F.E.A.R. 3 (2011)

The third FEAR shifts the series from its horror-heavy roots toward a more conventional co-op shooter, with mixed results, particularly I like the action, but thats about it. The gunplay is tight and satisfying, similar to something like the CoD series at the time. Especially with the addition of co-op where one player controls the psychic Paxton Fettel, offering unique abilities that change how battles play out, and I feel some inspirations on games like The Darkness for example.

However, the horror elements that defined the earlier games are watered down, replaced by more generic action set pieces, and for me this was a major letdown since I loved the horror aspects of the first two entries. The story tries to expand the Alma Wade saga but ends up feeling muddled and less emotionally engaging. Overall, it’s a competent shooter with a few interesting mechanics, but it lacks the psychological tension and atmosphere that made the original F.E.A.R. stand out, a totally skippable title.

Visually and technically, it is solid but unremarkable for its time. The environments are serviceable yet repetitive, leaning heavily on war-torn urban spaces that rarely evoke the unsettling mood the series was once known for. Enemy variety is limited, which makes extended firefights feel predictable, and while the slow-motion mechanics still work well, they no longer feel as impactful or novel as they did in earlier entries.

In the end, this title feels like a game caught between identities. It’s not committed enough to horror to satisfy longtime fans, nor innovative enough as a shooter to stand out in a crowded market. While co-op and the abilities add a layer of experimentation, they aren’t enough to compensate for the loss of atmosphere and narrative focus. As a standalone action game it’s passable, but as a FEAR title, it feels like a missed opportunity and an unworthy conclusion to the series.

After the masterpiece F.E.A.R. and its expansions, the series did go downhill with F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. But when F.E.A.R. 3 came out, I respected F.E.A.R. 2 a whole lot more.

F.E.A.R. 3 is a terrible game with bad mechanics, a lame story line and awful “hey bro, I am your long-lost brother” mechanics that was shoved down our throats at the last moment.

F.E.A.R. 3 follows the story from the previous game, you know, that game in which you got a little forced “fun” with Alma in a metal sphere and put some fresh offspring in her belly, that game. In F.E.A.R. 3, Alma is about to give birth and you and your buddy Paxton Fettel (you know, the guy from the first games, who you shot in the head) make your way to Alma. Fettel, to let the birth take place and consume the unlimited power that the child and Alma possesses, the Point Man (main character) to stop her.

The plot is so unbelievably lame, I almost cried with disappointment. Fettel is back apparently because he was resurrected in a tiny, forgotten DLC called F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn. The Point Man (the mysterious antagonist from the first games) now has a face (stereotypical Navy Seal badass face) and Alma is just a side character and does have nothing to do with the game anymore. It feels like the movie Rat Race, but instead of a locker full of cash, it is a pregnant woman giving birth to something vile. To top it off, Alma used to be the stuff of nightmares, death herself. But in this game, she is afraid and terrified. Afraid of what, you might ask, she is afraid of a monster (boohoo) that is her past. This sh!t is worse than the movie Memento. I just can’t accept this excuse for a story. I also really hated Fettel and his new super bling-bling powers. He is supposed to torment you with visions and voices in your head, but now, he is some kind of witch that possesses people and can murder everyone with his mind, just like that. He turned into Wanda from Marvel and I really hated it.

The game has turned into Call of Duty with generic ATC soldiers, evil monsters, Fettel with his awesome telekinesis and possessing Avengers powers, and cultists. This shows me that the new developers of F.E.A.R. 3 just did not give a crap. Add some generic cultists, some beasts, some humans and you are all set. Alma’s younger self makes some appearances (just to remind you that you are playing F.E.A.R.) and they consist of three cheap jump scares (that worked) and that’s it. It is lazy development.

The game now features Co-Op. In my honest opinion, F.E.A.R. is the only series that does not need Co-Op. It feels so useless and even more like a Battlefield or Call of Duty experience.

The graphics have improved from F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. Not because they look nice and polished, but because the dark, grim atmosphere and under lighted areas are back from the first games. The only, mind-blowing irony is that they are pointless in a bad, shooting gallery, top notch action game like this.

The music and sound are terrible. Gunfire is a little better than F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (nothing beats that), but it is all so blend, rushed and simple, it does add nothing to the experience.

The combat feels stale, repetitive, and pointless. You shoot a gallery of monsters or mindless AI humans and move on to the next shooting gallery. Compare this to the first game, in which you fought well trained Replica Soldiers with the most outstanding AI I have ever seen, and the difference is night and day. Also, this game has the traditional “kill wall” in which you need to murder everything in order to progress or trigger the next event.

Because I am (but now was) a diehard fan of the F.E.A.R. series, I needed to finish this game. I hated every second of it and the series is now dead. Just like Alma, who Fettel freaking ate, so he can absorb her powers (you know, just that like that).

I spit on this game. Stay far away from this disgrace.

What is with horror games from the 2000s and having mediocre co-op sequels in the early 2010s? They always throw away the atmosphere that made the originals immersive and memorable in favour of co-op mechanics that feel tacked on while also making it the focus. While these games can be fun with friends, almost anything can be fun with friends.

F3AR is no exception. Gone is the atmosphere that made the original memorable and in its place are annoying challenge pop-ups that take you out of the game and remind you to play the game a certain way. Gone is the creepy story that inspires intrigue and in its place is a nonsensical story that is equal parts confusing and frustrating. Memorable environments was never this series' strong point and this game is no exception, I'm currently struggling to remember anything about the levels less than 12 hours after finishing the game. I'd comment about its short length, but that's actually in its favour because I didn't have to play this for too long. The one plus the game has is the shooting mechanics which are solid and the slow-mo is fun to play around with, but the game also lacks weapon variety and unfortunately doesn't lack bullet sponge enemies.

Where there have been a lot of games that lost their roots in chasing an arcade-style co-op (Resident Evil 6, Dead Space 3, Gears of War Judgment all came out in the span of 6 months lord have mercy), F3AR is cushioned from the harsh criticism of those games by being one of the first to take this route. The fact that F3AR wasn't regarded very fondly back then and publishers still continued to make co-op the focus of their horror games is honestly baffling.

4/10. Just stick to the first two FEARs.

Beat on hardest difficulty as both Point Man and Fettel. I specifically got the console version for split screen coop and actually played with my cousin long before I played Fear 2. I was Fettel and we had a lot of fun but did not make it through the entire game. I actually prefer Fettle because of how much his abilities shake up standard shooting. Possessing enemies is awesome, especially when you get one of those heavy power armor troopers. His stun lift thing reminds me of Mass Effect and he overall feels a lot like playing a mage. Some parts of the campaign were far more difficult for him though. I do remember making extensive use of the ballistic shield but not what other weapons I liked. I don't like cover systems and never used the one here. I play much better without using such systems, and this one annoyed me a bit with accidentally getting into it.

This is the worst game in the trilogy and goes about as far from the original's horror and somewhat old school mechanics as possible. Still had a lot of fun and it is great for coop. Used my xim4 but found the highest sensitivity to not be high enough for me.

8.0/10