Score history
7.98 → 7.90
2026-05-05
7.90
2026-05-03
7.98
Initial rating
My Take
This was one of the first games that I would sit people down to play, turn off all the lights, leave the room, and secretly watch them play from an open window. The opening tutorial had multiple points that made everyone jump. Even though the name implies jump scares, it was more about anxiety scares than anything. The story is complex and fascinating, and you’re driven through it at a blistering pace. The gameplay itself is almost magical. Sure, it does things that many other games do now, but this was released in 2005 and pioneered/perfected things like bullet time and consequential actions. The AI built into the NPCs was exquisite. You would accidentally kick a can as you crept around, and they would change their direction and sneak up on you.
Fall damage was a thing, as well as resource management, so they baked traps into the game to mess with you. I’ll never forget the time I was going to just jump down instead of taking the ladder in front of me, but I knew it was just far enough that I’d have to waste a healing kit to get that life back. So, I opted for the boring option of clicking the button to take the ladder. And as soon as my character turned around to climb down, the iconic little girl with long hair and an obscured face was standing right in front of me. I freaked out, jumped down, injured myself anyway, then fired off a bunch of rounds at what was just an illusion of the girl at the bottom of the ladder. Wasted health, wasted ammo, and a racing heart. It was…perfect.
My Take
This was one of the first games that I would sit people down to play, turn off all the lights, leave the room, and secretly watch them play from an open window. The opening tutorial had multiple points that made everyone jump. Even though the name implies jump scares, it was more about anxiety scares than anything. The story is complex and fascinating, and you’re driven through it at a blistering pace. The gameplay itself is almost magical. Sure, it does things that many other games do now, but this was released in 2005 and pioneered/perfected things like bullet time and consequential actions. The AI built into the NPCs was exquisite. You would accidentally kick a can as you crept around, and they would change their direction and sneak up on you.
Fall damage was a thing, as well as resource management, so they baked traps into the game to mess with you. I’ll never forget the time I was going to just jump down instead of taking the ladder in front of me, but I knew it was just far enough that I’d have to waste a healing kit to get that life back. So, I opted for the boring option of clicking the button to take the ladder. And as soon as my character turned around to climb down, the iconic little girl with long hair and an obscured face was standing right in front of me. I freaked out, jumped down, injured myself anyway, then fired off a bunch of rounds at what was just an illusion of the girl at the bottom of the ladder. Wasted health, wasted ammo, and a racing heart. It was…perfect.
About
F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon is a 2005 first-person shooter psychological horror video game for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Developed by Monolith Productions and published by Vivendi Universal Games, the Windows version was released worldwide in October 2005. The Xbox and PlayStation versions were ported by Day 1 Studios and released in October 2006 and April 2007, respectively. Two standalone expansion packs were released for the Windows and Xbox 360 versions of the game, both developed by TimeGate Studios; F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (2006) and F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (2007). Released on Windows in March 2007, F.E.A.R. Gold Edition includes all the content from the Director's Edition plus Extraction Point, while F.E.A.R. Platinum Collection, released for Windows in November 2007, includes the Director's Edition, Extraction Point, and Perseus Mandate. Neither expansion is now considered canon, as the Monolith-developed F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin ignores the events of both.
Source: Wikipedia
Reviewed January 1, 2005 · Last updated May 6, 2026
