F.E.A.R - Fuck Everything And RUN

[Dom Cruise]

FEAR 2 was kind of the last game from the "real" Monolith wasn't it? I wonder the story is there for why Monolith wound up the way it did.

Interesting that FEAR 2 released in 2009, the same year Raven released their last "real" game as well (although they might be making a comeback with the new Call of Duty)

 

[JongleJingle]

Here's how I would have done the Nightcrawlers:

- Just a smidge more human; in PM they were kinda flat, and didn't really "react" per say to getting spooked, shot or killed. Make them drop their stoic mask once in a while, like the Replicas do.
- More unique guns on their side. The rifle, grenade launcher and lightning gun are cool and all, but the rifle is literally indistinguishable to the vanilla one, the grenade launcher is buggy as fuck and the lightning gun is okayish. Why not have stuff like revolvers, machine pistols and a couple experimental weapons, like a triple barreled shotgun or a freezing weapon of some sort?
- More unit variety. The Replica had a perfect balance of regular dudes, power armor and mechanized units; The Nightcrawlers are all just guys in red. Only one out of three actually do anything different, and that difference is that the enemy has I-Frames sometimes. Make some unique robot/cyborg type enemies, since it seems the Nightcrawlers have more technological prowess than the Replicas.
- Have them as a rare but deadly opponent. In PM, they basically replaced the Replicas later on in the game. That's nice and all, but they have little variety among them (unedited) and their personality doesn't carry the fights like the Replicas do. Make them appear as like miniboss squadrons if that makes sense, breaking up the fights between Replicas and Alma's spirits.

 

[The Real Fizzicist]

I want to play F.E.A.R. 1 but my computer doesn't like it and brings the frame rate to <10 fps after about 5 minutes of play. I got it off steam and my OS is Windows 10. Any help is appreciated

 

[JongleJingle]

I want to play F.E.A.R. 1 but my computer doesn't like it and brings the frame rate to <10 fps after about 5 minutes of play. I got it off steam and my OS is Windows 10. Any help is appreciated

You COULD grab the GOG version, since that is much more optimized, but I figure you don't wanna spend an extra 10$ on a game you just nabbed, so you could always pirate it.

That, or your computer's trash.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

I want to play F.E.A.R. 1 but my computer doesn't like it and brings the frame rate to <10 fps after about 5 minutes of play. I got it off steam and my OS is Windows 10. Any help is appreciated

Are you using Logitech devices? There's an infamous bug where the game will start fucking up if you're using Logitech. If you are, this Steam guide should help you. https://steamcommunity.com/app/21090/discussions/0/343785380897389173

 

[The Bovinian Derivative]

FEAR 1 and and its expansion are very comfy, I recently replayed them and even though I dreaded trudging through the endless office complex in the base game again it wasnt that bad, and the expansions have legit scares: those shadow creatures always gave me a heart attack and the way the black specops guy dies is pretty memorable. I jumped into FEAR2 after that and it's... something, I miss my leaning mechanics. I have no idea what Monolith snored for FEAR3 to make a competetive cooperative game but I am glad we got that learning experience out of our system.

 

[JongleJingle]

FEAR 1 and and its expansion are very comfy, I recently replayed them and even though I dreaded trudging through the endless office complex in the base game again it wasnt that bad, and the expansions have legit scares: those shadow creatures always gave me a heart attack and the way the black specops guy dies is pretty memorable. I jumped into FEAR2 after that and it's... something, I miss my leaning mechanics. I have no idea what Monolith snored for FEAR3 to make a competetive cooperative game but I am glad we got that learning experience out of our system.

Honestly, Extraction Point should have been F.E.A.R 2. Make it a bit longer, have some more weapons and enemies, patch up the plot a little and BAM, perfect sequel.

 

[The Real Fizzicist]

You COULD grab the GOG version, since that is much more optimized, but I figure you don't wanna spend an extra 10$ on a game you just nabbed, so you could always pirate it.

That, or your computer's trash.

I got a NVidia 2060 and a i7-9750. I don't think its too trash for FEAR but thanks anyways.

