F.E.A.R.

"Holy fucking shit!" - is a very accurate way to describe F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault and Recon), Monolith's upcoming PC exclusive shooter that's pretty much set to dazzle the press and create the kind of hype that Half-Life 2 generated last year.

Before I get into the game specifics, let me just say that I'm really glad that Butter Boy isn't heading the development as big shooter announcements, E3 and Gabe "Butter Boy" Newell really don't gel well in my mind anymore.

Happy New Year, everyone! Weeeee!

Keep a tight formation. We don't know what's out there.

Now, about the game - HOLY FUCKING SHIT! First of all, it's obvious that Monolith is looking to set F.E.A.R. apart from other similar shooters by utilizing every drop of DirectX technology that PC's will be able to handle in 2005. Thank goodness that F.E.A.R. is a no-holds-barred, true-and-true PC game that is set to squeeze out the last drop out of the powerful video cards of tomorrow. Not only is this a good reason for us PC gamers to laugh at the console schmucks, it's also a sign that better times are coming for the PC gaming industry; at least until the first line of next-gen consoles hits the stores in North America.

On top of the fact that it's a PC exclusive, F.E.A.R. is rated "M", which (hopefully) means that we will get the kind of gameplay experience that serious PC gamers deserve - something that is not a watered down, skewed representation of virtual worlds that often makes you question if you're going to become brain dead after spending three or so hours with the game.

From the press release we know that the story begins as an unidentified paramilitary force infiltrates a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound. The government responds by sending in Special Forces, but loses contact as an eerie signal interrupts radio communications. When the interference subsides moments later, the team has been literally torn apart. As part of a classified strike team created to deal with threats no one else can handle, your mission is simple: Eliminate the intruders at any cost. Determine the origin of the signal. And contain this crisis before it spirals out of control.

In terms of the general feel of the game world and plot outline, F.E.A.R. sounds an awful lot like Half-Life with some survival horror (Alien vs. Predator?) and Matrix elements thrown into the mix. Hopefully, the "M" rating won't just stand for carnage and excessive gore, but will also imply some semi-meaningful dialogue and actual plot structure. Seeing how Monolith are the dudes behind the NOLF series (which definitely featured some top of the line dialogue), there is a good chance that we're in for quite a treat in terms of the narrative.

As for the visuals, this is easily the best looking game currently in development; at least from what we have seen in the short but action-packed movie trailer, and the six screenshots. The lighting and the complexity of the shadows is amazing and the amount of particles on screen is just unbelievable. Naturally, the game will make use of all the major 3D perks that we'd expect to find in a serious next-generation PC game; stuff like: per-pixel lighting, shadow volumes, normal mapping and more; but what also stands out is the amazing use of physics and the multitude of calculations going on on screen during action-heavy scenes. In the trailer you can see numerous objects breaking and just a boatload of real-time physics calculations going on at a fluid pace, all courtesy of the advanced Havok 2 physics engine. One thing you can definitely see from the trailer is that these physics algorithms have truly come of age and that they do a MUCH better job at simulating real world events. The previous Havok engine had a lot of nifty features, but the rag-doll physics looked overstated in comparison to how they'd look in real life.

Aside from the awesome graphics effects, F.E.A.R. will boast some advanced AI routines, as the enemy squads will use coordinated attack, flanking maneuvers and even know how to cling from walls, waiting for you to pass by them so that they could jump you from behind. Does this mean we'll get to see some Alien-like monsters in the game? I sure as hell think it does, given that Monolith is heading the development.

Of course, members of the F.E.A.R. team won't head into action unprepared, so expect them to wield stuff like missile launchers, rapid-fire battle cannons, and a "sub-nuclear blaster that turns enemies into pillars of ash." Not only that, but the trailer has shown us that you'll be able to use melee attacks performed from the first person view. Kind of like the Halo rifle butt action only much, much more elaborate. I was really amazed at how fluid the animation was in the couple of sequences showing off the first-person melee combat.

In order to diversify the gameplay even more, Monolith will also include frantic car chases and even helicopter crashes rendered in game, in real time! Holy fucking shit, that's all I can say! I shudder to think what the minimal system specs are going to be for this one, but seeing how F.E.A.R. is slated to come out in 2005 I think there'll be time enough to upgrade your gaming rigs before this one hits the stores.