F.E.A.R.: Difference between revisions

 

 

 

 

As the game starts, the player takes on the role of F.E.A.R.'s new [[No Name Given|Point Man]]. In his first briefing, F.E.A.R. learns of a secret military project, Perseus, being run by [[Mega Corp|Armacham Technology Corporation]] in the city of Fairport. The project, the development of a battalion of [[Psychic Powers|telepathically]] controlled "[[Cloning Blues|Replica]]" [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]], [[Gone Horribly Wrong|has gone haywire]]. The Replica battalion's telepathic commander, an unstable operative named Paxton Fettel, has led them in an uprising. It is now F.E.A.R.'s job to hunt down and kill Fettel, ending the uprising. [[It Got Worse|But things start to get complicated]] when Alma, a little girl in a red dress, shows up and starts annihilating F.E.A.R.'s 1st SFOD-D ("Delta Force," a real-life U.S. military special operations unit) escorts, then vanishes.

The DLC (downloadable content) ''F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn'' was released in Fall 2009. In the DLC, the player controls a Replica called Foxtrot 813, who encounters {{spoiler|[[Cloning Blues|and becomes]]}} Paxton Fettel.

 

 

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=== The ''F.E.A.R.'' series provides examples of: ===

* [[Back Stab]]: In both games, shooting an unaware enemy typically results in an instant kill. This doesn't work on the [[Giant Mook|Giant Mooks]], though.

** ''F.E.A.R. 3'' lets you pull off an actual Back Stab, either with the Point Man's knife or Fettel's psychic attacks.

* [[Bad Boss]]: The Phase Commanders in FEAR 3 who, among other things, threaten "dismemberment"(!) if their orders are not carried out.

* [[The Bad Guy Wins]]: {{spoiler|Project Origin allows Aristide to try to get her job back, and Alma pregnant with who is essentially the Anti-Christ. Yeah.}}

* [[Beehive Barrier]]: The [[Power Armor]] and Elite Power Armor units in ''F.E.A.R. 2'' have these as energy shields, while the Replica Assassins have their invisibility shield look like this.

* [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]]: Literally, when playing as Paxton Fettel. If your host body is killed, you lose all your psychic power; burning out means you lose about half of what you need to possess someone. In a firefight, it can be better to burn out of a body instead of allowing it to be killed, because it means you can bodyhop faster, or retain some juice in order to provide support for the Point Man.

* [[Big Bad]]: Alma, though Genevive Aristide is really pushing it.

** Then again, Alma does help you repeatedly in ''Extraction Point'' by clearing away Replicas and leading the Point Man into areas to navigate his way to pick-up.

* [[Big Screwed-Up Family]]: Dear ''lord.'' Paxton Fettel hopes to have a reunion in ''F.E.A.R. 3'', {{spoiler|just in time to greet the youngest sibling.}}

* [[Blackout Basement]]: One paranormal sequence in ''Project Origin''. Expect it to smell like [[Nightmare Fuel]].

* [[Book Ends]]: One of the first things the player hears from Fettel in the first game is "They deserved to die. They ''all'' deserved to die." One of the last things Fettel says during [[The Stinger]] in the Point Man's ending is a repetition of those lines.

* [[Boring but Practical]]: While you can carry 3 weapons, you're making it a harder for yourself if 2 of those weapon aren't the shotgun and assault rifle in the first game. These weapons don't do anything special, but they do the job, cover short and medium ranged battles and you can find plenty of ammo. Expect to be juggling weapons as you encounter ammo for them with the cooler guns.

* [[Cyberpunk]]: Replace cybernetics with [[Psychic Powers]], and this is pretty much what the entire setting is, complete with a shockingly-powerful [[Mega Corp]].

* [[Darker and Edgier]]: While the blood and atmosphere was quite bleak in the first game, the disturbing factor continued to grow with each installment. An increasingly apocalyptic atmosphere, more terrifying baddies, betrayal, and {{spoiler|rape}} all contribute.

