F.E.A.R. very nicely captures the elements of light, sound and suspense that are required to create a downright frightening experience. You'll freak out when you kick over a bucket or knock over some tools, as they clatter and clank, making you feel like you've woken the living dead. The game's use of sound is downright brilliant, and you'll feel its effects all the more if you've got a surround sound system set up. The visuals do their part as well, especially with subtle tricks intended to keep you on your toes. Your helmet flashlight is your last grasp at sanity throughout much of the game, as the battery steadily dies down during use, and when things go pitch black, your heart will no doubt be racing. The game sets you up for these moments by using visual tricks drawn from films like The Ring, and one could even say that the game should not be played by the faint of heart. Lighting and shadows are incredibly well implemented in the campaign, and more often than not it's the things that you can't see that are as terrifying as the horrors that you encounter.

On the other hand, F.E.A.R. also more than holds its own in epic gun battles, and these are visual treats with little compare. Bullets will tear through the environment, sending sparks flying everywhere, bodies will twitch with each shell that penetrates their armor, and the smoking carnage left after a heated exchange is a powerful reminder to step back and take a breath. The set pieces work well as a stage for these fights, but there is a distinct lack of variety in the environments, which is a shame.

A couple GameSpy editors have been playing the game online extensively since its release, and we've had quite a range of impressions, but we agree on a few specific points. The graphics take a pretty big hit on the multiplayer maps, as compared to the single-player, specifically in regard to texture quality and lighting. The game completely loses its horror angle in multiplayer, turning it into a fairly standard deathmatch and capture-the-flag game, nearly identical to what's available in the glut of other tactical shooters. The weapons are fun, though, and it's nice to be able to select your preferred armament to start off each round. You'll get a lot of headshots, and you'll be killed very quickly, of course, as you can't absorb very much punishment. This system balances out the weapons, however, meaning that your shotgun will one-shot lots of people up close if you have good reaction times, but machine pistols will spray enough bullets to hold their own at range. The Penetrator, on the other hand, is very accurate and powerful on a shot by shot basis, while not able to spray lead like some of the other gun options. The assault rifle is hands down the most popular weapon from our experience online, and you can safely expect it to be the gun that takes you down the most.


The multiplayer maps are filled with side passages and halls that can be used to flank enemies and hide, and in general, the level design is one of the game's strongest points. While the environments are lifted directly from areas you'll traverse in the single-player campaign, they work very well for multiplayer, with lots of hidden vantage points and choke points to make full use of, particularly in team play. Interestingly enough, there are multiplayer gameplay modes that can be played with the slow-motion ability enabled, including slo-mo capture the flag. This mode allows one player to activate the ability, making them a big target for the opposing team. This throws a whole other element of gameplay in the mix, and it's really too bad that the early adopters are playing deathmatch and team deathmatch almost exclusively. In time, and with more players, these other match types could be quite fun.

There are some issues with the multiplayer that have crept up during our game experience, and it remains to be seen whether these are growing pains that can be fixed with updates, or if these are going to be around for the life of the game. For one thing, quite a few players, including ourselves, have had the game crash our system during load screens or at the respawn screen. One issue quite a few players are complaining about is the lack of a control customization option, as you're only able to choose from a variety of preset control configurations. The biggest problem is that all of the configs have the crouch enabled by depressing the left analog stick, and it's far too easy to get into your slow crouch walk in the middle of a heated firefight, where your ability to quickly strafe side to side is your only chance at survival.