Title: F.E.A.R
Description: First En...etc etc.
DJ-Civic - August 4, 2005 01:48 PM (GMT)
Ok, who's been keeping an eye on this? No, not
Fat Elves Are Roudy but rather, F.E.A.R - First Encounter Assault and Recon.
I remember seeing a video demo of this last year, and with it's Matrix-esque bullet time effect, intense firefights and some really creepy atmosphere, it caught my eye. At the time I saw it I was using my good old
Celeron 633mhz, which would crash at the title screen for this game, so I decided to keep an eye on the game for when I did get a good enough PC to run it. And now is that time as the
game Demo is available this Friday @ 9am EST. (there abouts)
Gamespot has gone hands-on with the demo, and here's what they say;
| QUOTE |
LOS ANGELES--G4's G-Phoria awards show played host to a great number of game demos this evening, chief among them--in our minds at least--a single-player demo version of F.E.A.R., the supernaturally tinged, hyperkinetic first-person shooter from Matrix Online developer Monolith. We played through the demo start to finish to see how the game, which is due out in just a few short months, has shaped up toward the end of its development cycle. Indications after this admittedly brief demo are that the final game should offer a hard-hitting, unique shooting experience that we're excited to see more of.
The game centers around a special ops unit, First Encounter Assault Recon, which specializes in the paranormal and comes packing considerable combat abilities and even rudimentary time powers a la The Matrix and Max Payne. The G-Phoria demo began with a non-interactive cutscene (set from the player's controllable perspective), in which F.E.A.R.'s lavishly detailed characters discuss a tense situation (we couldn't hear their conversation over the event's cacophonous backdrop, but they were frowning a lot). We were then dispatched to the dark depths of an old building with the task of apprehending a particular, dangerous suspect. But as we plumbed the recesses of the dingy basement, we got a whole lot more than we bargained for--and the heavily armored, well-armed commandoes weren't even the worst of it.
We went in packing just a simple pistol and submachine gun, but even these basic weapons feel like they pack a real wallop in F.E.A.R., thanks to their weighty sound effects and their exaggerated effect on the enemies you're shooting. The game's ragdoll physics and location-based damage systems work well together to make an enemy soldier flail around in a hyperrealistic, action-movie sort of way that really gets the point across. Even better, you can toggle a zoomed-in aiming mode with the touch of a button that makes it easy to score a headshot and take a foe down real quick-like. You can also do a brutal, Halo-style melee attack, and if you use this attack in midair you even perform a heavy jump kick.
But easily the best trick up your sleeve in F.E.A.R. is your ability to slow down time for a limited time. The effect is visually pretty similar to Max Payne--bullets leave ripple trails in the air and the sound is dampened, and the sprays of debris, sparks, dust, and smoke that pop up from bullet hits look even cooler when they're slowed way down. Of course, in gameplay terms, this ability makes it a lot easier to gun down a bunch of foes at once without getting shot full of holes ourselves. But it doesn't hurt that it also looks damn cool at the same time.
The combat scenarios in the F.E.A.R. demo were few, but each one had its own really unique, exciting elements. One time, we saw an enemy literally drop onto his belly and crawl underneath some rubble to get away from our hail of gunfire and assume a safer position. Later in the same battle, another enemy vaulted over a countertop unexpectedly to get a better shot at us. Later on, we snuck into a room two soldiers were talking in, turned on the slow motion, and blew them both away with a single shotgun blast, sending one of them practically into a slow-mo summersault.
As cool as the combat was in the F.E.A.R. demo, we were equally impressed with the creepy atmosphere and disturbing cinematic elements. The entire demo was dark--we're talking Doom 3 dark, where you can barely see anything in some rooms (though at least your head-mounted flashlight can be left on while you're shooting). And toward the end, weird things started to happen, like the ghostly little girl that appeared right in our face when we were descending a ladder. Later on in our investigation, we were inexplicably teleported into a weird hallway, and when we walked down it, we found a brutalized, dying man in a chair, and caught a ghostly glimpse of what appeared to be his murderer before he died right in front of us.
