Game: F.E.A.R. 3 (AKA F.3.A.R)
Year (s): 2011
Company: dev. Day 1 Studios
pub. WB Interactive Entertainment
Engine: Despair Engine (modified)
Type: First-Person Shooter
Price (as of February 27, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $39.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): $25
Game Time:
Single-player campaign: about 15 hours, both characters played through on default
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPjU2Bq4e3Q
See Also:
F.E.A.R. Review: http://fpsandmtg.blogspot.com/2011/01/fear-review.html
F.E.A.R. 2 Review: http://fpsandmtg.blogspot.com/2011/02/fear-2-review.html
Plot and Horror
FEAR 3 follows the two brothers from the first game (Point Man and Fettel) as they fight Armacham mercenaries, zombies, and ghosts in an attempt to stop Alma from giving birth. As far as franchise continuity, FEAR 3 throws it out the window. Characters that were clearly killed are back, and others behave quite uncharacteristically (the most glaring example is that Alma isn't homicidal). It's a mess.
The plot also fails to make sense in and of itself. You spend half the game trying to rescue a prisoner, and when you finally reach him... you kill him. Armacham has a Latin-American city under martial law, for some reason. Et cetera.
Director John Carpenter (Halloween, Escape from LA) was brought on board for this. His style doesn't convey the prevalent apprehension that was iconic of the first two FEAR titles. There's a couple of weak jump-scares in FEAR 3, but nothing memorably creepy or scary.
Day 1 and Despair
Day 1 has developed about ten games that I've never heard of. This is the only one I've played. Monolith developed the first FEAR, FEAR 2, and the FEAR 2 expansion. TimeGate developed the FEAR expansions, which were not considered canon.
The Despair Engine is graphically comparable to the Monolith's Jupiter EX engine. The only difference to note is that character faces are now simpler and more cartoony. Day 1 carried gameplay elements, weapons, fonts, voice actors, sound effects, and I'm pretty sure some textures from FEAR and FEAR 2. They did a good job of keeping the general look of the series with their own engine.
Combat/Gameplay
You can play as either Point Man or Fettel, by yourself or in two-player co-op. Point Man was the original protagonist, and utilizes the slow-motion super reflexes that the series is known for. Point Man was presumed to have died at the end of FEAR (he wasn't in FEAR 2 at all), but apparently did not.
Fettel was the original antagonist, and may have been a vampire. He died at the end of FEAR, came back as a ghost in a non-canon expansion, and came back as a possessed Replica soldier in a FEAR 2 expansion. In FEAR 3 Fettel is clearly a ghost and there are no Replica forces. Go figure. He can carry no weapons, but can throw fireballs, possess people, and hold enemies defenseless in the air.
Characters level up based on points. Points are gained on a per-level basis by completing challenges, like getting twenty kills with the shotgun.
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
Currently there is only fan speculation of further FEAR titles.
Final Thoughts
The Good: FEAR 3 has fun gameplay and looks a lot like the other games. Having two character options, as well as co-op with a friend, stretches the game out to longer than the typical twelve-hour shooter.
The Bad: FEAR 3 isn't frightening at all, and I'm really not sure why they went with the guy that directed Big Trouble in Little China. The plot makes no sense, and the most positive thing I can say is that the game is better than a few games that are worse.
The Verdict: This is a disappointing continuation of a franchise I rather enjoyed. I suggest skipping this one and pretending FEAR 2 was the end of the series.
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