F.E.A.R. Platinum

*WARNING* if you're playing on a newer system there is a high probability that you will need to get your hands dirty installing fixes to get this to run right, Also at least on my system running win10 the multiplayer is completely broken.. you can't even play local network matches. If you aren't willing to get your hands dirty I'd recommend you skip this one. If you are willing to tinker check out the GoG forum for fixes. This was a hard game to review, Do I review the game after I fixed it so it ran smoothly or out of the box from GoG install which is a mess?, I choose to review the game as it's intended. The game came out around 05 or 06, It won't win any awards for graphics or sound these days But in it's day it was quite decent and you can tell a lot of care was spent on setting the mood with the lighting and sound. The A.I in this game is also a cut above.. dare I say even some of today's modern games? It has aged well. Reminds me of Doom, blending FPS action & supernatural horror and no shortage of gore. Characters are likable including the villain who is well voice cast. The action is satisfying, The horror elements are generally well done. The game alternates between story telling, scares, and gun fights with good pacing not to over whelm you with any of the 3. One disappointment I had was there is very little stealth element, Despite lots of shadows you're often spotted in near pitch black darkness, the A.I has incredible vision, which was a missed opportunity imo. The other major complaint is the insane decision to put focus-aim as a "toggle" instead of "hold" function. The A.I is smart in a fight, sometimes retreating or even hiding in wait after you've killed it's buddies. 3 games are included I felt the 1st was environmentally repetitive but, Extraction point had a good blend of action and horror, while Perseus Mandate leaned heavy into the action at the expense of horror. If you like FPS and Horror you'll enjoy this 1.. er 3

Having never played this game when it first came out, I went in more or less expecting a horror game in FPS clothing. What I ended up getting was quite honestly one of the best single player FPS experiences I've had possibly ever. There are certainly horror elements present, and occasionally they are relatively well done, but the gunplay and enemy A.I. are where this game truly shines and earned the game a permanent install spot on my computer. In a world where the average modern day FPS game is generic and multiplayer focused, and aside from indie boomer shooters most single player offerings are relatively samey, the fact that more FPS games haven't expanded on this games blueprint since it came out makes me sad.

I've been playing this game over and over for over a decade and it is easily one of my favorite games of all time. Few games have managed to implement "bullet time" as effectively and thrillingly as FEAR, it is always thrilling especially when used to survive a particularly dangerous skirmish. The gunplay and physics have aged incredibly well with the weapons achieving a heft that many modern FPS titles still struggle to achieve. As a big John Woo fan I love rocking the dual handguns as much as possible, you feel so badass! The enemy AI is still some of the best in the industry. We have seen modern FPS enemies regress into idiots running into harms way with no sense of self-preservation at all. Not so with FEAR where enemies will adapt once discovering your presence. If an area has multiple routes of traversal a solider may very well take the long way around and sneak up on you. Hearing the radio chatter between enemies shows them pointing out when you're trying to flank them and sometimes they fall back and attempt to set up traps to catch you off-guard. This sense of unpredictability prevents the game from becoming repetitive as you kill mostly the same-looking enemy for the whole game. The story is a little hokey but it's still effective and drives the gameplay forward effectively. The spooky sequences will still unsettle and cause a jump or two even after my repeated playthroughs. I also love the ending! Monolith were able to bring strong horror sensibilities and combine it with excellent FPS mechanics and I honestly feel that this game still stands as one of the best ever made in the genre. As far as its age goes, it needs a tweak or two due to it's age but thanks to PCGamingWiki I had it running in 2K on a modern setup with no problems and it scales surprisingly well. Get it already!

Just finished Perseus Mandate yesterday and with that have now completed the whole package offered here. First of all, this is a great value you get here with the Platinum Edition. It will take you some time to get through the main game and the two addons. The game and the addons are pretty good but haven't aged that well IMO. Sure, the AI is impressive and the SlowMotion shootouts thrilling but the level design is everything but impressive and the game itself is pretty repetitive. So what I recommend is to set the difficulty at least on high so you get the most out of the shooting because there isn't much more to it really. The story is, although pretty simple, not very well told (worst combo IMO) and I lost interest very quickly. And yeah, the horror elements are there but are repeated over and over again, so it does get a bit tiresome - especially if you play the main game and the addons in a row like me. And that's about it. There isn't much more to tell. This is pretty much an OldSchool shooter. Better be aware of that before you jump into it. I have to say that I personally liked Perseus Mandate best of the 3 because it gives kinda of an outside perspective on the events of F.E.A.R and EP. Also I though it had the best shock moments and on top of that a challenging boss fight at the end (something totally absent in F.E.A.R. and EP). EP on the other hand felt and played like a chore. It didn't add much to the story and felt like the devs just added a few levels at the end.

I would never say that FEAR is a bad game, but I would go as far as to say that it is a bit over praised. I played this game when it first came out, and I remember the slow motion mechanics were a major selling point for the game. Best part is, the slow motion mechanics are spot on and very well done. The only problem is that this mechanic starts to grow tiresome after about an hour of gameplay. Its usefulness in the overall scheme of the game is arguable. I started the game fascinated with the bullet-time like moments, but by the end of the game had almost forgot they existed. What this game does very well is the visual presentation of horror elements. The visual direction on this game is stellar, and despite the age of the game, can still impress with many of its moments. Unlike most horror games, which are slow, FEAR is a fast paced action horror, which was very welcome when it was released. I can't state that enough. Its fun to play a horror game in which you are not being forcefully handicapped by the camera, player speed, or even ammo just to artificially increase the scare factor. For that, this game should be commended. But why would I only give it 3 stars? Well, the biggest problem with FEAR was the level design. It was so repetitive and boring, that almost every area looks exactly like the previous area. The linearity of the game is not cleverly hidden, but rather in your face with the very obvious and recurring action sequences. The first 30 minutes of this game repeats endlessly until close to the end. So few of the moments in this game are memorable. I just remember endless cubicles and anonymous black clad soldiers. The only thing that stood out in the gameplay were the scares. There are more than a few, and they are very well done. The subject matter may not be one of my scare buttons, but that doesn't matter. The scares were what kept me playing.