Post by Random on Nov 15, 2006 16:20:13 GMT -5
Well, the games been out for a while, but I bought the "director's cut" version yesterday and beat it at like 11:30 or so last night. Here're my thoughts.
Graphics: 9.5/10
As expected, the graphics were pretty damn nice. There was one particularly beautiful part where there was a pool of water at the end of a hallway reflecting light onto the walls, which was very impressive and quite realistic. Also, if a bullet hits something like a wall, a chunk will be taken out of the wall and you can see the indentation, which apparently is just a flat image if I'm remembering correctly, despite the fact that it really looks like there is an indention there. I'm not really sure if thats what happens when a bullet hits a wall, but if it is, they made it look perfect. There was a great deal of attention to detail in the game, right down to the bullet casings on the ground, and dust being created and blocking line of sight when you shoot something like a wall. The only disapointing part concerning the graphics was that certain details were re-used far too often. For example, I'm pretty sure I found the same blue hammer in every single area of the game, and also there are phones that have unchecked voicemail on them that you can use to hear messages that often reveal small parts of the story, and every single one of those phones looked exactly the same. Other than that, the colors and items work together very well to create environments that feel right, and seem very realistic.
AI: 9/10
The AI in F.E.A.R. is some of the best I've ever seen. They utilize cover extremely well and don't seem to be on a set track of any kind, they actually appear to recognize potential cover and use it when it makes sense to do so. They also don't reload while just standing there, they duck behind cover, and even occaisonally recognize the tactic you are using (at one point I ran at them with a shotgun, and one of them yelled "he's rushing!", which seems small, but its the kind of detail that makes good games great). The only real problem I've found with the AI is that they aren't horribly good at working together, to the point that you can actually get them to kill each other with their own grenades.
Atmosphere: 10/10
F.E.A.R. has a great atmosphere that really pulls you into the game. While playing, you often get strange. . . hallucinations I suppose, though thats not quite the right word, of various things, such as a fairly mutilated guy's face, and sometimes you even get ones in which you can move around and interact with the environment in. Some of them can even hurt you if you're not careful. Aside from that, there is enough clutter around that you will bump into something that'll make a noise and scare you a little, and sometimes you will come across things that'll make noises seemingly on their own, or just move around randomly.
Story: 7/10
For some reason, the story just seems kind of flat. It is somewhat interesting, there just aren't many twists and turns. The way the story is told, however, is perfect. The hallucinations are well executed and the phones with voicemail on them are a nice touch, and a few of them actually contribute a ton to the realism of the game simply because the voice actors really hit the nail on the head with the emotions. There are also some holes in the story, which detract from the game as a whole.
Level Design: 8.5/10
The level design was great until the end of the game, where they have you do a few things for no apparent reason. For the most part, the paths that they lead you down seemed like the natural choice, though there were a few too many times when a door would just be randomly blocked by a shelf or something from the other side. Another fairly significant flaw was that there was a lot of ammo for a few guns and then not much for the rest. This is primarily due to the fact that you get ammo mostly from enemies you kill, and they don't have much variety in their weapons, so you get restricted in a similar way. For example, I never ran out of shotgun ammo through the entire game, and I was using it pretty often. I'm not sure if this is a result of the level design, however, the game really rewards tactical fighting. Using cover saves you a ton of health and grenades are extremely effective.
I think thats it for now, if someone wants to ask about a different area I'd be glad to say more about it.
Graphics: 9.5/10
As expected, the graphics were pretty damn nice. There was one particularly beautiful part where there was a pool of water at the end of a hallway reflecting light onto the walls, which was very impressive and quite realistic. Also, if a bullet hits something like a wall, a chunk will be taken out of the wall and you can see the indentation, which apparently is just a flat image if I'm remembering correctly, despite the fact that it really looks like there is an indention there. I'm not really sure if thats what happens when a bullet hits a wall, but if it is, they made it look perfect. There was a great deal of attention to detail in the game, right down to the bullet casings on the ground, and dust being created and blocking line of sight when you shoot something like a wall. The only disapointing part concerning the graphics was that certain details were re-used far too often. For example, I'm pretty sure I found the same blue hammer in every single area of the game, and also there are phones that have unchecked voicemail on them that you can use to hear messages that often reveal small parts of the story, and every single one of those phones looked exactly the same. Other than that, the colors and items work together very well to create environments that feel right, and seem very realistic.
AI: 9/10
The AI in F.E.A.R. is some of the best I've ever seen. They utilize cover extremely well and don't seem to be on a set track of any kind, they actually appear to recognize potential cover and use it when it makes sense to do so. They also don't reload while just standing there, they duck behind cover, and even occaisonally recognize the tactic you are using (at one point I ran at them with a shotgun, and one of them yelled "he's rushing!", which seems small, but its the kind of detail that makes good games great). The only real problem I've found with the AI is that they aren't horribly good at working together, to the point that you can actually get them to kill each other with their own grenades.
Atmosphere: 10/10
F.E.A.R. has a great atmosphere that really pulls you into the game. While playing, you often get strange. . . hallucinations I suppose, though thats not quite the right word, of various things, such as a fairly mutilated guy's face, and sometimes you even get ones in which you can move around and interact with the environment in. Some of them can even hurt you if you're not careful. Aside from that, there is enough clutter around that you will bump into something that'll make a noise and scare you a little, and sometimes you will come across things that'll make noises seemingly on their own, or just move around randomly.
Story: 7/10
For some reason, the story just seems kind of flat. It is somewhat interesting, there just aren't many twists and turns. The way the story is told, however, is perfect. The hallucinations are well executed and the phones with voicemail on them are a nice touch, and a few of them actually contribute a ton to the realism of the game simply because the voice actors really hit the nail on the head with the emotions. There are also some holes in the story, which detract from the game as a whole.
Level Design: 8.5/10
The level design was great until the end of the game, where they have you do a few things for no apparent reason. For the most part, the paths that they lead you down seemed like the natural choice, though there were a few too many times when a door would just be randomly blocked by a shelf or something from the other side. Another fairly significant flaw was that there was a lot of ammo for a few guns and then not much for the rest. This is primarily due to the fact that you get ammo mostly from enemies you kill, and they don't have much variety in their weapons, so you get restricted in a similar way. For example, I never ran out of shotgun ammo through the entire game, and I was using it pretty often. I'm not sure if this is a result of the level design, however, the game really rewards tactical fighting. Using cover saves you a ton of health and grenades are extremely effective.
I think thats it for now, if someone wants to ask about a different area I'd be glad to say more about it.