehouses, or office complexes and hi-tech installations, F.E.A.R. is hauntingly realistic. That’s not what makes this such a beauty, though. The trick is actually the dynamic lighting, which enhances the atmosphere by tenfold. The level design is fine and all, but all maps are simple, cube-y areas, like offices, industrial buildings, and so on. Remove the lights, and it is all downright ugly. The dynamic lighting system used here, however, adds a unique vibe to how everything looks, with the strong contrast the almost pitch black shadows create making each locale wallpaper worthy. It’s a case of a combination of simple elements, and yet there’s no other game that looks like F.E.A.R.

Screenshot for F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon on PC

The engine behind this beauty remains impressive even after all these years, and that becomes obvious during gunplay. As if things weren’t exciting enough, when bullets start flying they create sparks, explosions briefly distort what you see, deep holes appear in concrete, dust fills the room, and objects fly all over the place through some very convincing physics - and yet the GPU still has leftover power to spare. By comparison, the sound feels like it’s just “there,” but in reality it’s quite good too, with each surface having its own unique effect when hit, and weapons sounding very realistic, although somewhat weak. The music, which mainly consists of moody ambience, is used sparingly, which is good, as it would ruin the feel of what is partly a horror title.

In conclusion: top-notch presentation, with little room for improvement. What about the actual gameplay, though? This is a pure shooter, after all, and not a survival horror one like Resident Evil VII, so gunplay is at the forefront. Well, here’s a look at the first couple of battles: the Point Man is on his own and has to deal with four or so soldiers; some very skilled soldiers. The Replica army’s AI is very impressive. Enemies react to flashlights and sound, are pretty effective at shooting their guns and throwing their grenades, and they also tend to shoot behind corners. They even communicate with each other, reporting where you are hiding. Even better? They move in a believable, tactical fashion, and will jump through windows, or crouch under obstacles while trying to surround and flank you, keeping you on your toes at all times.

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This - now legendary - AI makes battles dynamic, challenging, and, ultimately, fun. There’s a nifty slow-mo ability available, and it is indeed very useful, and even unavoidable in a couple of occasions, but it never really feels like a cheap mechanic that turns you into a god, as one still needs to use that cleverly and be mindful of the ‘Reflex’ meter. With that said, while generally very enjoyable, weaponry lacks the sophistication of the arsenal found in a Doom, Half-Life, or Halo, with the normal rifles having little differences between them, and the big cannons or sci-fi guns either being overpowered, or close to useless. Take the penetrator (or what its name), for instance. Using it to throw large bolts that pin enemies to the wall is cool and all, but in terms of strategic value there’s not much difference between this and, say, your pistols. It’s one of those shooters where you choose your favourite and complete the whole darn thing with it. Mainly the shotgun. F.E.A.R.’s shotgun is fantastic.

In the grand scheme of things, these are just small, insignificant nit-picks when compared to the biggest issue at hand; the repetition. Remember what has been said about fighting the Replica Soldiers? Well, awesome as these encounters are, there’s almost nothing else to see here besides them. Monolith crafted some fine AI and thought that this was enough, but it really isn’t, as the fun factor decreases after a few hours of gameplay as you are literally fighting the same guys again, and again, and again. There are a few surprises along the way, with some additional foes to shoot down, like some laser-spitting drones, a “ninja” like melee enemy that uses light-bending camouflage, and a very annoying bullet sponge, yet it constantly feels as if the Replica army isn’t just the main bad guy, but the only one.

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Not only does this flaw make the campaign less enjoyable the closer one gets to the end, but it also lowers the replayability of it all. Simply put, don’t expect to keep coming back to this upon completion, especially when a couple of levels overstay their welcome by a lot. Sure, there’s a multiplayer mode available, and it’s a pretty decent one... but it’s just that; decent. This brings the conversation back to the other half of the equation: the adventure part - or how good the plot is, and how scary the presentation can be. As mentioned before, the story isn’t exactly a masterpiece, and the spook levels aren’t really that high to help horror aficionados to get their fix. Strangely enough, this doesn’t matter that much.

Yes, the battles are repetitive, and never really evolve; yes, the story is just another Resident Evil-like tale where a powerful conglomerate makes an ethically questionable use of science and creates a monster that turns on its creators, with most of the storytelling mostly told through answering machine recordings; yes, the scares are nice and all, but they get more predictable with each passing moment, as they mostly consist of sudden visions of a small girl appearing in front of you. It doesn’t matter though. The key word here is ‘immersion.’ F.E.A.R. grabs you and never let’s go, engrossing you into the role of its protagonist like only a few titles can. Not everyone plays video games for their atmosphere, but those who do, are in for a treat here. The ride can get boring every once in a while, but as a whole: man, what a ride! Truly Monolith’s best game.

Screenshot for F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon on PC

Cubed3 Rating

8/10
Rated 8 out of 10

Great - Silver Award

Rated 8 out of 10

With its great gunfights, courtesy of its impressive AI, and some awesome frights as the side dish, F.E.A.R. could be perfect, but sadly it isn’t. A bit too repetitive and unwilling to go that extra mile with its otherwise, solid storyline and horror elements, this feels like a missed opportunity to be something truly magnificent. What saves the day, is how deeply atmospheric and immersive Monolith’s beautiful creation is. You don’t play the role of the protagonist, you are him, and you can almost smell the floor cleaner on the mundane environments you’ll traverse, as they’ll slowly become real in your mind.

Developer

Monolith Productions

Publisher

Warner Bros.

Genre

First Person Shooter

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  8/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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