TL;DR solid and with good replayability but still not on par with the OG. It's a not a bad game and in my opinion slightly better than FEAR 2. But the problem that it's still called FEAR. The shooting is still not as bombastic as it was in FEAR 1 (back in 2005) and while the AI has more audio callouts than FEAR 2, resembling closer to the OG, it's still nowhere near. Also, you will find most NPCs follow the same pathing from the spawn point. In terms of graphics, again, it's solid but at this point there are several great competitors (Killzone 3, Crysis 2, etc.) so it's not the best of the best either. The horror component is honestly barely there at this point. There are some moments but they are honestly pretty lame (nothing like the first game or even that school segment in the second). Lastly, the story is ok-ish, but nothing special and feels pretty unnecessary overall. As a positive, I did enjoy the rank system in this game (even though it maybe shouldn't even be present in a FEAR game). Also, in comparison with the previous entries, this one actually has some replayability since you can play both as Point Man and Fettel, with each one having a unique ending. Fettel especially is very fun to play with his skills. Because of this I give this 4 stars, though overall I consider it a 7/10 or so.
I played both F.E.A.R. 1 and 2 years ago and remember liking 2. However, I decided to replay all games one after the other and sadly it isn't as good as I remember it. Combat is a complete downgrade from the original in terms of effects, weapons and AI (somehow). And when compared with other shooters from its era like MW2 it already feels antiquated. The graphics are solid for its time. The story doesn't expand much on the lore of the game but it is more cinematic than the first entry. Takes about 5-6 hours to go through on max difficulty. Overall this is a 6.5 or 7 out of 10. It can be decent for a playthrough but doesn't offer more.
Recommended to install EchoPatch to unlock FPS scale HUD and a bunch of bug fixes. Besides that, the game still holds up amazingly well all these years later. Graphics and lightning are still crisp. Combat is somehow still some of the best in the FPS genre even 20 years later. And the horror segments are still spooky. This pack includes both expansions and all in all you're looking at about 10-15 hours of playtime (took me about 15 hours with both expansions and bonus missions on extreme difficulty). Both expansions are also great, especially Extraction Point which in my opinion is the peak of F.E.A.R. in term of balancing horror and action. Completely recommended.
