Ok, gave this game a whirl. Here is a brief summary -- playing the first chapter.
Performance:
Is not a resource hog. Easily runs on my system all maxed out @ 1080pi. Getting a decent 50+ FPS in normal scenes. During intense fire fights hits a low of 43-44. The levels load really really fast, and game play is quite smooth. Any modern configuration with a decent Quad and mid-range GPU should be able to spin this off. It does utilize all 4x cores. XfireX kicks in well, and the GPU usage is nice.
Game Description / World Details:
Starts of with the dark and eerie sound of Paxton Fettel and shows some scenes from F1 and F2. Glimpses of Alma and the forth coming violence. Have given a new duck and peek system which is quite good. There is aim assist with the cross-hair beacon turning RED when aligned correctly to the target. There is an option to turn it off. The AI is quite good, and talks amongst themselves realistically. Example: "I am going down". And a person will swank down the stair case to flank you, and 2x guys will cover him from the top. At times the soldiers hide and shoot over objects. A hit + near an object causes them to hide and seek protection. They throw grenades "intelligently". Texture are not the best, so do not expect a Crysis -- since that is a shooter we just graduated from. Decals are nice and has particle physics and smoke gassing. Bloom is quite minimal (thank God) with a focus on dark and hidden object spaces. I took a lot of screen shots using FRAPS, but for some reason all RED is showing up as BLUE. Sorry...! Levels have been designed to keep the horror perspective in mind. Alma surfaces once in a while. But I find F3 less scary.
Weapons:
Have encountered three weapons till now. Standard issue pistol, combat machine gun, and the shot-gun. Some how I felt that the weapon load time is way way to quick. The shot-gun load is "magazined " which removes the fun of slow load + powerful hit ratio combination. Playing at Commando level, ammunition is easy to get. Can receive off dead soldiers and/or caches strewn across the levels. On this difficulty I doubt a player will ever be short.
Game Mechanics:
Linear shooter with a one-only dedicated path to the point. At times doors can be opened, and an alternative route can be taken. Though not much variation. Gun swap is optional, but ammunition recharge is auto. Health re-generation is way way to fast. Around 6 seconds of cover bring you back to perfect. Slow-MO is available right from the start (I think the original FEAR took a while to initiate it), and is really really slow. Which means, you get a TON of time to cherry-pick. As of now the recharge of the slow-mo is quick. But hardly hampers the game. Object interaction is quite minimal, and the engine throws up a hint when required. The game has a TON of expletives being used. Probably Even L. Jackson from Pulp Fiction would be shy compared to this....! Was shocked to hear it all.
Music:
This is the forte of the game. John Carpenters sound track is reminiscent from the movies he has done. The high intense note with the electronic jargon show hints of Ghost of Mars and Escape From New York. As it is the staple of FPSs', it picks up a crescendo and thumpier beat when intense encounters are incurred. Am sure it will get better as we progress.
Repeatability and Score:
Probably will complete it on Commando, and then leave it installed. Can re-play on difficult levels. I would give this a safe and sound 8.5/10. A good shooter for the summer season.
Game hard....!
