After repeated delays, Day 1 Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive finally released FEAR 3 in June 2011 and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive and for good reason.
What it lacks in polished graphics it makes up for in every other area. Instead of being a graphics based game with no strategy, script, or acting, this game has what it takes to be a top 10 PC game, and built on it’s predecessors.
Fear 3 gave the fans what they wanted and for newbies it also introduces them to the big adventure of the franchise. If you like your action fast, with lots of horror then this PC game is for you. It’s definitely not for the squeamish and you wont want to be playing this late at night at the college dorm or while the family is asleep because you will jump, shout, and say “ewww!” a lot!
As mentioned, it is developed by Day 1 Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive and distributed by Valve Corporation for Windows. The platforms are PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Fans were happy to see the game was more challenging than they had expected even if there wasn’t a display of super high done graphics. You can play the game as either the protagonist or antagonists, Point Man or Paxton Fettel, and if you finish one challenge you can then replay it as the other character in single player mode.
Long term fans of the series know the rundown regarding the main players but in essence you play as Point Man, Paxton Fettel and Fettel’s mother who is a psychic named Alma Wade. That’s where FEAR comes into play as the agency out to stop Fettel and Wade. However, the turn of events now has the story at nine months after the end of the last game where Point Man and Fettel have to team up this time around. It adds to the depth of the story and adds twists and turns that has most fans happy.
So in effect you have wild action and mayhem. All the blood and gore and firepower, intrigue and espionage, corporate greed and all the stuff that makes for a good first-person shooter. That being said not too much should be given away about the storyline of the game as its biggest value is in that story.
Its not really the ultimate shooter game but what it does have is the meat and potatoes that a real story driven game needs to have to enter our Top 10 PC games, even if only for the horror section.
Critics point out different areas of excellence but they all agree the game is fun to play. That’s the best and most significant part. You can have all the hot graphics, AI, and other bells and whistles but if the game doesn’t contain great gameplay, it wont stand a chance of making it into our Top 10. Is it one of the best PC games of 2011? No, not really. Though if we had a category for the Best PC Horror Games, Fear 3 would be in the Top 10 under that section.
