The F.E.A.R. series has unintentionally become “that video game series I don’t have time to play,” for myself. Approaching this as a new fan, F.E.A.R. 3 is a terrible jumping on point to figure out things like, “who (or what) Alma is,” “what’s a F.E.A.R. agent,” and “why is everyone attacking me?” These questions never get fully answered through the game’s campaign, and if I were to judge this title solely on the merits of its single-player, it wouldn’t be worth recommending. The strides it makes with co-op however — along with its point accumulation system as well as some very tense and unique multiplayer modes — makes this a great game to play with a giant bucket of buttered popcorn, a large Coca-cola, and some friends. This is your video game summer blockbuster.
As I mentioned before, this installment isn’t the best area to start getting acclimated with Alma’s saga. The narrative seems hell-bent on wrapping up various existing plot strings rather than doing enough to bring new players up to speed. This would be a moot point if I didn’t care about narrative structure in my shooters, but I do — I’m a stickler for this sort of thing. The campaign is poorly paced and does a meager job of giving me a reason why the character of Point Man exists. Some levels are also rudimentary in scope and gameplay — insisting you find that one unlocked door in order to continue to the next area, or taking on high-level boss encounters with simple circle-strafing tactics. The A.I. makes up for these deficiencies somewhat — it is quite remarkable to see enemies constantly try to flank my position or duck into cover when appropriate. But if it wasn’t for the scoring system, the campaign would be unremarkable to play alone.
