F.E.A.R. Platinum

Title says it all. Kinda feels like max payne.

F.E.A.R. is a shooter with horror elements and impressive AI that still holds up 20 years after release. The art direction elevates the experience thanks to its impressive texture work, real-time lighting & amazing sound design that creates a moody and at times chilling experience. The tight pacing and carefully designed combat-encounters are a blast to play through, specially in "Extreme" difficulty where the game takes a twist into tactical-shooter territory. The impressive enemy AI will try to pull every trick in order to take you down; enemy squads will coordinate themselves to try to flank you, they will try to make you get out of cover with the use of explosives, they will create ambushes in doorways, they will wait for you to peek from behind the corner... Combat feels impactful and chunky, thanks in part to its amazing weapon/enemy sound design, and it rewards you for careful positioning/planning; rushing even against one enemy is almost a guaranteed death. When a gun-fight breaks out, dust and particles fill the screen, lens-flare intermittently illuminating dark corners and crevices while debris and blood splatters cover the walls and the enemies scramble while screaming and/or shouting orders... this game certainly is a master class in direction and design. The game includes the two expansions: "Extraction Point" & "Perseus Mandate" which are an absolute must if you love the game, elevating the experience up to 11.

I have a soft spot for the FEAR series and it doesn't get better than the original game and the Extraction Point expansion. If you've never experienced this franchise, this pack is a great way to get into it. You will like the combat, and the amosphere, and probably love the scares for at least a few hours. The game never feels like it marries the action with the horror well enough, but even playing it as two separate, intertwined games is satisfying and fun. Recommended.

I only play this game for the action. The story and 'horror' do nothing for me. The ai is great, weapons are varied, the melee attack is very useful, and the slow-mo is glorious. I often quicksave just before firefights and then replay them over and over trying different tactics. It never gets old. WIth a mod to disable the hud, it's just about perfect. 4/5 because it has some performance hiccups here and there despite a computer that's more than powerful enough. Overall, it's one of the best fps games in my collection. I enjoy the expansions just as much as the main game. Again, I just care about the action. I still have no clue what the story is about.

while i cant top what most of the reviews are saying i can however say how i put thousands of hours into this game. Back when the multiplayer was still up and my dozens of runs through the campaign, at least twice a year i have to pick it up again to see if i can still finish it without dying. Sadly it's true that the game falls off after the first game+expansions, the 2nd is okay and 3rd gets rather CoD-ish but even so are worth playing to continue the story and still give plenty of entertainment. I think its that time of year i finish all 3 in 1 evening again.