FEAR PC demo downloadable today
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Aug 5th 2005 at 10:00AM }
F.E.A.R. (or First Encounter Assault Recon for long) promises "hyper-stylized combat" and a "visceral, movie-like experience." But don't take the company's word for it. Hop over to the game's website and pick up the demo, which just will be available at 1pm ET today.
If screens and movie clips alone are any indication, the game's going to be worth playing. It's been compared (favorably) to Halflife 2 and won all sorts of E3 awards from the gaming press. This is why weekends were invented. Do it. And let us know what you think of it.
[Thanks, Bandersnatch]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JohnX @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
This game looks nice, hope my X800XL can handle this baby. By the way when is ATI releasing their next Gen video cards , anyone knows?
bandersnatch @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I can't expect to see them remain silent for too long.
I'd troll tomshardware.com -- he usually gets any "insider info" awfully fast.
Brad @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
You're worried about your X800XL LAWL. Yeah, my 9600 pro is so going to kick the crap out of this game. [face_plain]
bandersnatch @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I have a mere Geforce FX 7500 with 256mb of RAM. :
I've been hearing that if you can play HL2 at a fairly decent detail / resolution level, you shouldn't have too much problems with this game.
That being said, you can find out the game requirements here -- http://www.whatisfear.com/us/news.html
David @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Let the spec-bragging begin!
pspimp @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
If the blood on the wall is any indication this could be a great game!
I need a new PC FPS fix.
Is there ever going to be a Far Cry 2?!?!?
snortin_php @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I'm hoping my PC will run this pretty well. I have a 2.8Ghz P4 w/ HT, 512Mb of PC3200 and a Radeon 9800Pro.
I know that the proc and the Radeon 9800 can handle it, but I do wish I had some more RAM. I can run HL2 at 1280x1024 with the graphics cranked up pretty well so it should work out.
funkonaut @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
How long until this gets ported to the DS? :-p
danny @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
You would have to worry about games running on your machine if you just get a Gen 4 XPS or Gen 5 XPS from Dell. Mine hasn't had a problem playing any game at the Highest resolution.
Ok so I am bragging...shoot me
jimmy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
bragging about owning a dell, ugh... pretty sad. What kind of markups did you pay on your video card and ram sucker?
Maybe if a gun doesnt run you can call india and Ganesh or Shiva can give you tech support.
ps
you stink
jimmy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
i wrote gun when i meant game...
ps, you still stink
Armin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Am I the only one getting an error on the official game page? I haven't found a place whrer you can download the demo...
Bamboo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I don't know about a FarCry 2, but I do know there is a patch about to come out for FarCry, as well as an add on pack.
Also, there are a lot of really good looking mods about to release, the best of which looks to be the Obsidian Edge multiplayer mod. Check out www.obsidianedge.net for more info. It is supposed to be released any day now!!!
RM @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Its not here yet
danny @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#10 You full of it...i haven't had a problem with my machine yet, runs everything. If and only if my machine has a problem, yes I might have to talk to someone in India, but thats much better than you asking the little kid down the street to fix your piece of junk!
zero @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
For some reason it's not on the official site yet, but you can find it on File Rush:
http://www.filerush.com/download.php?target=fear_spdemo_en.exe
snortin_php @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Will someone post their thoughts soon? I'm stuck at work and won't be able to dl it for a few hours.
funkonaut @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#17, http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?comments=38093
pspimp @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#15 you are wrong,
buying a Dell for gaming is beyond lame.
Then braggin about it, sheesh.
I can almost understand buying an alienware box, but still, no point in bragging, but a Dell?
I might brag if I had a FP2405, but not here.
ps I think you do stink.
nine @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
stop it. You're both loosers...
pspimp @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#20 must have a Dell also...
jimmy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
haha, my point is pretty simple.
