F.E.A.R. is a first-person shooter psychological horror video game series created by Craig Hubbard in 2005. Released on Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, there are three main games in the series; F.E.A.R. (2005), F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009), and F.E.A.R. 3 (2011). There are also two standalone expansion packs for the first game; F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (2006) and F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (2007), but these games are no longer considered canon, as their plots were ignored in Project Origin and F.E.A.R. 3. In 2014, F.E.A.R. Online, a free-to-play game, was released, but the servers were shut down in 2015 with the game still in open beta. Monolith Productions developed the original game and Project Origin; Day 1 Studios developed F.E.A.R. 3; TimeGate Studios developed Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate; Inplay Interactive developed F.E.A.R. Online. Initially, the series' publishing rights were owned by Vivendi Games, who published the original game and the two expansions under the Sierra Entertainment label. In 2008, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment acquired the publishing rights and went on to publish Project Origin and F.E.A.R. 3. Aeria Games published F.E.A.R. Online under license from Warner.
The original game is set in the city of Fairport in 2025 and follows the fictional F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) unit, an elite group in the United States Army tasked with investigating supernatural phenomena, as they probe a private military company's secret research program, which has resulted in the unintended release of a dangerous and powerful psychic. The player takes on the role of the unit's newest recruit, Point Man, as he faces down not only the psychic, but also a lethal and unpredictable paranormal menace in the form of a young girl, Alma Wade. Project Origin is set immediately after the conclusion of the first game, and follows Sgt. Michael Becket of Delta Force, who awakens in a strange hospital only to find that Alma, now free from her confinements, has taken a keen interest in him. F.E.A.R. 3 takes place nine months after the conclusion of Project Origin. Alma's pregnancy is nearing its end, and when a resurrected Paxton Fettel (the psychic from the first game) rescues Point Man from captivity, the two head back to Fairport, with Point Man determined to prevent Alma from giving birth. Fettel, however, has an entirely different motive.
All F.E.A.R. games are first-person shooters and feature several common guns, projectiles, and game mechanics, the most notable of which is "reflex time" (a slow motion technique that allows players to aim and shoot in real-time). With the exception of F.E.A.R. 3, the campaign in each game is single player-only. F.E.A.R. 3 can be played in either single-player or co-op mode. F.E.A.R. 3 is also the only game to offer the player a choice as to the playable character.
Critical reactions to the games have been mixed, although leaning positive. The original game received very strong reviews and went on to be celebrated as a defining title in the FPS genre, both for its mechanics and its innovations in AI technology. Subsequent games in the series were not as well-received; whilst their mechanics were generally lauded, a common complaint has been that the series' psychological horror elements have lost potency with each entry. The original game sold very well, but after F.E.A.R. 3 failed to meet commercial expectations, the mainline series has been on hiatus.
Games
F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon was developed by Monolith Productions for Microsoft Windows and published by Vivendi Games, under the Sierra Entertainment label. Released in October 2005, it was made available in both a standard edition and a Director's Edition, which included both a CD-ROM and DVD version of the game, a Dark Horse comic prequel, a live-action prequel, a "Making of F.E.A.R." documentary, a one-hour "Developers' commentary", and an episode of a promotional machinima. It was ported to the Xbox 360 in October 2006 and to the PlayStation 3 in April 2007, with both ports developed by Day 1 Studios and published by Vivendi. In March 2007, F.E.A.R. Gold Edition was released on PC, containing all the content from the Director's Edition, plus the Extraction Point expansion pack. In November, F.E.A.R. Platinum Collection was released, containing all the content from the Gold Edition plus the Perseus Mandate expansion pack. The complete F.E.A.R. series was released on Steam in July 2012, the Platinum Collection was released on GOG.com in February 2015, and the entire franchise was added to Microsoft's backward compatibility program, making the games playable on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, in November 2021. F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, a standalone expansion pack for the original game, was developed by TimeGate Studios and published by Vivendi, under the Sierra Entertainment label. Originally released for PC in October 2006, it was later included in both the Gold Edition and Platinum Collection re-releases of the game. It was released for Xbox 360 in November 2007, although was only available bundled with the Perseus Mandate expansion, under the collective name F.E.A.R. Files. The complete F.E.A.R. series was released on Steam in July 2012, the Platinum Collection was released on GOG.com in February 2015, and the entire franchise was added to Microsoft's backward compatibility in November 2021. F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate, a second standalone expansion pack for the original game, was developed by TimeGate Studios and published by Vivendi, under the Sierra Entertainment label. Released for PC and Xbox in November 2007, it was made available for PC in both a standard edition and as part of the Platinum Collection re-release of the game. On Xbox 360, it was only available bundled with the Extraction Point expansion, under the collective name F.E.A.R. Files. The complete F.E.A.R. series was released on Steam in July 2012, the Platinum Collection was released on GOG.com in February 2015, and the entire franchise was added to Microsoft's backward compatibility in November 2021. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, which ignores the events of both expansions, was developed by Monolith for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and was published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in February 2009. In September 2009, Monolith released a single-player DLC pack, F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn, which continued the story. The complete F.E.A.R. series was released on Steam in July 2012, both Project Origin and Reborn were made available on GOG.com in March 2015, and the entire franchise was added to Microsoft's backward compatibility in November 2021. F.E.A.R. 3 was developed by Day 1 Studios for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and was published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in June 2011. It was released on Steam in July 2012 as part of the complete F.E.A.R. series. The entire F.E.A.R. franchise, including F.E.A.R. 3, was added to Microsoft's backward compatibility in November 2021. F.E.A.R. Online, a free-to-play online multiplayer shooter, was developed by InPlay Interactive and published by Aeria Games, under license from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The storyline of the game runs parallel to Project Origin. It entered closed beta in May 2014, and open beta in October. The servers were shut down in May 2015 with the game still in open beta.
Gameplay overview All games in the F.E.A.R. series are first-person shooters and all share multiple game mechanics. In the first game and F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, the only playable character is Point Man; in F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate, the player controls an unnamed F.E.A.R. sergeant; in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, the player controls Sgt. Michael Becket of Delta Force; in F.E.A.R. 3, which can be played in either single player or co-op modes, the player can control both Point Man and Paxton Fettel, one of the antagonists of the original game.
When the player is controlling Point Man, the sergeant, or Becket, gameplay is very similar, irrespective of which game is being played. Common weaponry across all games includes handguns, assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, nail guns, and rocket launchers. Other weapons available in the games include repeating cannons, particle beams, miniguns, laser carbines, grenade launchers, night vision rifles, lightning arcs, flamethrowers, pulse rifles, and machine pistols. The player also has access to various projectiles. Frag genades are common across all games, whilst other types of projectiles include proximity grenades, remote bombs, deplyable turrets, incendiary grenades, shock grenades (electricity-based), flash bangs, and zap grenades (electricity-based). Point Man, the sergeant, and Becket also have limited melee abilities; punch, kick, jumping kick, sliding tackle, and using the butts of their guns in hand-to-hand combat. In F.E.A.R. 3, Point Man also has a knife for use in close combat.
A prominent gameplay element in all F.E.A.R. games is "reflex time"; an ability which slows down the game world while still allowing the player to aim and react at normal speeds. This effect is used to simulate the player character's superhuman reflexes, and is represented by stylized visual effects, such as bullets in flight that cause air distortion or interact with the game's particle system. In all games, the duration which reflex time lasts is limited, determined by a meter which slowly fills up automatically when the ability is not being used. In all games except F.E.A.R. 3, the player can permanently increase the size of the reflex meter by picking up reflex boosters.
In F.E.A.R. 3, the player only has access to reflex time when playing as Point Man. When playing as Fettel, the player has access to a possession ability which allows Fettel to take control of an enemy NPC, who then becomes the playable character. When Fettel possesses an NPC, he gains access to any abilities and weaponry wielded by that individual, meaning that although the player cannot use guns when playing directly as Fettel, they can use guns when Fettel possesses gun-wielding enemies. Once in possession of an NPC, the player has a limited amount of time before the possession ends and the player returns to controlling Fettel. The player also has the option to manually end possession at any time. The player can permanently increase the size of the reflex time/possession meter via the game's ranking system, which is based on completing various challenges. Completing a challenge awards points, and when enough points have been accrued, the player's rank increases. Each rank progression gives the player an award, such as increasing the size of the meter, unlocking new melee abilities, increasing ammo and grenade capacity, or allowing the player's health to regenerate faster.