* [[Death Glare]]: The Point Man's glare in ''F.3.A.R.'' could probably make [[Battlestar Galactica|Admiral Adama]] quail in terror.

* [[Decoy Protagonist]]: Oddly enough, a ''literal'' example in {{spoiler|Becket. The only reason he's dealing with Alma is because Genevieve Aristide made him a telesthetic beacon so Alma and the Replica troops would be drawn to him. The result is that while Alma is chasing Becket, Aristide can find the Point Man without interference.}}

* [[Disc One Nuke]]: You can obtain the Penetrator in an early level in the first game, where it'll two-shot pretty much anything short of a Heavy Armor unit.

* [[Double Entendre]]: The final level of ''Project Origin'' is called "Climax." [[Immodest Orgasm|Guess what Alma does in that level.]]

** And ''FEAR 3'' confirms it. {{spoiler|Beckett}}'s response to being raped by {{spoiler|Alma}} is confused hatred and rage, with {{spoiler|Becket demanding that the Point Man kill the unborn child}}.

* [[Downer Ending]]: Some of the games end this way, See [[Kill'Em All]] below.

* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: As the games progress, Alma becomes less of a vengeful, violent psychic spirit and more of a [[Reality Warper|reality-twisting]] force of nature exhibiting powers that are beyond human control or comprehension.

* [[Elite Mooks]]: The Replica become these in ''F.E.A.R. 3'' for ATC. Generally, most squads from Interval 05 and onward will have a mixture of both lighter ATC mercenaries and heavily-armored Replica troops who are far tougher and stronger.

* [[Endofthe World As We Know It]]: The endings of both games. {{spoiler|F.E.A.R. ends with Fairport devastated by a nuclear explosion and Alma stowing away on the Point Man's evac chopper. Project Origin ends with Alma pregnant with Becket's child with the implication that the child is a strong psychic already, and she isn't even born yet.}}

** The ending of ''Extraction Point'', or at least it's a possible prelude to the end.

* [[Full-Frontal Assault]]: Alma, of course. At one point in ''Project Origin'' she [[The Glomp|comes sprinting at you naked like a demon out of hell]].

** There's also the Abominations, which repeatedly jump at you and you have to either kick them off or hit them until they let go.

* [[Gainax Ending]]: ''F.E.A.R. 2'' ends with {{spoiler|a literal [[Mind Screw]] and pregnancy.}}

* [[Gameplay and Story Integration]]:

* [[Hiss Before Fleeing]]

* [[Hit Points]]

* [[Hope Spot]]: So, Becket's even more powerful than Paxton Fettel, and there's even a 50% chance he's psychically powerful enough to fight Alma and make [[Your Head Asplode|her head explode]]? {{spoiler|Yeah right, like they'd really [[Joker Immunity|let you kill the series mascot]]. Sure enough, in the end you're not even given a chance to try.}}

** In ''Perseus Mandate'', {{spoiler|Chen is dragged offscreen and attacked by the same creatures that killed Holiday and Jin in ''Extraction Point''. There's a lot of off-screen shooting and screaming, then suddenly Chen emerges victorious and even manages a cocky quip. About five seconds later he's viciously killed by yet another new enemy type.}}

* [[Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence]]: No matter what high explosives or rocket launchers you are carrying, you can't blow open things that aren't meant to be blown open.

** This gets even worse in ''Extraction Point'', where two people you could have saved stand behind a chain link fence so they cannot be reached, but at least you can open some doors with explosives.

* [[Interface Screw]]: Your interface glasses act weird whenever Alma is around or you run into a EMP grenade.

* [[It's Up to You]]: Your SFOD-D escorts have a bad habit of being wiped out as a level loads. In ''Perseus Mandate'', friendly soldiers do help you out in a few firefights, but they're not exactly very good.

** In ''Perseus Mandate'', the Nightcrawler Commander final boss can survive more damage than ''a Power Armor mech unit''!

** While escaping an exploding facility in ''Project Origin'', Becket steps on a collapsing floor, falls a few dozen feet, and bounces off a steel I-beam. While that'd easily be enough to break a normal person's spine, Becket pulls himself up and continues forward (granted, he does seem to pass out briefly).