IF you want a real gaming machine build it yourself for cheap. Don't buy a dumb dell xps and act like its some god send. The built to order upgrades are a rip off beyond belief. And as for the asking a kid down the street instead of dealing with india comment, are your retarded. Computer tech support is utterly worthless unless theyre going to send you free parts. Fix it yourself dummy, try opening you ooooh XPS up and finding out what is wrong.
Nothing wrong with getting a dell, but dont try to pass it off as some hot shit rig, cus its junk.
asd sa d @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Does the brand matter?
Pseudo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Brands matter alot, actually. A self-build is much more reliable and cost-efficient than a brand name machine, anyways. Most brand name performance PCs are worse, because they use scaled-down performance parts and/or proprietary components (i.e. Dell and Compaq's gaming machines). Ever need to upgrade or replace something? It's going to cost you ALOT extra, not to mention the hefty price you paid for it to have the name. Quality brand name components INSIDE a system are what counts (MSI, Asus, DFI, Epox) to name a few I trust. Other performance companies simply charge you for those exact parts from the manufacturers I just mentioned, and then slap their name on it, and maybe overclock a component or two, and slap on an extra $1-2k for their services. I'm a hardware technician, I've seen it all, and I guarantee you, any which way you go, if you get a big brand name system builder to build your system for you, it'll end up being a large waste of your time and money.
Would you like to purchase a Ferrari with Kia parts on the inside? Just because it says it has 300 horsepower and 8 cylinders.....well, hopefully you catch my drift.
Unless you know absolutely NOTHING about computers and don't know a reliable person/store that can build you a good custom machine, then by all means, buy a Dell/Compaq/Voodoo/Alienware/etc.
pspimp @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#24 I agree with everything you said except the last line.
Don't BUY A COMPAQ!!!!!
adN05 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
haha this game is nothing like HL2, its need much more computing and graphics power to run the way its meant to be played. mine setup is all maxed out cuz when i take down the res from 1600/1200 down it starts laging now and then which i cant explain why, cuz yeah mine comp is a mofo but it is 6 months old so it ain't SLi or extreme cpu thats going on today
funkonaut @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
#26, That's exactly why I ditched PC gaming last year and went consoles only. I got sick of playing the continual upgrade game.
John F @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Well I think I'll actually respond to what the post was about:
That was one great demo! It was a little buggy, of course, but other than that it was awesome. There was a little delay in the response time from when you click to when the gun actually fires, and some other minor things, but other than that F.E.A.R. is looking to be quite good. The demo was WAY too short for 600 megs, though.
Codejoy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Ya this is a good demo, though it was extremely short for 600MB. Its a little above average as far as FPS games go. The new resident evil style freak outs was pretty good too, I also dug the slow mo (though it wasn't as powerful as I had hopped it would be, I am too used to max payne I guess).
Man my PC has been getting the love lately, this demo and before it the Dungeon Siege 2 demo, which is everything I wanted in an action RPG (what dungeon siege 1 sould of been, and reminds me quite nicely of the fun I had with diablo II)
pspimp @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
wow.
I will buy this game.
john @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
how the fuck do any of you afford this?
Bamboo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
yeah, the demo is really short, ended even before I thought it would
But it is pretty cool. There were definatly some hair on your neck raising parts.
Graphics were really good for me. I have a 9800pro and with everything set to the auto levels, it looked good. Lots of shiney stuff and good frames/ps.
Man, when you find the particle weapon, holy shit, crispy bad guys. The regular weapons are pretty funky acting though. The proximity mine was great. I set it up where i could watch and they had to come down a hall to get me. BOOM!!!!
And yes, that little girl scares the shit out of me.
But then again, most kids do.
Does feel like doom with the stupid flashlight, but it does at to the atmosphere. Least you can use it and shoot at the same time. It has an awful short battery life though.
Anyway, I do suggest giving it a try.
pspimp @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Really nice demo. Game feels great, graphics and physics are sweet.
I am running a 9800PRO also and it seems to run well.
