Time to be afraid
If you can imagine a mix of classic shooters like Doom 3 and Half-Life mixed in with Japanese horror movies, then you might just have a good idea of what to expect when you play F.E.A.R. It's a cracking game which is exciting, tense and horrifying in equal measure and which makes for a hugely entertaining time. The game throws you into the combat boots of a member of an elite unit sent into an aerospace installation on what appears to be a routine mission. However, when you get there you find hordes of clones soldiers turning rogue and who also seem to have been taken over by demons, just for good measure. Thus begins a superbly thrilling shooter which sees you venturing through spooky halls and other such environments while blasting the living daylights out of everything that moves. You start out with fairly conventional weapons but move on up to more sci-fi types as you progress while you can also call upon a sort of bullet time effect which allows you to slow the action down for some really impressive kills. F.E.A.R. really is a superb example of the sci-fi/horror shooter genre. It treads some familiar ground with its story but manages to keep you hooked thanks to some inventive twists and turns, while the gameplay is never less than what a shooter should be. The action starts out pretty intensely but gets even more so as you move on, with some truly frightening moments that will have you leaping in fear. The spectacular visuals are just the icing on the cake of what is a truly great shooter.