* [[Mana Meter]]: The Point Man and Becket have a 'reflex' meter which allow them to enter [[Bullet Time]] mode, where they move much faster than their enemies until it drains. The Sergeant from ''Perseus Mandate'' and Foxtrot 813 from ''Reborn'' have this as well, and all four are capable of increasing the length of it by picking up reflex boosters.

* [[Marionette Motion]]: The undead soldiers under the control of the Remnants move this way.

* [[The Password Is Always Swordfish]]: "The password should be... Snakefist." Told to you by the guy who is using "Snakefist" as his alias.

** Oh, and Snakefist also happens to in universe be the title of a movie series so popular it has at least seven movies in it....

* [[People Puppets]]: The "Remnant" boss enemies in ''F.E.A.R. 2''. Well, more like zombie-puppets, but same effect.

* [[Personal Space Invader]]: Alma does this ''a lot'' in ''F.E.A.R. 2''. {{spoiler|With good reason.}}

* [[School for Scheming]]: Wade Elementary. Test subjects for TK become [[Creepy Child|psychopaths]]. Then again, if you've played the first game, you should automatically know anything associated with the Wades is bad news.

* [[Sexy Walk]]: Alma tries this throughout ''F.E.A.R. 2'' as she stalks Becket. [[Fan Disservice|Key word]]: ''[[Nightmare Fuel|tries]]''.

* [[Shell-Shock Silence]]: While not particularly overwhelming, mild ones will happen if you stand next to an exploding warhead.

* [[Shout-Out]]: The subway levels in Project Origin look ''exactly'' like the subway levels from ''[[Condemned]]: Criminal Origins''. Given that Monolith made both games, it's highly likely they used the same level resources.

** Some of the insignias in F.E.A.R.'s multiplayer are shout outs to other games by Monolith, among them one that has [[No One Lives Forever|Cate Archer's face]], and another that has [[Blood|a bloody handprint]].

** While Monolith explicitly rejected the plotline of the 2 outsourced F.E.A.R. expansion packs as noncanonical, ''Project Origin'' has several scenes and gameplay additions that echo similar ones introduced in the expansion packs, indicating there's not complete bad blood between the teams. Examples include the laser weapon, being able to melee open doors, the hospital and subway levels, and the crashing airplane.

** The "Armacham" name, along with the basic idea behind the MOD-3 Rocket Launcher and the MP-50 cannon, originated from ''Shogo''.

** [[Lost|Jin Sun-Kwon]]?

** Look carefully at the desks you pass in the first game. The mounds of paperwork include [[Office Space|T.P.S. Reports]] (and a memo regarding them). One desk even has a red stapler on it.

** One of the weapons used by the cultists-and Paxton, when he possesses them-in ''F.E.A.R. 3'' is the crowbar. The achievement for killing 20 enemies with a crowbar is called [[Half Life|"Head Crab Removal"]].

** One of the magazines in the first game has a cover that reads "[[Event Horizon]] Found." While that might by itself refer to the black-hole phenomenon, the second game has "Liberate tutame ex infernis" written in blood, in the room in which Becket first fights Abominations. That same room also has "Can he see?" written in blood, and whomever "he" may be in-game (Becket himself?), it functions nicely as a [[Shout-Out]] to the fate of Sam Niell's character.

* [[Squishy Wizard]]: In ''F.E.A.R. 3'', Paxton Fettel has less health than the Pointman and can't use guns, but compensates with an assortment of psychic powers including firing psi blasts, throwing explosive barrels (plus grenades and gas tanks) with telekinesis, possessing enemies to use their weapons and abilities, and being able to see and use hidden paths.

* [[Surprisingly-Sudden Death]]: Alma in the first game, when she murders your squad at the water treatment plant. A Replica Assassin also kills {{spoiler|Snake Fist}} in the same sudden manner.

