What do you F3AR?

     We all know that there are tons of shooters out on the market. They all seem to do the same thing and the genre can get a little stale. Thankfully the people over at Day 1 Studios set out to add some freshness to the shooter scene with F.E.A.R. 3. This game manages to blend in both shooter and horror elements that keep you on your toes. In the latest title to the series you play as Point Man, the genetically enhanced character from the original F.E.A.R. The story in this game is pretty simple. Alma (who is an evil, psychic beotch) is back again in full swing. The kicker this time? She's pregnant. So your task is to stop her child from being born and unleashing unparalleled chaos on the world.  

 

     Throughout the game you will be accompanied by the ghost of your brother Paxton Fettel. One awesome aspect of F.E.A.R. 3 is that once you complete a level as Point Man, you can replay the level as Fettel. Naturally, both brothers play completely different. Point Man is your basic gun carrying bad mamma jamma! Seeing how Fettel is a spirit, he can possess enemies and take over their bodies. Even better, you can team up with a friend in co-op mode and use both of the characters' abilities to pull off some cool moves. That brings me to another point. This game is really fun to play in co-op mode and the developers did a fine job integrating that into the campaign. 

     Graphically the game isn't anything stellar, but it doesn't look bad at all. Since it's a horror game most of the levels have a dark look, but this makes it all the better. The music and sound effects are great and make the game even more tense and creepy. The campaign has eight stages and depending on the difficulty you play on it can take you around 8-10 hours to complete. Of course playing the campaign in co-op mode will make it a lot faster. If you're a fan of multiplayer then have no fear (pun intended). This game has some pretty interesting and awesome multiplayer modes.

     There are four different multiplayer modes and each mode has it's own set of levels. You can only play with up to four players which adds to the experience. In the mode Soul King you are a spirit and are playing against your friends to capture souls of enemies in the level. Whoever has the most souls at the end wins. In the mode Soul Survivor one out of the four players is a spirit. If you are the spirit it's your job to possess the other three players before time runs out. If you are not the spirit, then you try your hardest not to get possessed. The mode Contractions is just like Gears of War 2's horde mode or Call of Duty's zombie mode. You and your friends must survive wave after wave of increasingly hard enemies until you are killed. My favorite multiplayer mode is comically called F**king Run. In this mode you and your friends must get from point A to point B while a giant wall of death moves behind you. You have to shoot through enemies with basically no time to stop or the wall of death will destroy you. I have found this mode to be so much fun and so tense at the same time. It's great!

     All in all F.E.A.R. 3 isn't the best shooter on the market. However, it brings an intriguing story, good co-op, and really fun multiplayer modes to the shooter table. It's because of these different elements that make the game something slightly fresh and entertaining. If you have never played any of the F.E.A.R. games don't worry. I think you would be able to jump into this game without any major problems as far as the story line goes. In the end you will be left with a good blend of shooter, horror, and hours of eerie enjoyment. So what are you waiting for? You know there's really nothing to...fear. Sorry, I just had to do that!

Final Verdict: 8/10

Written by: Alter Ego 83