F.E.A.R. started out as a visually impressive game, and the longer it's been in development, the better-looking it's gotten. The game makes use of all the next-generation graphical effects you'd expect in a modern first-person shooter, things like normal and bump mapping, and pronounced specular highlights. As mentioned, the character models are also extremely high-detail from a geometry perspective, and the overall aesthetic is grittily consistent.
Judging by the number of "holy crap" moments we experienced during just 20 minutes or so of F.E.A.R., we're certainly looking forward to finding out if the full game can maintain this demo's breakneck pace. The game's high-intensity combat and sinister story elements have piqued our interest in equal measure, and given Monolith's winning track record, we have no reason to believe they'll let us down. Stay tuned for more on F.E.A.R. as its release date approaches. |
Sounds good to me.
ElPresidente - August 4, 2005 10:47 PM (GMT)
If you have a squiz through the latest PCPP you'll note that Darren Wells (awww... I remember him when he was a wee little freelancer like me :P) had a chance to visit Monolith and give the game a good going over. He seems more than a little impressed from what he has played.
Considering Monolith's FPS pedegree (SHOGO, No One Live Forever, Tron 2.0, etc) this has ever chance of being an exceptional shooter. Can't wait to give the demo a bash.
Incidently I think you'll find that EST is refering to the US EST and we wont have the demo til Saturday.
rampaging_geek - August 5, 2005 05:48 AM (GMT)
I will definetely download this. Apart from S.T.A.L.K.E.R, this is my most anticipated game.
DJ-Civic - August 5, 2005 11:47 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (ElPresidente @ Aug 4 2005, 10:47 PM) |
| Incidently I think you'll find that EST is refering to the US EST and we wont have the demo til Saturday. |
Yeah I noticed that. Bloody countdown timer on Gamespot was WAY off. <_<
Well I'm gonna grab the demo while I'm out tomorrow hopefully.
ElPresidente - August 5, 2005 03:31 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (rampaging_geek @ Aug 5 2005, 03:48 PM) |
| I will definetely download this. Apart from S.T.A.L.K.E.R, this is my most anticipated game. |
I'll be bloody amazed if that game comes out.
THQ's most recent financial prospectus does not include S.T.A.L.K.E.R in the 2006 financial year. O_O
rampaging_geek - August 5, 2005 09:51 PM (GMT)
I'm just gonna stay hopeful. :P
I hope it doesn't turn into a DNF...
thebigm - August 6, 2005 12:19 AM (GMT)
BrotherEstapol - August 6, 2005 05:45 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (ElPresidente @ Aug 6 2005, 01:31 AM) |
| QUOTE (rampaging_geek @ Aug 5 2005, 03:48 PM) | | I will definetely download this. Apart from S.T.A.L.K.E.R, this is my most anticipated game. |
I'll be bloody amazed if that game comes out.
THQ's most recent financial prospectus does not include S.T.A.L.K.E.R in the 2006 financial year. O_O
|
You fucking serious!? :blink:
GODDAMNIT!!! :pcsmash:
Downloading demo now....
f15active - August 6, 2005 06:05 AM (GMT)
Played the demo, I don't know what it's like im comparison to Doom 3 because I never really played it...but....whoa, that's one freaky game.
Manny M - August 6, 2005 06:15 AM (GMT)
WHOOT! I have nothing to do tonight for the first time in a while, and here I am with news of the FEAR demo, and also the Dungeon Siege 2 demo.
Manny's gaming it up tonight!
f15active - August 6, 2005 07:39 AM (GMT)
I wouldn't dedicated a whole night to FEAR, it dosn't take long to finish the demo, I mean sure it might waste a few extra minutes changing your pants afterwards, but otherwise, it is a bit brief...mind you I played it on the lowest difficulty.