Are you using Logitech devices? There's an infamous bug where the game will start fucking up if you're using Logitech. If you are, this Steam guide should help you. https://steamcommunity.com/app/21090/discussions/0/343785380897389173

I have a Logitech mouse, so that might be it. I will try the guide when I get the chance, thanks.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

I have a Logitech mouse, so that might be it. I will try the guide when I get the chance, thanks.

No problem. I had the same issue; I played the game on a laptop that should have run it but for some reason it ran like dogshit. I looked into it and I realized it was because of the Logitech mouse I was using. In my case though I had another mouse on hand and when I switched over the game worked perfectly fine. Hope it works for you!

 

[Dom Cruise]

I have no idea what Monolith snored for FEAR3 to make a competetive cooperative game but I am glad we got that learning experience out of our system.

Monolith is a victim of whatever's in the water that has also affected fellow Seattle based dev Valve in that they've also never made a game with the number 3 in it, at best a spinoff.

They did Blood 1 and 2, NOLF 1 and 2, Condemned 1 and 2 and FEAR 1 and 2, always stopping before they got to 3 with the exception of a few expansions and spinoffs, watch as there'll never be a third Shadow of Mordor game by them as well.

It's so bizarre to me that there's no less than two devs based in Seattle that refuse to make a number 3 game, why the hell is that?

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

True to my word, I decided to give F.E.A.R. 1 another go, this time on hard mode. And I'm so glad I did because this game is damn good. I'm way more interested in the story and the shooting is phenomenal. Reducing a guy to a red pulpy mist with a shotgun is so damn satisfying. It's such a slick, fast paced shooter, but of course I'm preaching to the choir here.

I think what happened the first time was I kept breaking the game up in chunks, like I'd play a section, not touch the game for a month, then get back to it having forgotten everything going on. The drab environments really didn't help because I didn't have a point of reference for how far in I was (the ending completely snuck up on me the first time as a result). Even so, it was a nice surprise re-visiting the game.

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

I loved FEAR 1 as well, it totally nailed the atmosphere and the shotgun was truly a thing of glory. FEAR files were good expansions as well, brought in a few new elements whilst keeping the core feel. FEAR 2 was ok, fine to play through a few times but didn't leave much of a lasting impression, since my main memory is how horrible the motion blur was on the 360 version. 3 I never even bothered with, the fact it was co-op told me all I needed to know. Plus it had the more horrific limited edition statue ever

Who the hell would want to have to explain that one to guests? It's not creepy, it's just gross.

 

[Cheese-Loving Citizen]

I didn't know they included statues of Michael Jackson in the limited edition.

 

[Dom Cruise]

I loved FEAR 1 as well, it totally nailed the atmosphere and the shotgun was truly a thing of glory. FEAR files were good expansions as well, brought in a few new elements whilst keeping the core feel. FEAR 2 was ok, fine to play through a few times but didn't leave much of a lasting impression, since my main memory is how horrible the motion blur was on the 360 version. 3 I never even bothered with, the fact it was co-op told me all I needed to know. Plus it had the more horrific limited edition statue ever

Who the hell would want to have to explain that one to guests? It's not creepy, it's just gross.

Reminds me of that terrible Dead Island Riptide statue that was one of the first instances of SJW butthurt outrage in gaming.

It's funny how just before the SJW freakout exploded, 2010, 2011, you had games like God of War 3 and Duke Nukem Forever and stuff like that FEAR statue and the Dead Island statue, ie gaming was arguably at it's edgiest before things started backsliding greatly.

God of War 3 in particular kind of blows my mind to look back on today, because had that game came out just two years later it would have been a huge controversy, like I'm talking mass boycotts of Sony, loads of butthurt and salt, yet because it came out in 2010 everyone just let it slide even though it was just a year or two later attitudes started to change, it's crazy how fast the culture changes once a new decade starts in earnest.

If you don't understand what I'm talking about I'm referring to the scenes where Kratos causes one of Poseidon's wives, a topless woman, to get violently ground up in gears, snaps Hera's neck and of course fucks a topless Aphrodite while two horny, topless babes look on.

We went from some of the edgiest shit ever seen in gaming to the culture shifting to where that would never be acceptable in only a year or two, that just blows my mind.

