F.E.A.R. (series)

Last updated
F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. logo.jpg
Logo of F.E.A.R.
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Developer(s) Monolith Productions
Day 1 Studios
Timegate Studios
Aeria Games
Publisher(s) Vivendi Games (2005–2007)
WB Games (2009–present)
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
First release F.E.A.R.
October 18, 2005
Latest release F.E.A.R. Online
October 17, 2014

F.E.A.R. is a series of first-person shooter horror video games developed by Monolith Productions. There are three main games, F.E.A.R. , F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and F.E.A.R. 3 , with additional expansion packs. F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. Extraction Point and F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate were published by Vivendi Games through Sierra Entertainment, while the rest of the games were published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The series is known for its horror gameplay and its main antagonist, Alma Wade.

First-person shooter Action video game genre

First-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective; that is, the player experiences the action through the eyes of the protagonist. The genre shares common traits with other shooter games, which in turn makes it fall under the heading action game. Since the genre's inception, advanced 3D and pseudo-3D graphics have challenged hardware development, and multiplayer gaming has been integral.

Monolith Productions American video game development company

Monolith Productions is an American video game developer based in Kirkland, Washington.

<i>F.E.A.R.</i> 2005 video game

F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon is a survival horror first-person shooter video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Vivendi Universal Games and Warner Bros. Games. It was released on October 17, 2005, for Microsoft Windows, and ported by Day 1 Studios to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. TimeGate Studios has released two expansion packs, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point in October 2006, and F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate in November 2007. A direct sequel titled F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, was released in February 2009, and a second sequel, F.E.A.R. 3, was released in June 2011, which was developed by Day 1 Studios.

Contents

Synopsis

The games mostly revolve around the F.E.A.R. team (First Encounter Assault Recon) having to fight against a paranormal entity, Alma Wade, a young psychic girl who was experimented on and imprisoned by Armacham Technology Corporation. Alma becomes a powerful psychic entity filled with rage and an insatiable bloodlust. In the first and third games, the player is the Point Man, a silent protagonist and member of F.E.A.R. The second game's playable character is Michael Becket, a member of the Delta Force. Each game has a different objective but same main plot: Find and neutralize Alma Wade before she tears apart the fabric of reality in her unforgiving rage.

Delta Force Special operations force of the US Army

The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D), commonly referred to as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), "The Unit", Army Compartmented Element (ACE), or within JSOC as Task Force Green, is an elite special operations force of the United States Army, under operational control of the Joint Special Operations Command. The unit is tasked with specialized missions primarily involving counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action, interdiction, and special reconnaissance against high-value targets. Delta Force and its Navy counterpart, SEAL Team Six, are the U.S. military's primary Tier 1 Special Mission Units tasked with performing the most complex, classified, and dangerous missions directed by the National Command Authority.

Games

F.E.A.R.

This game is the first in the main series where the player takes control of the Point Man, who tries to stop the psychic cannibal Paxton Fettel, who has gained control of supersoldiers created by Armacham Technology Corporation or ATC.

F.E.A.R. Extraction Point

This game is the first of two expansions for the first game F.E.A.R. and it takes place in a different timeline concerning the Point Man and F.E.A.R. team.

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate

This game is the second of two expansions for the first game F.E.A.R. taking place during the first game with the Sergent as the main character, trying to survive with his squad members and takes place in a different timeline.

F.E.A.R. Files

A compilation which includes Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate. It is exclusive to the Xbox 360. It was released in November 2007.

Reviews of the package noted that it was, as expected, more F.E.A.R. action for fans of the original. The IGN review of F.E.A.R. Files noted that while the game maintains its solid core mechanics, it doesn't do enough to expand upon them or offer a truly new experience. As a result, the title earned a 6.7/10, "Passable" rating. [1] GameSpot rated the title a slightly higher 7.0/10, "Good", based on the solid gameplay, even though the Perseus Mandate graphical quality was considered lackluster. [2]

<i>IGN</i> American entertainment website

IGN is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, itself wholly owned by j2 Global. The company is located in San Francisco's SOMA district and is headed by its former editor-in-chief, Peer Schneider. The IGN website was the brainchild of media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29, 1996. It focuses on games, films, television, comics, technology, and other media. Originally a network of desktop websites, IGN is now also distributed on mobile platforms, console programs on the Xbox and PlayStation, FireTV, Roku, and via YouTube, Twitch, Hulu, and Snapchat.

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which purchased CNET Networks in 2008, is the current owner of GameSpot.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

This game is the second in the main series where the player takes control of Michael Becket (instead of Point Man) who, after engaging in a mission to save Genevieve Aristide, is forced to survive and destroy Alma Wade who has been causing a paranormal crisis due to her vengeance and rage.

F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn

This game is the expansion for the second game F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and it takes place before F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and this time has one of Replica soldiers named Foxtrot 813 as the protagonist who is controlled by Paxton Fettel and is told to free him from the psychic amplifier.

F.E.A.R. 3

This game is the third in the main series where the player takes control of the Point Man again, who teams up with his brother Paxton Fettel (who was killed by him in F.E.A.R.) to stop Alma Wade from giving birth (after raping Michael Becket in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin) though Fettel is against Point Man killing Alma and the baby.

F.E.A.R. Online

Aeria Games and Warner Brothers developed a free-to-play online multiplayer game called F.E.A.R. Online that was unveiled to the public by launching the official site in 2013. The game featured a four-player co-op option along with the traditional demolition and deathmatch game modes. The return of Soul King mode was also announced. The storyline of the game is paralleled to F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin . [3]

Aeria Games

Aeria Games, formerly known as Aeria Games and Entertainment, is an online game publisher. The corporate headquarters is in Berlin, Germany.

