F.E.A.R. 3 Announced For This Fall

Warner Bros. has announced that the third game in the F.E.A.R. saga is in production and planned for release this fall. Unlike the first two games, F.E.A.R. 3 will not be developed by Monolith Productions, but by Day 1 Studios, who ported the original F.E.A.R. to the Xbox 360 and PS3. The new game is being developed for those two consoles and for Windows. "Day One is the studio behind MechAssault, MechAssault 2, and Fracture, so they've got all the mech and shooter experience one could hope for, but what about horror? Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive has that covered as well, with famed horror director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) and 30 Days of Night writer Steve Niles acting as consultants to enhance the game's scary bits. Alma returns for the third game, but her sons, Point Man and Paxton Fettel, are the stars, both featuring unique powers to help create what the developer is calling divergent co-op, where the characters' powers affect each player's game, and not just their own."

De ja vu

[VoltageX]

Poor Monolith, first the whole drama with FEAR 2/Project Origin, and now this.

Re:De ja vu

[stimpleton]

What drama? The only thing I know is I bought FEAR 2 and I found it to be quite mediocre both in gameplay and technology. What I couldnt understand is it commanded a high retail price for quite some time.

Re:De ja vu

[RogueyWon]

I'd agree. I didn't really enjoy FEAR2 at all.

The original was a pretty novel game. It took what should have been a fairly straightforward run and gun shooter and made it genuinely scary in places. The engine was good by the standards of the time, the gunplay felt solid, the enemy AI was extremely robust and there was a convincing atmosphere of lurking horror. It wasn't perfect; it could have done with a wider variety of enemies, and the plot got a bit incoherent towards the end, but on balance I very much enjoyed it.

FEAR 2 didn't create the same impression. It felt technically primative by the standards of its competitors when it came out, the AI felt as though it had taken a step backwards (something I also felt happened between the original Half-Life and its sequel, to be honest), the weapons felt weedy and unsatisfying and the game was relying on the same tricks as its predecessor for its shocks and scares, with the result that it was markedly less effective. The plot was an absolute disaster; it was far from gripping to begin with, and it had one of the worst endings I've ever encountered in a game. It just felt like the writers had written themselves into a corner and couldn't think of any way out, so they just stopped and ended the game there.

To be honest, I don't think the franchise is one I need to see continued. Sure, the original was fun, but I'm happy to let it (and its stupidly capitalised and punctuated title) fade away.

Re:

[HopefulIntern]

Respectfully I disagree. I had my doubts about FEAR 2, having really enjoyed the first one (played the campaing several times through). The second one was all that I expected: better graphics, a continuation of the storyline, and just as immersive and creepy.

I have high hopes for the third one :)

Re:

[Straterra]

The first game didn't seem all that scary to me. All they did was neglect the lighting, add in some phantom appearances, and played some voices really low. I found the combat to be boring. The entire game could be beat with a simple "Run in, switch to slow motion, kill everyone, move on" method. I never played FEAR 2, but I hope FEAR 3 is nothing like the original.

Re:

[A. B3ttik]

"I'm cool because I don't like things that are popular."

Re:

[Draek]

That applies best to the anti-FEAR2 crowd than it does to the GP, though. Not liking a particular series' brand of gameplay and storytelling is perfectly normal, but liking it once then suddenly hating it 4 years later, coincidentally just when the series went from 'underrated gem' to 'popular and mainstream series' strains credibility a bit further.

And for the record I loved FEAR2 so I belong to neither crowd.

Re:

[KDR_11k]

It can't be that popular, by the looks of it every store has a huge surplus of FEAR2 copies and stores doing extreme discounts on all games as they are going out of business still can't get rid of FEAR2.

Re:

[Hatta]

I didn't play FEAR2, but I played FEAR and yeah it was boring as hell. Same damn dimly lit office buildings again and again and again. The AI was actually pretty good, but they crammed you into locations so cramped it usually didn't matter. It's hard for the enemy to flank you in a tunnel.

Yes

[Superdarion]

I always feared this would happen to Monolith.

Re:

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

I think you permanently wounded my brain with that one.

Not even close

[Anonymous Coward]

Day One is the studio behind MechAssault, MechAssault 2, and Fracture, so they've got all the mech and shooter experience one could hope for

The MechAssault games are pretty bad as mech games. I could hope for much, much more when it comes to such things.

Re:

[Bakkster]

If they had been turn-based and allowed for a bit more freedom, they would have been perfect for the time. Modern remake, following Battle Tech and Mech Warrior tabletop rules please?

Re:

[KDR_11k]

Fracture isn't exactly a standout title either, it's passable but the price fell over 50% within weeks of release so the game must have bombed badly.

Finnally

[maweki]

Finally a game I won't be able to play natively on Linux. I thought this day would never come.

Re:

[BoogeyOfTheMan]

sarcasm...

Oh great.

[Laser Dan]

Everyone prepare for another console game with a dodgy PC port.
I hope you like terrible graphics, auto-aim, and "combos".

Re:Oh great.