 

[c-no]

Here's how I would have done the Nightcrawlers:

- Just a smidge more human; in PM they were kinda flat, and didn't really "react" per say to getting spooked, shot or killed. Make them drop their stoic mask once in a while, like the Replicas do.
- More unique guns on their side. The rifle, grenade launcher and lightning gun are cool and all, but the rifle is literally indistinguishable to the vanilla one, the grenade launcher is buggy as fuck and the lightning gun is okayish. Why not have stuff like revolvers, machine pistols and a couple experimental weapons, like a triple barreled shotgun or a freezing weapon of some sort?
- More unit variety. The Replica had a perfect balance of regular dudes, power armor and mechanized units; The Nightcrawlers are all just guys in red. Only one out of three actually do anything different, and that difference is that the enemy has I-Frames sometimes. Make some unique robot/cyborg type enemies, since it seems the Nightcrawlers have more technological prowess than the Replicas.
- Have them as a rare but deadly opponent. In PM, they basically replaced the Replicas later on in the game. That's nice and all, but they have little variety among them (unedited) and their personality doesn't carry the fights like the Replicas do. Make them appear as like miniboss squadrons if that makes sense, breaking up the fights between Replicas and Alma's spirits.

Much as I was able to enjoy Perseus Mandate, you hit the nail on it. The Nightcrawlers were a step-down from the Replicas. They could have the stoic mask but it really should of been cracked both in combat when you fucked over 95% of their squad or even further in the game where Alma's ghostly antics start to fuck with them and not just you. The rifle itself was the same shit as the base game aside from a red scope. They could of at least did some trade-offs with it in making it less faster than the base rifle but a bit stronger behind the bullpup rifle. The 360 port of FEAR actually had machine pistols which could be dual-wielded. It would of been nice for that to be thrown into PM along. Variety for the Nightcrawlers was something the devs did screw up on since they could of at least made a reskin of an assassin but give him a different edge in being able to shoot at you from a distance and running around and not just flailing his arms at you or making their own take for a Nightcrawler heavy. The grunts at least could be replacement for replicas but at least in showing how they could work differently to screw you over beyond just being a reskin.

Honestly, Extraction Point should have been F.E.A.R 2. Make it a bit longer, have some more weapons and enemies, patch up the plot a little and BAM, perfect sequel.

They really could have given us that. Having to play as Point Man rather than a more generic FPS soldier with tacticool glasses whose sole purpose was to be a baby daddy for Alma and just seeing how things really got fucked up for the city and dealing with both Replica soldiers of Fettel and Armacham's forces, and maybe seeing Norton Mapes keep trying to keep his fat ass alive in a mini-apocalypse.

 

[Snekposter]

To be honest, one thing that always rubbed me off about FEAR was the fact that despite your guys being a paranormal cleanup crew, you somehow have no idea what's going on when you're called in to deal with a military contract gone bad in FEAR. Would have been nice to have some sort of line or two from Den Mother about how he's never told anything by Uncle Sam.

 

[TheRatcatcher]

We will never get a proper FEAR 4, but I do recommend Trepang 2. The proper FEAR sequel.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

People have talked about the bland office environments, but I have to admit I quite liked them - the normal, every day backdrop for extreme blood letting and carnage. There's a thousand games where I can fight on exotic worlds, but very few where I can blow a man's head open and watch its contents splatter over the same filing cabinets I use every day.

Its funny, really. I always switched off when the game went into creept laboratory terriroty for this reason.

 

[Considered HARMful]

I think F.E.A.R. would be a better game without the goofy-spooky parts. The shooting is top-notch to this day, but spookiness was laughable after what System Shock 2 achieved, so gimme a break.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

I finished off F.E.A.R. for the second time. I really enjoyed it this time around and I would love to start up Extraction Point. It seems to me that the expansions are the only thing worth exploring beyond the first game anyway. Funnily enough, despite playing it on Hard, I thought it was easier than my first playthrough on Normal. Maybe it's because I'm more used to the mechanics.

I did think the last levels were kinda trash though. After you kill Fettel the last two levels quickly devolve into slowly walking through corridors, shooting at ghosts while the hallucinations go into overdrive. I dunno, it's such a lame, anticlimactic way to close out the game. I would have preferred maybe one last blowout gunfight or an actual confrontation with Alma, just something to finish off the game on a high note besides the giant explosion.