I've seen two games that I would kill a man for this year. One has been Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and the other was F.E.A.R. We're going to talk about the coolest First Person Shooter I've been lucky enough to bare witness to with every ounce of my being.

Sh*t! It's getting hot in here!

Hello... anybody here?!

F.E.A.R. started me off in a darkened hallway with a sub machine gun. As the character progressed down the hall he was treated to a lovely chance to kill some enemy gun-toting bastards. As bullets filled the air, pieces of tile were blown off of the walls realistically. The particle effects are simply top-notch. Then blood got splattered on the walls as enemy soldiers hit the ground with some beautiful rag-doll effects. The dust cleared, and we were the victors,

Still later, when fighting we went into a sort of slow motion mode that made every particle effect stand out as much as particle effects could ever stand out in a very beautiful way, and the man playing tossed a grenade. The resulting explosion made me feel really, really good inside. Good like graduating from high school good. We got treated to a demonstration of the proximity mine. When it was thrown into a room full of bad guys, one of them dove out of the window we threw it in to try to get away and to kill us. After he was dealt with, we watched as the mine went off, it bounced into the air and exploded with a wonderful screen warping effect that the striders in Half-Life 2 had some of the time. I loved it.

When we moved outdoors, the game was just as dazzling, enemy soldiers reacted intelligently to our progression, and when an explosive barrel was hit, it tossed them through the air like dust in the wind. The question was asked as to if the game was more indoor or more outdoor, and the answer was simply that there are both. As a man that really likes outdoor areas more in shooters, I can say that I don't care so much as the indoor areas are that perfect combination of enclosed, but not entrapping.

Then there was a nightmare sequence. Little girls appeared and then turned into dust and fell to the floor. We tried to go down a hallway, but the lights shook and the doors closed, and suddenly there was a river of blood flowing down the ceiling, and bloody footprints on the floor. We watched to one end, and turned around to see another little girl just in time for her to turn into more dazzling particle effects. Then there was an interrogation scene in our dream that we found out had already happened when we came out of our nightmare. As the beaten and bloody man reached for our shirt, I was awestruck.

Considering how much story Monolith is known for putting into their games, I have the highest hopes for F.E.A.R. The game looks like it will do everything that a first person shooter needs to do, and bring a whole lot more than we only ever hoped for. I'm giddy with excitement for this one, and I cannot wait until fall to get it.

Bravo, bravo.

- Jackson "Smapdey" Johns