Manny M - August 6, 2005 10:18 AM (GMT)
Yeah, well after downloading it, I realised that the damn thing won't install, so now i'm waiting on Dungeon Siege 2 to come down. And for 1.5 gig, just for the demo, it better bloody work!!
thebigm - August 6, 2005 10:19 AM (GMT)
Not bad of a game, having just played a little bit of the demo now.
Too bad I wont really have an opportunity to play it some more until thursday.
DJ-Civic - August 6, 2005 01:48 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Manny M @ Aug 6 2005, 10:18 AM) |
| Yeah, well after downloading it, I realised that the damn thing won't install....... |
:lol:
And your luck just keeps getting better and better dude!
I'm getting the demo from Gamespot, but it's going so fucking slow! :angry: Might go to fileplanet.
f15active - August 6, 2005 01:55 PM (GMT)
I got mine from gamearena, seemed slower than usual today.
Try
this link from ausgamers. You almost always get stuff quicker from Australian servers.
ElPresidente - August 6, 2005 04:11 PM (GMT)
This game is going to be amazing... the demo is one of the most thrilling FPS experiences I've had in years. Can't wait for the full release!
evO - August 6, 2005 10:47 PM (GMT)
Wow...GameArena is going at an AWESOME 28kbs and Ausgamer is going at a not-so-great 300+kbs...
Wierd that, considering i'm a BigPond user and all...
The Ausgamer one got to 6% while i typed the rest of this post, the BigPond one i started ages ago and only just hit 5% now. 60% already, feck!
Manny M - August 7, 2005 04:47 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (DJ-Civic @ Aug 7 2005, 12:48 AM) |
| QUOTE (Manny M @ Aug 6 2005, 10:18 AM) | | Yeah, well after downloading it, I realised that the damn thing won't install....... |
:lol:
And your luck just keeps getting better and better dude!
|
Wanna hear the next installment?
My 1.6gig Dungeon Siege 2 demo download is also corrupt.
HUZZAH!
evO - August 7, 2005 08:38 AM (GMT)
I've downloaded it but as of yet i have not installed it.
DJ-Civic - August 7, 2005 12:55 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Manny M @ Aug 7 2005, 04:47 AM) |
| QUOTE (DJ-Civic @ Aug 7 2005, 12:48 AM) | | QUOTE (Manny M @ Aug 6 2005, 10:18 AM) | | Yeah, well after downloading it, I realised that the damn thing won't install....... |
:lol:
And your luck just keeps getting better and better dude!
|
Wanna hear the next installment?
My 1.6gig Dungeon Siege 2 demo download is also corrupt.
HUZZAH!
|
Dude, what the hell? Sure you don't have a virus or something? :blink:
Anyway, I managed to get the demo last night and man it was awesome! How creepy was it when you see the little girl run infront of you in slow-mo, only to see her disappear around the corner? Or when she appears as you go down that ladder.... :woot: Very cool.
BrotherEstapol - August 7, 2005 03:11 PM (GMT)
That was an AWESOME demo! :woot:
evO - August 7, 2005 09:47 PM (GMT)
SPPPOOOIIILLLEEERRRSSSS DAMN YOU PEOPLE!! :P.
Manny M - August 8, 2005 01:07 AM (GMT)
I played this for about 10 mins. Why? Well I got my arse kicked about 6 times by that second group of mercs you encounter. Secondly, because that little girl as a ghost freaked the crap outta me.
I'm sticking to Dungeon Siege 2
ElPresidente - August 8, 2005 01:56 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (DJ-Civic @ Aug 7 2005, 10:55 PM) |
| Or when she appears as you go down that ladder.... :woot: Very cool. |
I damn near shat myself. :P
f15active - August 8, 2005 05:56 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| SPPPOOOIIILLLEEERRRSSSS DAMN YOU PEOPLE!! |
Dont worry evo, theres plenty more pants crapping to be had, even after that particular part. But yeah, had my head phones on, blinds closed and lights off.....heart stopping game that is. I don't think I could keep that up to finish an entire game, so I won't buy it. :P
BrotherEstapol - August 8, 2005 11:34 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Manny M @ Aug 8 2005, 11:07 AM) |
I played this for about 10 mins. Why? Well I got my arse kicked about 6 times by that second group of mercs you encounter. Secondly, because that little girl as a ghost freaked the crap outta me.
