Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"The only bad part of this game is how easy it was to be "Game of the Year" in what was sadly not a very good gaming year so far. However; game of the year this is."

---from the review

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Sidebar :

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Pros: Awesome story, truly thrill-inducing moments, with perfectly chosen audio and video.

Cons: The graphic requirements could be pretty steep for even a two-year-old graphics card; in addition, the single-player story's ending may be slightly too "open" for some gamers who want all loose ends tied in a little bow in time for the finale.

The Bittersweet "Need" For Speed. To be candid; I knew my computer had to be upgraded from its now rather dated (and frankly not for sale anymore) Geforce 5900 Ultra. I'll leave the technical details at that, but suffice to say it was a whole week and a half before I actually played this game, because 1) The demo played at a slow frame rate with the 5900 Ultra, and 2) I wanted to see the game "as it was meant to be seen," as it were. 

So, was it worth it? Heck Yes! And yet...whoa. I had to wait a week and a half to afford, buy, receive, and install a new graphics card, when I could've been playing this all along? I guess what I'm trying to say is: even if you don't have a new graphics card, this game is worth playing. It just may be what gets you to buy a new card though.

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Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted!

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F.E.A.R. 

(First Encounter Assault Recon)

Standard Edition (CD-ROM)

Director's Edition (DVD-ROM)

Click pictures to order either version (both for Windows XP).

A Techtite Review

In 2002, the U.S. Army formed a secret unit dedicated to combating paranormal threats to national security.

The unit was named F.E.A.R. 

(First Encounter Assault Recon).

I really don't like repeating myself. I'd say the only thing worse is going all across the internet and seeing the same old review and the same old praise, over and over again. So I'm going to go out on a limb and presume you've already heard all about F.E.A.R.; the game which, to look at the line drawn in the sand, effectively made the latest edition of Quake (4) a lesser event. Games these days need good stories and imaginative level maps and if possible engaging characters. This had all the above. You've heard it all before so let's just get to something new here. 

I guess the short story is how this game succeeded where so many others have failed. It is no easy task to make a bunch of pixels on the computer screen appear "scary," so let's start with that. From the very start (and even in the demo...!), you start seeing images of a little girl. Allow me to take creative license in a so-called spoiler-free review, and say this much: no, the little girl isn't "you." That would've been, well...dumb. Let's leave the mememto-style plot twists for...well, fans of Mememto. This is a gripping thriller with a truly gripping story to tell.

In any other game you'd think the above paragraph spoiled the whole game. Not so. There are a lot of deeper possibilities here, as answers to this ongoing murder mystery. This game, almost right up until the final battle, keeps them all afloat. Is the little girl you're seeing a ghost, or perhaps a memory? Has your character gone crazy? If you are going crazy, will you turn into one of those madmen, like the one you're trying to find in this deserted lab...? It all plays out like one of your favorite episodes of the X-Files. The good news is that, unlike X-Files, this mystery is answered in time for the finale. There is room for a sequel to be sure, but yes, you find out exactly what these images mean...and spoilers intact, let me say: the answer is just plain awesome. This is by far the most imaginative story of 2005, even if I were to include all movies.

There are even two editions of this fine game: a DVD director's edition, and the regular edition. The DVD is of course good for the fact it's on a DVD, all by itself, and not another CD-ROM shuffling exercise. However, this DVD also includes an amusing movie-quality prologue showing Anya back when she was a test subject. This prologue contains no spoilers (aside from confirming it's not all "just a dream," which would've totally sucked anyway), so feel free to watch it prior to playing. It sets the mood very nicely. The additional comedic "Machinima," however, might be a parody best left for after playing the game, since you may not get the joke until then. Rounding out the cool DVD extras is a behind the scenes video featurette, and an additional developer's commentary video.

I am obliged to tell some readers that the ending for this game is very, shall we say, well...I won't spoil it. However, I would be remiss if I wouldn't say that although you succeed in your mission, there is a very clear cut indication that your mission has only just begun. This is hardly a new plot device for Monolith (Everyone watch No One Lives Forever beyond the credits...?), so this is not entirely unexpected. However, it would appear that there are a lot more missions in store for the First Encounter Assault Recon, provided that gamers want a sequel badly enough. This, alone, is the only thing we need not "F.E.A.R."

---Techtite