Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: Monolith
Publisher: Vivendi Games

Those that have played Remedy's "Max Payne" have basically seen F.E.A.R in action; lots of dilapidated buildings, gritty industrial textures, and rooms filled with a bizarre selection of forklift pallets, work benches, and metal filing cabinets. Of course, F.E.A.R has come several years after the aforementioned "Max Payne", and as such the engine does feature superior lighting, high resolution textures, and better player models. Despite these advances however, the engine looks a little long in the tooth by Xbox 360 standards.

The coolest thing about the audio in F.E.A.R is that the engine actually changes the frequency of the sound effects as you shift in and out of slow-motion mode, creating some cool (and occasionally amusing) real-time aural situations. The rest of the audio is mundane at best-- a boring derivative soundtrack and mediocre voice acting make for a not-so-memorable experience.

F.E.A.R plays exactly like a cross between Max Payne and Doom 3: like Max Payne, you traipse from one decrepit building to another, activating a slow-motion ability while slaying countless baddies. And like Doom 3, most of the levels are extremely dark, so you are equipped with a toggleable flashlight. F.E.A.R features some rewarding close-quarters gunfights, but the level design sorely lacks variety.

Monolith has made some great shooters over the years, but the formula has grown stale. If this title had been made in the late 90s, F.E.A.R would stand toe-to-toe with Blood, Shogo, and Noone Lives Forever; as it is, games like Gears of War and GRAW have completely re-defined the genre since those days, leaving a formula such as this one out in the cold. Some of the gunplay is satisfying, but I would never recommend this game over the aforementioned Gears of War.