F.E.A.R. 3 Review (Button Eyes)
F.E.A.R. 3, or also known as F.3.A.R., is the last game of the F.E.A.R. series. The game takes place 9 months after the events of the previous game. You play as Point Man again, this time working with his brother Paxton Fettel, trying to prevent their mother Alma Wade who is going to give birth, presumably to another powerful individual. At first, you can only play as Point Man, but after beating each interval, you'll get the chance to play as Fettel. Sadly there are no new cutscenes, story content, or anything. You can play co-op as the 2 brothers, competing scores. The one with more score will determine the ending.
Many people, even the devs, dislike this game, saying it doesn't feel like a F.E.A.R. game. And yes, it is really different from the other 2 and its expansions. There is more focus on action than horror, in the way that the atmosphere doesn't feel that creepy anymore. There's also more combat, which is more hectic and difficult, with no body armor and medkits, only regenerating health. The levels are very cramped and linear, with not much opportunity to explore, and no collectible lore items as well. I read someone said that this game, with its cramped linear levels and plenty of combat feels more like a Shadow Warrior game, and I agree. However, the SW franchise's main focus is the combat, while F.E.A.R. should be horror.
I also don't like how the levels feel disjointed, like there's always a cutscene in the beginning and end of each interval, and the next one starts in a completely different place. This kinda messes up the flow of the game and the atmosphere, since the previous games never used this method, and any change in scenario is usually explained by having the protagonist travel in a vehicle. The levels aren't as monotonous as in the first game, and yet it still feels soulless. I don't really mind the story of this game, but I think it would be a lot better, and maybe longer, if they made the places where the brothers travel to closer to each other, and we walk there, not relying on pre-rendered cutscenes. The campaign is also really short, around 6 hours in length.
Gameplay is the same, but kinda worse. You can only carry 2 weapons at a time, unlike the first game where you can carry 3 and the second where you can bring 4. Slow-mo returns, but there are no reflex boosters, only way to extend them is by leveling up, which you can do by collecting points for completing challenges in each interval. Fettel's gameplay is a bit more unique, he can possess enemies and use their weapons. But outside of possession, he cannot use weapons, only fighting with pretty weak energy blasts. He cannot use slow-mo.
F.E.A.R. 3 seems to be a kinda problematic game, like how it was forced to have a tone change in development and now Steam Cloud saves don't even work. But maybe for those with a friend it can be a fun co-op experience, and aside from the campaign there's also multiplayer modes, like collecting souls, survival, etc which luckily you can also do alone. If you already played the previous games, I still recommend giving F.E.A.R. 3 a try, even if its just for the sake of a resolution to the story, or maybe if you wanna play as the antagonist. Just don't have high expectations, and you can still have fun.