We are night ahi-strokes. F.E.A.R. 3

WHAT? F.E.A.R. 3, continuation of the main horror-player in the world.

WHERE? Chicago, DAY 1 Studios office.

The first question that arises in any person who is familiar with F.E.A.R. : Why are people who once ported the original on Xbox 360, and not the authors of the first two episodes, make the third part? Employees on him Day 1 Studios They answer simply: "The project had to be refreshed, and we were already a little familiar with it – so we chose us". The goal is certainly good, but whether it will be able to achieve it is still unknown.

Don't be afraid

Chicago office DAY 1 – a pleasant, full of air and light a room that resembles a bagel and occupies a whole floor. It is probably fine here, but to demonstrate the horror shuther in the first person, such a place is not suitable, so the studio staff had to specially prepare several rooms: first of all, to curtain the windows. Day 1 is trying in every possible way that their game will be no less terrible than that Monolith.

The material is really quite suitable. Action f.E.A.R. 3 begins nine months after the events of the second part. And this, as you might guess, is not by chance. Those who passed the sequel to the end probably remember the transparent hint of the new pregnancy of Alma, a demonic girl whom we have opposed all this time. And the third series seems to be completely devoted to her new child. And who is best suited to combat the next product of darkness than two of its previous offspring: the hero of the bets.io sister sites original f.E.A.R. nicknamed Point Man (Watch) and his fraternal brother Picston Vettel?

F.E.A.R. 3 From the very beginning, it is created with an sight for a cooperative regime, but this does not mean that the usual single will somehow suffer from this. The fact is that the cooperative here is asymmetric, that is, the heroes have different abilities, which means that there is no need to create levels separately for the usual and separately for joint passage. All coop salt will be to learn how to combine these abilities.

Ghost with the motor

But almost all of this was already known earlier, so the main event of our visit was the opportunity to see a very fresh level and try playing a tooth. At the first acquaintance f.E.A.R. 3 makes a rather dull impression. Although the developers promise that the levels will be more diverse than in the original (which, recall, scolded for the fact that boring warehouses and offices have become an arena for cruel shootings), it seems that all this is empty bragging. The new stage is a huge warehouse with a supermarket with shelves to the ceiling, as in Ikea, in the best traditions of the series, it is painted with sinister graffiti, and the psychoval cultists inhabiting it can keep a break, at first remaining outside the field and reminding their existence with frightening rustles and long shadows on the walls, but in general, the design of the stage leaves much to be desired. All the same monotonous rooms and not enough transparent level structure, because of which you periodically begin to wander in three office chairs, not understanding where to move on, the most unpleasant thoughts are evolved.

But all this – exactly until the moment when the heroes fall into the maze from working TVs, which are displayed from the picture from observation cameras located in the same room. In the blink of an eye, a boring level is transformed into a nightmarish likeness of a mirror room, in which you can’t understand where the left and where is the right, and most importantly – from which side to wait for the attack. There is no attacks, but the enemies fluttered the nerves, moving with short dashes from one secret shelter to another and clearly preparing some kind of tricky. Doubts as the design of the levels are slowly dispersed: if there are enough such bright episodes, it will be possible not to be afraid of claims to the monotony of the situation (although this will not solve problems with the structure of the stage).

B.P.A.T. 3

When playing in a cooperative, the main surprises await someone who chooses the role of pacron (gameplay for the sentinel – this is a classic f.E.A.R.). As you may remember, Vettel has long been dead, so you have to play for his ghost. And what a ghost has weapons? Ectoplasm and a little telekinesis charge. As it turns out, even with such a simple arsenal can play quite fun (at least the first time). The victorious tactics emerge immediately: cover the sentinel, raise the cultists into the air and shoot with otherworldly energies. Fettela’s abilities are all the more in demand for the reason that many inhabitants of the warehouse are wrapped in explosives and are struggling to reduce the distance between themselves and the heroes. To combat them, telekinesis suits the best.

However, we almost forgot about another Vettel skill – the developers are especially proud of them and, it seems, consider their best invention. The fact is that Pakston knows how to instill enemies. That is, the absence of weapons in his hands is a temporary problem and is solved literally by clicking fingers. Faced with a detachment of well -equipped soldiers (our heroes are not the only guests in the warehouse), we use this ability and instantly find ourselves in the body of one of the opponents. What could become a protracted battle with an unobvious outcome, turns into a short, cruel massacre. Soldiers who are not ready for the fact that one of the comrades will turn against them, die quickly, not even having time to give resistance. The developers explain that the time of stay in each body is limited, but it can be prolonged by collecting clots of mental energy, which are “falling out” from enemies. According to them, the trained player will be able to go through a whole level without leaving the captured body.

By the way, in Day 1 they understand that you will not surprise anyone with an ordinary cooperative, and try to add pepper to the usual game experience. So, periodically you come across corpses from which you can suck the rest of the energy. Having accumulated sufficient number of it, you improve the characteristics of the character. No role system, God forbid – pumping occurs strictly automatically, but there is one detail. In cooperative mode, every time you are offered a choice: to pick up all the energy to yourself or share it with a friend. Different awards await you depending on the choice made.

Already horror

After meeting with the cooperative, we have a logical question of how the same level will look like a single mode. It would seem that the most obvious decision is to give the player a AI-Partnian who is constantly hanging somewhere nearby, but the authors are aware of all the shortcomings of this method and explain: no, nothing like that is planned. If you decide to pass f.E.A.R. 3 alone, the hero will become a sentinel, and Picston will comfortably be in his skull and will give advice and generally help to move the plot.

In addition, the developers say that each passage will differ slightly from the previous. So far, no specifics, and it is unlikely that Day 1 will decide to include in the game AI-director, as in Left 4 Dead and Alien Swarm, but they promise that we will like it.

* * *

However, it would be strange to expect something else from them: it is easy to give promises, the whole point is how they are fulfilled. So far as F.E.A.R. 3 There are some doubts. The game in places is inexpressive, and the levels, it seems, would not hurt to finalize. Yes, and gameplay for pacron, although at first it seems funny, can over time observe in his teeth (although who knows – perhaps the ability to change bodies as gloves will save the whole thing). But just brush off the new f.E.A.R. It doesn't work. The game, of course, is still damp, but it already has its own moments of the triumph, and this allows you to hope that the final version – diluted and verified – will present us more than one pleasant surprise. This will happen (we really hope) already in the spring.