[A. B3ttik]

Don't forget the "One Button Does Everything" symptom... like in Arkham Asylum where SPACEBAR is used for Run/Jump/Climb/Drop/Use/Talk/Evade/Kick. The worst part is that if you run around with Spacebar held in, Batman automatically runs/jumps/climbs/drops as necessary per environment which is interesting since these are all the things that the player COULD do in the first Prince of Persia from 1991. It's amazing how far games have come in terms of what the game is expected to do for you.

Re:

[KDR_11k]

Arkham Asylum is not a platformer, the game's focus is not on having you climb/jump/etc across the environment with great care, that's just how Batman happens to move around while doing the important stuff like fighting, stealthing and exploring. Compare Assassin's Creed with Prince of Persia 2008, in PoP you have to press many different buttons for the different moves to keep going across obstacles, in AC you just hold down run and your dude does all that automatically because you're supposed to worry abou

Re:

[sgt scrub]

and the dodgy pc port will require a steam account that the password, for some unknown reason, doesn't work any longer.

Oh, colour me excited!

[billsayswow]

Wasn't Fracture kinda rather awful? Weren't the FEAR ports kinda disappointing when compared to the PC version? Weren't the MechAssault games made WITH the original MechWarrior people? Isn't Monolith, the company that does NOT get to do this the people behind such brilliant games as Condemned, No One Lives Forever, and Shogo, as well as the original FEAR game that eventually leads to this news story? I'll watch this with tepid spirits...

Re:

[Rogerborg]

Also, have you seen 30 Days of Night? For "scary" read "Rraaaaargh! [Run run run] Aaaaargh! [Bang bang] Grrrraaaar! [splatter]".

Come to think of it 30 Days of Night felt like a movie of a game, so I guess the back-propagation back makes sense.

Re:

[Blakey Rat]

I dunno. I thought FEAR 2 was pretty damned good, maybe not scary but a solid shooter with great visuals.

Re:

[billsayswow]

Yeah, but FEAR 2 was Monolith, the people not doing this game.

Re:

[KDR_11k]

Then again I'd rather have Monolith work on something that needs their creativity instead of yet another boring and bland FEAR sequel.

What about horror?

[syousef]

they've got all the mech and shooter experience one could hope for, but what about horror?

Wait for the DRM announcement. You'll need to be internet connected and supply a finger, eyeball, testicle or ovary when the game starts. "It's unfortunate that game piracy has driven us to these methods" said lead developer Richard Head. "But the game is fantastic and well worth it" as he proceeded to remove his own gonad and place it in the prototype dongle. "And once you're done identifying yourself, you're free to dispose of your body part any way you see fit. I'm having mine with sauce". When asked what happens when you run out of body parts Richard responded "That's the beauty of it. The game is designed so that by the time the victim...erm customer...has gone as far as removing their testicles, we have all their cash"

Oh the HORROR!!!!

Re:

[gy equals c]

Oh, sure, get your excuses ready for not having the 'nads to play Fear 3... "Umm, no thanks, I've already played twice..."

Re:

[game kid]

They clearly have a different meaning of "dong"le in mind.

(Quotation mark intentionally misplaced.)

Re:What about horror?

[PopeRatzo]

The lead developer on that was Richard Head? I bet the guy in charge of the DRM scheme is Richard Gazinya.

Re:

[Dan667]

When you buy a game part of the DRM process should be to finger print you and check your body cavity. Might as well go all the way at treating the Customer like a Criminal with DRM.

what about No One lives Forever 3?

[davFr]

I would much prefer a 3rd episode of No One Lives Forever! This game was really fun and addictive.

Re:

[tgetzoya]

I would much prefer a 3rd episode of No One Lives Forever! This game was really fun and addictive.

YES!

Re:

[Laser Dan]

I would much prefer a 3rd episode of No One Lives Forever! This game was really fun and addictive.

YES! YES!

A perfect example of a game that is awesome because of design, humour, and storyline rather than just "realism" or fancy graphics.

Re:

[spyrochaete]

Monolith doesn't do charming games with intelligent dialogue anymore. They only do scary games for 12 year olds now. R.I.P. NOLF and TRON 2.0.

Re:

[Rayonic]

All of their "charming games with intelligent dialogue" sold pretty poorly. I guess they just learned their lesson.

Re:

[spyrochaete]

Just because they're talented and successful, doesn't mean I can't hold a grudge against them forever.

Re:

[KatchooNJ]

100% agreement! The NOLF games are pure gold. I also wished for more sequels.

Re:

[kalirion]

Considering NOLF 2 was apparently the only sequel to their own game that Monolith got right (see Blood 2, F.E.A.R. 2), that would be a good idea.

Reassure me..

[HopefulIntern]

...is it bad that I almost squealed like a girl when I read this? Right here in the office?

Re:

[dskzero]

Probably. I also fear that the reason might not even be there.

the thing

[Lueseiseki]

From the summary, it looks like they're really trying to shape this up and make it into a good game. FWIW, The Thing was was one my classic favorites for the PS2. :) A very scary game indeed.

Spoiler alert...

[Tenek]

The person you'll spend half the game protecting is going to die.

...and?

[KlausBreuer]

So yet another game is announced. . ...so what? It's not out yet, no half-way serious reviews are available, nothing extra special (lkie particular AI) about this game... why should we be interested?
Sounds like an advert. Was slashdot paid to post this?