As 2005 becomes ever more distant and hazy, so to rows the danger that FEAR will become forgotten to the relentless march of time. Playing FEAR is like cracking open a time capsule from the early 2000's for better or worse. If you're of a certain age you may remember when there was nothing creepier then a young girl in desperate need of hair cut and Slow Motion was still the coolest thing in the world. Look I get it, you take one look at FEAR and think it'll be stale if you crack it open. The vast amount of enemies are literal clones. 85% of it takes place in an office building. You're wrong though. FEAR, its brilliant mini sequel expansion Extraction Point, and sure, let's throw in Perseus Mandate, still kick as hard as Point Man does nearly 15 years later. FEAR's combat is sublime each encounter an open ended puzzle asking "How will you kick all this ass?" Will you meet the enemies on the stairs head on? Or will you jump over the railing and rain death as you descend like an angel of ass kicking? You're slo-mo is an invaluable to as encounters in FEAR move like greased lighting until you slow it down. You would think an office building would be a snoozer of setting, but Monolith honed every inch of the map to serve the you in your quest of kicking ass. Cubicles become labyrinths where you are the Minotaur. Meeting rooms become savannas where only the quick will survive. Roof tops become deadly games of cats and mice with sniper rifles. Your enemies, The Replicants, are that rare group of video game enemies you'll come to think of as (murderous) friends you'll think about as you slog through some other games mindless hordes. Through clever programming (by one guy!) the Replicants will plan, outsmart, and surprise you over and over again. All this and the best shout gun in gaming. I realize that is a hell of a claim. But once you pick it up you'll see it speaks for itself. None of its sequels ever equaled FEAR. That's fine, it got it right the first time.
