F.E.A.R

 First Encounter Assault Recon; it’s kind of a stupid name but the acronym fits better : F.E.A.R. It’s a first person supernatural shooter that came out the beginning of the PS3 era. You play as Pointman, the new guy on the F.E.A.R team who deal with paranormal phenomenon. He has heightened reflexes and a strange connection to Paxton Fetel, a psychic psychopath with a small army of cloned replicants at his disposal. As Pointman gets closer to his target, he keeps getting followed by Alma, a projection of a young girl. What ties this all together? I admit, I think this game gets a little too much credit in the horror department but its still creepy full of dark atmospheres, eerie noises, and a few good jump scares. One of Alma’s last appearances is pretty chilling (just not the ending). The shooting is simple but trusty, but the true fun comes when using your adrenaline fueled reflexes to slow down time. Trust me when I say you will need to use this ability, your flashlight, and your ammunition wisely because it can all run out in a blink in a eye. My problem with the first F.E.A.R as well as the trilogy itself, I’m not really invested in the story. Much of the story has to be uncovered via files and answering machine tapes as well as radio broadcasts; as for characters, I got four characters and a couple of names. There’s a twist at the end that’s fairly disturbing but falls flatter than it should. Overall, the first F.E.A.R is worth a once over but that’s as far as it should go, so may the gaming gods guide you away from creepy ass Alma.