This year we’re putting together a list of 31 Retro Horror games. Games that have come from dead console generations, back to haunt us. Sadly, not all of these games will be available for you to play due to the complicated nature of video game preservation. However, we’re going to note if it’s possible to play them on modern hardware. We’re going to be covering games from the Seventh Generation (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii) and earlier. So basically anything before 2006.
Day 2 : F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. is a classic, and a game that had lasting effects on the first person shooter genre, not only for its horror elements, but also because of its great gunplay. It’s a game that doesn’t come up in conversations much anymore, but it’s still fun to play. It manages to blend psychological horror, first person shooting, and bullet-time combat seamlessly–which is something that would sound like a horrible game to my contemporary ears.
Despite the fact that F.E.A.R. is an action game, it’s great at creating atmosphere–even when you have the ability to mow down rooms full of people. Many modern games take away the player’s ability to fight back to create fear, while F.E.A.R. scared you despite your hefty arsenal and “reflex” abilities. .
There aren’t that many games that blend psychological horror with action, especially to the degree that F.E.A.R. does. It’s a corridor shooter, sure, but they’re more like hallways in a haunted house–you don’t know if you’re going to get into a firefight, or get jump scared. And any meeting with Alma is usually scary, and often exciting. If there was a list of iconic video game monsters, I would argue that Alma should be on it.
The shooting in F.E.A.R. is still visceral and fun. It isn’t quite modern, as even when you “aim” your weapon it doesn’t also aim down iron sights. But F.E.A.R. has an arsenal of well designed weapons, most of which were viscerally brutal because of the game’s particle effects and semi-destructible environments. If you shoot at a wall it’ll leave huge holes behind. Quaint to today’s standards, but impressive back then–and it’s still effective.
One of the best parts of F.E.A.R. is that it can be played pretty easily today. It’s available to download on Steam, and can be played on most modern computers. You might need to download a user mod to deal with a framerate drop that has to do with Logitech devices, but for a game that’s almost 20 years old it’s pretty easy to get going. Too bad it’s not available digitally on the Xbox store anymore, but F.E.A.R. 2 and F.E.A.R. 3 are–both of which are flawed but worthy sequels. Even so, neither comes close to the greatness and influence of the first game.
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