Video Games Review
Issue 214 / October 2006 More from this Issue
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F.E.A.R.
Monolyth Productions
EU Games
P.C. and Xbox 360
First Person/Shooter/Modern
Street: 10.17
First Encounter Assault Recon, now that’s a serious name for a game! In F.E.A.R. you are a soldier in the elite First Encounter group. Unfortunately for your squad they all get killed about 30 seconds into the game, so for most of F.E.A.R. you are on your own. I won't go into the gory plot details here, but there's a nice combination of enemy soldiers, building security devices and the supernatural to contend with as you make your way through the game. We'll talk about the good news first. This game looks fantastic, especially the environments and the movements of the enemies. F.E.A.R. is scary, bloody, loud and creepy; exactly the traits of a good sci-fi shooter. This game uses 'bullet time', a popular trick amongst game developers that allows the player to slow down time but still aim and shoot in real time, a great way to wipe out overpowering enemy forces. The availability of new weapons and enemies as the game advances saves F.E.A.R. from its problems. So what’s wrong with F.E.A.R.? The biggest problem is that so many of the levels are strictly indoors. The close quarters add to the suspense of the game but get old after a while. Also the enemies, although fairly smart and mobile, are usually easily dispatched with the abundant weapons and ammo found in the game. So F.E.A.R., although great looking and fun to play, lacks the environments and challenge of the elite sci-fi shooters like Half Life or Halo. I’m still keeping it in the rotation, however, because it’s so fun to play! –Jesse Kennedy
Miami Vice
Rebellion
Vivendi Games
PSP
Action/Shooter/Modern
Street: 07.18
You might be wondering if I’ve ever met a shooter game that I don’t like. Miami Vice the game, although not a total dud, falls way short of a compelling action game. I wondered while playing this game with its obvious glitches and problems if it was forced onto the market too early to coincide with the movie release. For the most part the action is a lot like that old Nintendo game Duck Hunt. The difference is instead of happy little birds you get to shoot at dozens of bad guys with Uzis (all with the same voice and saying the same things) who jump into view, take a few shots at you and then usually just wait to for you to finish them off. At least the birds in Duck Hunt kept moving. The game makes good use of the environment, almost anything you encounter can become ‘cover’ which you can peer and shoot from, but the rendering of some of the objects is horrible. This may have been to reduce load times (they are very quick) but some of the cars have square wheels and fire disappears if you look at if from the side. That’s a mood killer. The good news in this game is that the levels are quick and easy enough that there is the feeling of, "Ok, just one more level …" as you build up your reputation and work your way through the city. Don’t look for any compelling dialogue here; this game is as realistic as the original TV show from the 80s. The plot is really just background noise to the action, and that may be one reason why the action feels repetitive and dull. –Jesse Kennedy
Monolyth Productions
EU Games
P.C. and Xbox 360
First Person/Shooter/Modern
Street: 10.17
First Encounter Assault Recon, now that’s a serious name for a game! In F.E.A.R. you are a soldier in the elite First Encounter group. Unfortunately for your squad they all get killed about 30 seconds into the game, so for most of F.E.A.R. you are on your own. I won't go into the gory plot details here, but there's a nice combination of enemy soldiers, building security devices and the supernatural to contend with as you make your way through the game. We'll talk about the good news first. This game looks fantastic, especially the environments and the movements of the enemies. F.E.A.R. is scary, bloody, loud and creepy; exactly the traits of a good sci-fi shooter. This game uses 'bullet time', a popular trick amongst game developers that allows the player to slow down time but still aim and shoot in real time, a great way to wipe out overpowering enemy forces. The availability of new weapons and enemies as the game advances saves F.E.A.R. from its problems. So what’s wrong with F.E.A.R.? The biggest problem is that so many of the levels are strictly indoors. The close quarters add to the suspense of the game but get old after a while. Also the enemies, although fairly smart and mobile, are usually easily dispatched with the abundant weapons and ammo found in the game. So F.E.A.R., although great looking and fun to play, lacks the environments and challenge of the elite sci-fi shooters like Half Life or Halo. I’m still keeping it in the rotation, however, because it’s so fun to play! –Jesse Kennedy
Miami ViceRebellion
Vivendi Games
PSP
Action/Shooter/Modern
Street: 07.18
You might be wondering if I’ve ever met a shooter game that I don’t like. Miami Vice the game, although not a total dud, falls way short of a compelling action game. I wondered while playing this game with its obvious glitches and problems if it was forced onto the market too early to coincide with the movie release. For the most part the action is a lot like that old Nintendo game Duck Hunt. The difference is instead of happy little birds you get to shoot at dozens of bad guys with Uzis (all with the same voice and saying the same things) who jump into view, take a few shots at you and then usually just wait to for you to finish them off. At least the birds in Duck Hunt kept moving. The game makes good use of the environment, almost anything you encounter can become ‘cover’ which you can peer and shoot from, but the rendering of some of the objects is horrible. This may have been to reduce load times (they are very quick) but some of the cars have square wheels and fire disappears if you look at if from the side. That’s a mood killer. The good news in this game is that the levels are quick and easy enough that there is the feeling of, "Ok, just one more level …" as you build up your reputation and work your way through the city. Don’t look for any compelling dialogue here; this game is as realistic as the original TV show from the 80s. The plot is really just background noise to the action, and that may be one reason why the action feels repetitive and dull. –Jesse Kennedy
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