33 verschillende vakmedia (waaronder alle belangrijke games magazines en internetsites) hebben gestemd en oordeelden dat F.E.A.R. de beste aktie game van de E3 was. Dit is wat de recensenten van F.E.A.R. vonden: "Standing out from the crowd in this hotly-contested category ain't easy. F.E.A.R. didn't just stand out, but leapt out with its paranormal/horror skew built into one of the most impressive first-person action systems we've seen so far. While graphically impeccable, F.E.A.R.'s most striking accomplishment seems to be in its enemy A.I. and how that helps crafts unique action scenes – one enemy pulls a shelf unit down to block your path, and as you back off another crawls through the gap it leaves to try and get a bead on you. A bullet-time mode creates such indelible moments of grenade explosions and bullet fire that they promise to sear themselves in your head as much as the freaky mind-messing moments destined to send shivers down your spine."
-- Rob Smith, Co-Chairman, Game Critics Awards Editor-in-Chief, Official Xbox Magazine F.E.A.R. versloeg geduchte andere genomineerden in de categorie "Best Action Game", waaronder Battlefield 2 (PC), Black (PS2, Xbox), Call of Duty 2 (PC, Xbox 360), Gears of War (Xbox 360). F.E.A.R is an interactive supernatural action thriller. It is an unprecedented adrenaline rush of close quarters combat seamlessly melded with the spine-tingling, shocking intensity of the creepy murderous unknown. It is a cinematic experience translated to PC with a visual intensity as exhilarating as any big-budget action or horror movie. This will be the First Person Shooter that everyone is talking about and you don't want to miss out. F.E.A.R makes you the star in your own nail-biting action thriller. As part of a classified strike team you deal with situations no one else can handle. Your team is stocked with highly trained specialists armed with the latest in high-tech weaponry-no enemy stands a chance! But this time you've "brought a knife to a gunfight" as supernatural forces are behind this new threat and you are losing men in the most horrible ways imaginable. And there is no catching your breath as danger hugs every corner and the interactive world goes haywire with sparks, smoke, and debris-Special FX so real that pants wetting is a real possibility. Key Features:
Cinematic action mixed with supernatural
Imagine the hyper-stylized action of The Matrix – the action that puts you right in the middle of guns firing with debris flying everywhere, smoke billowing and bullets passing so close you can hear them buzzing next to your ear. Combine this with the supernatural elements of The Ring – those moments when you can feel there is a presence in the room but you don't know and can't see what it is but feel the hair on the back of your neck rising. This is F.E.A.R. - be prepared for it to scare the hell out of you and keep you running for your life. Intense Combat
Players will experience sheer carnage as a result of the visceral combat
and the state-of-the-art arsenal.
You've seen melee and slo-mo before, but never like this – F.E.A.R.
brings it with a state-of-the-art arsenal but goes one step further by adding the melee combat that works and works well.
The slo-mo feature in multiplayer not only gives you an advantage against
your opponent but also drops you into your own motion picture action sequence – you become the director and visualize the "John Woo"-style moments with the action slowed down to see every bullet fire, every enemy being obliterated, every kick connecting – all the combat captured in that one moment in time. State of the art technology
You are in the game walking down a dimly lit hall - small nuances of detail visible in the wall as the light drips down, casting real shadows where there should be. You fire your weapon - the muzzleflash from your submachine gun casting light all over the narrow hall. You jump into the water and it moves all around you like you are actually walking through it. All of this rich detail and ambiance is evidence of the technology that Monolith specifically created and designed from the ground up to provide you with a world so real you will forget you are playing a game.
Imagine you are in a fire fight with a hallway separating you and the enemy. He fires and misses and hits a light behind you and it swings bouncing the light all over the hallway. He sees he missed you and then knocks over a bookcase for cover so his life is spared and not yours – this is the F.E.A.R. physics in action – the physics allow the environment to react realistically and the enemy will utilize the environment to engage the player.
It is the little touches with the special FX and physics that bring F.E.A.R. to life. Picture yourself in an intense fire fight and you are being showered with sparks, smoke and debris – and that is just from your weapon! You throw a grenade and the whole room seems to move with its detonation. You fire the plasma weapon and watch your enemy be vaporized into a million pieces...it's the little things in a virtual life.