I have enjoyed the F.E.A.R. series up to this point, the action, the downward spiral story of apparitions and insanity, and the fun gameplay kept you sucked in to the game. Now comes along F.E.A.R. 3, with an established series behind it, does this third installment have the makings of a great game?
Story: The story of F.E.A.R. 3 revolves around two brothers, Pointman and Fettel, as they try to make there way to their mother, Alma, who is the haunting presence who drives all the insanity throughout the F.E.A.R. sries, and see the birth of their new brother. It's insanity at it's finest. The one sided conversations between Pointman and Fettel throughout the game are interesting, but don't provide much substance. The game doesn't really seem to pick up story relevance until the last level or two, and each level in between is just filler. It doesn't seem to really matter what's going on, because not much is really happening. They go in to an area, shoot up a ton of guys, get a new lead, and go further on their journey. You just don't really care about what's happening until the game is almost over. The story is probably the weakest part, and I don't find it nearly as interesting or compelling as F.E.A.R. 2.
Gameplay: The gameplay is what you expect from F.E.A.R. at this point. Shoot, shoot, interesting gun every once in a while, slow down time, and the occasional mech section. That is all present here, it's your standard fare, but, add in another player for the all new co-op mode and the gameplay really spices up. The first player, Pointman, is your standard grunt, he slows down time, and is good with a gun. The second player, Fettel, is where things get interesting, he can take over enemy soldiers and use them as bullet sponges while using their weapons, he can shield his co-op partner from danger, and he has a few attacks of his own. The co-op is a fun experiance, but one character is ultimatly more fun to play as than the other. If you play the first player, you might not get as much fun or as much of a unique experiance as the second player, but it's still an enjoyable ride. Some cool features even spice up the co-op mode, such as a point system, to score who is Almas favorite son. In reality, this point system is really a competition to see which ending you will get, but the problem is, you would never have guessed that until the end. If the game flat out told you, it might have provided more of a competition, and made one player more eager to come out on top. Aside from the unbalenced co-operative, the game has a few other problems, especially navigation. Sometimes you will have no idea where you should be going, and you will wander around the same deserted area several times before finding some door which will let you continue onward. With some semi-platforming parts thrown in, and several paths which usually don't offer much reward, navigation is easily the weakest part of playing the game. It's a fun game, but doesn't offer anything all that new to the series as a whole.
Graphics: The graphics, like the gameplay, is nothing too special. They are good, but nothing jaw dropping, or anything that people will remember. Like the other F.E.A.R. games, you have apparitions, bloody rooms with corpses littering the floors, all of the creepy enviorments that you have come to expect while playing the series. I don't have all that much to say about the graphics, but they are not bad, but they are nothing special either.
Lasting Appeal: This game doesn't really have much to offer outside of the short 5-6 hour story mode. You have some multiplayer modes, but not much in the way of variety. You have your standard wave based game called Contractions, but with a F.E.A.R. twist. Alma appears around the map, and can really do some damage and affect the game a little. Outside of that, you basically funnel weapons and gear from the battlefield to your base to keep you and your team alive. It's a simple game mode, but it works well. There is also another game mode, Soul King, where you take over bodys and try to get the most points. It's a unique game mode, and it works well. The problem with all of this is, there aren't many maps. I think there are about six maps, and there are only three for each game mode. Again don't get me wrong, it's a fun game. Get a friend, play some couch co-op, but don't expect this to last longer than your average weekend rental.
Final Verdict: 6.5/10