** In ''F.E.A.R. 3'', this role is played by "The Creep", a powerful, individual apparition unlike any of Alma's usual spooks.

* [[Standard FPS Guns]]: Runs the whole damned gamut.

** [[Energy Weapons]]

*** [[Frickin' Laser Beams]]: ''F.E.A.R.'''s Type-12 Laser Carbine (expansion packs only), ''F.E.A.R. 2'''s FL-3 Laser and ''F.E.A.R. 3'''s Arc Beam.

** [[Nail'Em]]: ''F.E.A.R.'''s 10mm HV Penetrator and its successor, the 14mm HV Hammerhead.

** And just the entire list mentioned in [[BFG|BFGs]] above.

* [[Stringy Haired Ghost Girl]]: Alma.

** So does anyone with a [[Disintegrator Ray]] weapon.

* [[Suddenly Voiced]]: Becket gets a few lines in ''F.E.A.R. 3''. The Point Man, however, gets none, even though he has been given a face.

* [[Uncanny Valley]]: Alma and the Replica were deliberately designed to be this way in-universe. Even in her "healthy" adult form in ''FEAR 2'', Alma is just...''off'' enough to make it clear that she's not natural.

* [[The Unfavourite]]: For Harlan Wade, the {{spoiler|Point Man}} was this when compared with his brother.

* [[Understatement]]: Snake Fist, regarding Alma: "They took her babies away. She ''didn't'' like that."

* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: Alma. In fact, calling it that is probably a ''massive'' understatement. That girl is ''pissed.''

* [[Updated Rerelease]]: The first game oddly has two, the "Platinum" and "Ultimate Shooter" collections. The only difference is the first is in disc form and includes a bonus episode of the [[Rooster Teeth|P.A.N.I.C.S. machinima]], while the second is for digital distribution.

* [[Urban Warfare]]: The majority of battles take place in homes, office buildings, warehouses, malls and underground tunnels. Most of the setting, in fact, is in tight spaces.

* [[Video Game Flamethrowers Suck]]: The Napalm Cannon in ''Project Origin'' has wonky hit detection, a relatively low rate of fire, and does fairly mediocre damage. The ammo's even extremely rare after the first few levels.

* [[The Virus]]: Alma gets upgraded to [[The Virus]] status in ''F.E.A.R. 2'', especially with regards to the members of your squad after they get subjected to the "Harbinger" treatment. And poor citizens of Fairport turned into ghosts or zombies.

* [[Walk It Off]]: The Point Man and Becket can regenerate back up 25 health points, although since this is only enough to survive 1 or 2 bullets, [[Heal Thyself|picking up medkits and body armor]] is still the primary means of restoring lost health.

** Played completely straight in ''F.E.A.R. 3''.

* [[The Walls Are Closing In|The Walls]] [[Descending Ceiling|And Ceiling]] [[The Walls Are Closing In|Are Closing In]]: It's one of the Point Man's [[Dream Sequence|dream sequences]] in ''F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point''. It's actually all scare and no pain.

** {{spoiler|[[Word of God]] confirmed he's dead; the player was originally intended to find his body, but it was cut when it was realized it was much scarier without it.}}

** In ''Project Origin'', in the beginning of the second level an ATC Black Ops lieutenant named Samuels shows up briefly, and is mentioned in dialogue a couple of times later. He has his own unique character model (whereas all other non-plot-important characters are carbon-copies of each other), which makes you think he'll show up again later in the game. He's never seen again.

** In the first game, during the part where you sue the elevator along with Alice Wade, leaving the elevator to fight the Replicas will result on getting comments from Alice like "You're going to get us killed!". And, after you've killed all the attacking Replicas, she says "You don't have to kill everyone!".

* [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?|Where The Hell Is Fairport?]]: The precise location of Fairport is unspecified, and the city itself is so generic that it could be anywhere in the United States. ''F.3.A.R.'' implies that it is located somewhere in the southern parts of the country, as {{spoiler|the Point Man is able to fly a helicopter from the prison in the unspecified Spanish-speaking country to Fairport.}}