You’re
a rookie. It’s your first day on the job working for a top secret agency,
F.E.A.R., called upon whenever all else fails. You and your team are flown in
to investigate a hostage situation where a team of elite terrorists have seized
an office building and taken everyone inside hostage. However, they have yet to
make any demands. Another team has already been flown in, only to lose contact,
thus prompting your squad to be called in. You and your team are instantly
attacked the second your helicopter lands. You blow into the building killing
enemies left and right. You and a comrade find a room with the previous team.
They are all dead, left in a heaping bloody mass. Strangely, there are no
bullet casings on the floor or bullet holes in their bodies. Whatever it was,
it hit them fast, hard, and they never saw it coming. What could’ve possibly
done this? You will soon find out…
Thus begins F.E.A.R., the
latest title developed by Monolith for Vivendi Universal, due out in 2005. I sat
down and saw a fair amount of the intro to the game, which features fantastic
DirectX 9 graphics. The game looked incredible, with complex character models
and shadows, realistic glass and water effects, and excellent lighting.
Exploding a grenade would cause a rippling effect in the air, similar to the
helicopter hitting the building scene in The Matrix. Graphically, this game was
on par with anything I’ve seen of Doom III.
If that wasn’t enough the
gameplay looked extremely deep and atmospheric. Enemies stalked your character
and staged ambushes. If you found yourself caught in a firefight against a
group of them, they would realistically take cover, kicking over tables and
chairs and knocking computers off of their desks in order to hide from you and
take you out. Occasionally, the game would enter a slow-motion mode, causing
the gameplay to slow down to a crawl, and the sound effects would diffract and
slow down, making for a nice atmospheric touch. If all proceeds to plan, Fear
could be the Half-Life 2/Doom III killer of next year.
