December Assassination #5 (SG Win)

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F.E.A.R. 3 is a disappointment, both as a FEAR game but as well as a standalone shooter. Released six years after the original, it manages to look worse and play worse, so kudos to Warner Bros for managing to mangle such a fantastic series. You know it's a 2011 shooter when they introduce you to cover mechanics before they teach you to slow-mo, because now there's regen health, and because of that piss filter and bloom plastered all over your screen.

If FEAR 1 is perfect and FEAR 2 is decent, FEAR 3 is waste of your time. Gone are the tactical elements that marked the first game, and the horror elements that were strong throughout the entire series. In are more non-humanoid enemies that are, again, a chore to deal with, and humanoid enemies that have no sense of self-preservation and sometimes are just bullet sponges requiring four or five headshots to go down. Gone is your own sense of survival, replaced by regenerating health bs. Gone are the three weapon options that allow you to be ready for any range of combat, in are two weapon slots with ammo constantly running out. Gone is the booster systems that reward exploration with improved combat options, in is a pseudo-ranking score / forced-challenge crap that rewards you with things you should have from the start. It feels that walking forward grants you achievements, then turning left unlocks a new one, and then turning right unlocks a level up. All of that super meaningless, undoubtedly inspired by the AAA gaming trends of the day. Give me a break.

If there's one addition I need to praise here is the slide kick - if almost reminds me of good movement shooters, and allowed me to imagine what this game could have been. The level design lacks the looping characteristic of the original game, but they are varied and pleasant enough.

Ah, there's an attempt at a plot, but at this point no one cares (including the writers) and neither should you