sisslethecat
I think it’s pretty safe to say that, by and large, most fans’ favorite entry in the F.E.A.R. series is the very first game. It had a great sense of pacing and scares, a tone that was dark and intriguing, and just simply brilliant shooter gameplay that blended well with the horror. It remains one of my favorite horror games of the last generation, and I still play my Xbox 360 copy frequently.
The sequels, on the other hand are a pretty mixed bag. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin isn’t terrible, but the action starts to overbear the scares, and the game as a whole suffers from ugly visuals and a rather dull storyline (in comparison with the first). F.E.A.R. 3 (or as WB’s marketing called it, F.3.A.R.) however suffered worst of all, almost totally eschewing the horror element altogether and plodding through a dull and uninspired co-op campaign that suffers from all of the worst problems of that era’s shooter genre. Just as safe as it is to say that the original game is probably most fans’ favorite, I’d venture to say it’s just as safe to assume F.3.A.R. is nobodies. Although, even if it is, there’s a pretty good chance that you like it for very different reasons than you like the original.
As a recent PC adopter, F.E.A.R. was actually pretty high on my list of games to pick up once I got accustomed to the system. The nature of mouse and keyboard controls alone would create an instantly more precise and enjoyable shooter experience, plus the chance to stream it to you fine folks over on our Twitch channel. To my surprise, it turns out that you actually can’t purchase F.E.A.R. on Steam – not on its own anyway. The only way to get a copy on the service is to purchase a collection of all six F.E.A.R. titles (that includes the numbered games as well as the expansions to F.E.A.R. 1 and 2). However, F.E.A.R 2 and 3 are available individually for $14,99 and $19.99. Why is the original game the odd one out? That’s a $55 investment which, if you ONLY want F.E.AR. 1, essentially makes a game a decade old full price.
Honestly, this seems like a pretty gross attempt to force sales for games most people probably don’t have an interest in and might not buy otherwise. Don’t get suckered, folks, especially if you are new to the series and wanted to check it out. The game is available elsewhere on its own (GOG for instance), but as Steam is the highest profile distributor, and as a new PC adopter, I wouldn’t have even known about GOG except for a thread about where else to find it on Twitter.
Pretty uncool, WB. Not that anyone is surprised given how poor WB games on PC are in general.