Free-to-play video games, also known as free-to-start, are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying. Free-to-play can be contrasted with pay to play, in which payment is required before using a service for the first time.

<i>F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin</i> video game

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is a first-person shooter horror video game, developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the sequel to F.E.A.R. and is the second game in the F.E.A.R. series. It was released on February 10, 2009 and was made available on Steam two days later on February 12, 2009. An expansion, F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn, was released on September 3, 2009.

Aeria Games announced that F.E.A.R. Online would enter closed beta beginning May 26, 2014. The new testing period ushered in new maps, a new scenario, an enhanced crafting system allowing players to craft exclusive items and numerous bug fixes. The game entered open beta on October 8, 2014 and was to be released on October 17, 2014 on Steam. [3] However, the game shut down its servers on May 13, 2015 due to lack of support and patches.

Steam (software) Video game platform

Steam is a video game digital distribution platform developed by Valve Corporation. It was launched in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games, but eventually expanded to include games from third-party publishers. Steam offers digital rights management (DRM), matchmaking servers, video streaming, and social networking services. It also provides the user with installation and automatic updating of games, and community features such as friends lists and groups, cloud saving, and in-game voice and chat functionality.

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of August 22, 2019.
Game Metacritic
F.E.A.R. (PC) 88 [4]
(X360) 85 [5]
(PS3) 72 [6]
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (PC) 75 [7]
(Xbox) 66 [8]
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (PC) 61 [9]
(Xbox) 66 [10]
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (PS3) 79 [11]
(PC) 79 [12]
(X360) 77 [13]
F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn (X360) 57 [14]
F.E.A.R. 3 (X360) 75 [15]
(PS3) 74 [16]
(PC) 74 [17]

Upon its release, the F.E.A.R. series has received "generally positive" reviews according to Metacritic.

Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games, and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged. Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts in 1999. The site provides an excerpt from each review and hyperlinks to its source. A color of green, yellow or red summarizes the critics' recommendations. It is regarded as the foremost online review aggregation site for the video game industry.

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LithTech

LithTech is a game engine developed by Monolith Productions and comparable with the Quake and Unreal engines. Monolith and a number of other video game developers have used LithTech as the basis for their first-person shooter games.

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TimeGate Studios was an American video game developer based in Sugar Land, Texas. The company, which was founded in 1998, released eight titles before closing in 2013.

Peter Hill Lurie is an American voice actor, sports anchor and television personality who has worked in several television shows, movies, and dubbed anime, since the mid-1990s. He is well known as the voice of Vulcan Raven in the Metal Gear video game series, Marvel Comics supervillain Sabretooth and Paxton Fettel of F.E.A.R. series. He currently works as an HRTV, TVG Network anchor, and as an in-house host for Hoosier Park, and for Indiana Grand Racetrack as well.

<i>F.E.A.R. Extraction Point</i> video game

F.E.A.R. Extraction Point is an expansion pack for the psychological horror first-person shooter video game F.E.A.R., published by Vivendi Games and developed by TimeGate Studios. It was released in October 2006 for Microsoft Windows and requires the full original game in order to be played. Also, a stand-alone single player demo has been previously released. The expansion was ported to the Xbox 360 and released as part of the F.E.A.R. Files package in November 2007.

Rayman is a franchise of platform video games, published by Ubisoft. Since the release of the original Rayman, conceived by Michel Ancel in 1995, the series has produced a total of 44 games across multiple platforms.

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<i>F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate</i> video game

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate is a stand-alone expansion pack for the psychological horror first-person shooter video game F.E.A.R. The expansion was developed by TimeGate Studios, the same development team behind the first expansion, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point. It was ported to the Xbox 360 and released as part of the F.E.A.R. Files package in November 2007.

<i>Red Faction</i> video game series

Red Faction is a series of shooter video games developed by Volition and owned by THQ Nordic. Originating in 2001, the Red Faction games have spanned Microsoft Windows, macOS and consoles, including the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The series is known for its heavy theme including revolutionary undertones.

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Alma Wade fictional character

Alma Wade is a major antagonist and key figure in the F.E.A.R. series of first-person shooter horror video games by Monolith Productions, introduced in F.E.A.R. in 2005. The plot of the series revolves around the mystery of Alma. She is a psychic who seeks revenge against Armacham Technology Corporation, due to their usage of her in a series of experiments.

<i>F.E.A.R. 3</i> video game

F.E.A.R. 3 is a first-person shooter horror video game developed by Day 1 Studios for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the sequel to F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and is the third installment of the F.E.A.R. series. It was announced on April 8, 2010, and was stated to include John Carpenter helping on the cinematics as well as writer Steve Niles. It is also the only F.E.A.R. game to have offline multiplayer and co-op.

Paxton is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

References

  1. Brudvig, Erik (2007-11-06). "IGN: F.E.A.R. Files Review". IGN.
  2. Ocampo, Jason (2007-11-27). "F.E.A.R. Files for Xbox 360 Review". GameSpot.
  3. 1 2 Makuch, Eddie (29 September 2014). "Horror Shooter F.E.A.R. Online Launching In October, PC Specs Revealed" . Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  4. "F.E.A.R. Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  5. "F.E.A.R. Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  6. "F.E.A.R. Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  7. "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  8. "F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  9. "F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  10. "F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. "F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  12. "F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  13. "F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  14. "F.E.A.R. 2 Reborn Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  15. "F.E.A.R. 3 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  16. "F.E.A.R. 3 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  17. "F.E.A.R. 3 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 10, 2012.