I'm sticking to Dungeon Siege 2 |
LOL, you must suck pretty badly Manny. :lol:
You know that you can slow down time(with "ctrl") don't you? :huh:
Manny M - August 8, 2005 11:44 AM (GMT)
Yeah, but the pricks always caught me out on the reload with grenades and shit. It's like 6 vs 1. Anyway, these scary games don't interest me at all. The suspense is likely to literally kill me.
DJ-Civic - August 8, 2005 01:35 PM (GMT)
I thought I was the pussy one? :P Remember the whole "RE4 creeps me out" thing?
I love these type of FPS games that scare the crap out of you, but you're able to "hit back" with some awesome guns. Speaking of which - what's everyone's fave gun? Mine's that laser-gun thing that literatelly burns enemies to their bones. :evilwink:
Manny M - August 9, 2005 12:38 AM (GMT)
No. What was that all about?
Zombies are one thing, but eerie ghosts.. nuh uh, especially since i've had 'experiences' with that sort of paranormal.
DJ-Civic - August 9, 2005 01:36 PM (GMT)
I didn't wanna get RE4 because REmake creeped me out to the point where I refused to play any RE game. Don't know why, but I'm now loving RE4.
You've experienced paranormal things? Woah! What happened?
Manny M - August 10, 2005 02:07 AM (GMT)
My house is haunted.
The End
[DZ] - August 10, 2005 02:40 AM (GMT)
I don't wanna download FEAR with my superfast 56K connection. Any chance the demo will be bundled in the next PC Powerplay ElPrez?
ElPresidente - August 10, 2005 04:19 AM (GMT)
I'd be bloody surprised if it wasn't... although with mag turn around times the demo release may have cut it a bit close. If it isn't in this issue coming it will no doubt be in the issue after that.
BrotherEstapol - August 10, 2005 05:30 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Manny M @ Aug 10 2005, 12:07 PM) |
My house is haunted.
The End |
Aww, that ghost story sucked. :|
Give us details!!(create a new topic on it even) :dance3:
Hmm, does this mean you won't place Luigi's mansion as well? :luigidance1:
[DZ] - August 10, 2005 06:22 AM (GMT)
I found Doom 3 to be extremely scary and tense. I almost had heartattacks at times. Damn imps!
DJ-Civic - August 10, 2005 12:38 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE ([DZ] @ Aug 10 2005, 06:22 AM) |
| I found Doom 3 to be extremely scary and tense. I almost had heartattacks at times. Damn imps! |
I loved Doom 3's scary moments. The monester just jump out and scare the living shit outta you. Then you scramble for cover and start shooting! :D
Manny M - August 10, 2005 11:58 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (BrotherEstapol @ Aug 10 2005, 04:30 PM) |
| QUOTE (Manny M @ Aug 10 2005, 12:07 PM) | My house is haunted.
The End |
Aww, that ghost story sucked. :|
Give us details!!(create a new topic on it even) :dance3:
Hmm, does this mean you won't place Luigi's mansion as well? :luigidance1:
|
Create a new topic? Hahaha, this is Evo kid, that shit aint allowed, for fear of prosecution from those dipshits, 'fyuussiiiiiiiiiiiii' and that other admin who only seems to come and post to piss people off.
BrotherEstapol - August 11, 2005 02:28 AM (GMT)
LOL, well when an "Adminerator" suggests that you make another thread, I think you're in the safe-zone dude. ;)
ElPresidente - August 11, 2005 04:36 AM (GMT)
You never know...
You just never know...
rampaging_geek - August 11, 2005 08:22 AM (GMT)