#31 How can we afford this? I build my machine for around $600 then added the video card and more ram when good deals presented themselves.
Game looks like it is going to rock.
Ryan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
My computer isn't top of the line by any standards whatsoever. It will run Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 at 1024x768 (admittedly lower resolutions than lots of people here will tolerate, but good enough for a gamer on a budget like me) with no problems whatsoever (though HL2 load times are a bit long), but this F.E.A.R. demo is totally unplayable for me. I had some of the graphics options up, and while decent-looking, it was like watching a slide show. So I bumped some of the options down. Still chop city. Even at 800x600 it's totally sketchy. I was interested in this game, but unfortunately I'll have to take a pass because I'm afraid it might set my computer on fire. It sucks that given the brutal requirements that their engine doesn't seem to scale well at all, but whatever. You can't win them all, I guess.
Rare Hare @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
sorry for beating this dead horse, but i'm still laughing my ass off about danny bragging about gaming on his Dell :p
glenn lackey @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
dell xps isnt that bad guys .. i saw reviews on g4 that an xps with watercooling smoked the top of the line alienware, voodoo pc , and vicious pc's running stock configs on their sli based systems. i kid you not. sure you can build a custom pc from scratch and go faster but hey for the money compared to the top custom pc builders ... you can't beat their price.
at $1120.00 less than voodoo pc , alienware and vicious and with better fps and 3d scores dell just cant be beat. i bet the last time you got smoked in halflife 2 or doom 3 the other guy was probably using a dell.
Matt @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Seeing that this is devolving into a flame war, I'd like to get back to the topic at hand. I played the demo for around half an hour, and after my session with it was over, I was extremely impressed. I'd even venture forth and say that it's better than Half-Life 2 (I can hear the anguished cries of fanboys already). At least, it's more fun. Not too many FPSes have ever really captured the essence of what I assume shootouts are like in real life. F.E.A.R. is extremely intense and is also difficult. You can't just run in with guns blazing; you have to take cover. The A.I. is amazing. The enemy soldiers give orders to each other and intelligently take cover. In one part, a bunch of soldiers jumped out of a helicopter onto a catwalk with stairs at one end. I killed a few of them, and ran for the stairs. There were two guys left on the catwalk, and as I walked up the stairs, one guy stayed on the catwalk and the other guy jumped over the railing and flanked me. I wasn't expecting that, so they killed me. This is the kind of thing we've been waiting for. And I haven't even talked about the graphics. I'd be willing to say that they are the best I've seen, and my computer is by no means high-end (Athlon XP 2800, 512mb ram, BFG GeForce 6800 OC). The game ran pretty smoothly at the recommended settings for my machine, and the graphics looked fantastic. The bottom line is, GET THIS DEMO NOW.
Art @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
The demo was great if a bit short. The graphics did not wow me especially but the gameplay was very good. It actually creeped me out a bit which is rare for me. It looks to be a great game.
I did not have the bugs mentioned above but there was an audio bug that sounded like amplified wind rushing by. It happened in the room with the little control booth overlooking what looks like two big propane tanks. At first I thought it environmental but did not see anything that would cause it plus it lasted too long and was way too loud.
The flashlight thing is ridiculous. Who would have a light that can only be used 30 seconds at a time. Why would anyone choose to copy this "feature" from HL2. Also, I was bummed that I could not jump across barriers, through windows, etc. like the AI controlled characters. They should change that before release. I HATE THAT! Doesn't everyone? I understand the need to control the environment but an enhanced soldier should be able to dive through a window three feet off the ground that is large enough to drive a car through. I wish this gaming companies would spend less time on graphics and more time created a truly immersive environment.
Si @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
WOW!!
The game looks great. Definately getting this one.
And one other thing.. I can actully see my own feet and shadow! Why hasn't any other games fixed this problem before? When playing HL2 etc feels like your just a hand and a crowbar in mid-air.