F.E.A.R. 3

 PC
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 555 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 144 out of 555
  2. Mixed: 277 out of 555
  3. Negative: 134 out of 555
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  1. sanchokobe
    Jul 2, 2011
    4
    Not as good as F.E.A.R. 2, nowhere near as good as the original F.E.A.R. The game gets points for outstanding enemy A.I. and some originality in the co-op department. I also like the reduced ammo capacity, which forces you to be a little more careful where you shoot, but why only two guns? What was wrong with three?

    The graphics are not as good as F.E.A.R. 2. There's absolutely no    Not as good as F.E.A.R. 2, nowhere near as good as the original F.E.A.R. The game gets points for outstanding enemy A.I. and some originality in the co-op department. I also like the reduced ammo capacity, which forces you to be a little more careful where you shoot, but why only two guns? What was wrong with three?

    The graphics are not as good as F.E.A.R. 2. There's absolutely no excuse for that, even for it being a console port, but Day 1 could redeem themselves somewhat if they follow Crytek's lead and release a DX11 texture pack in the near future.

    The keyboard controls are unnatural and the mouse control is unresponsive. The cover system is an unnecessary addition. There was nothing wrong with how it worked in F.E.A.R. 2.

    What happened to the story?! What happened to exploring every room to find snippets of lore and backstory hidden in files or voice mails?

    Most importantly, what happened to the scare? The game will make you jump at times because oh no a light bulb burst, etc. But it won't frighten you like the first two games did. This is the biggest disappointment. Day 1 simply can't bring the scare the way Monolith did.

    Right now it's 4/10. If Day 1 gives us some patches to smooth out the mouse controls, and if they release a DX11 texture pack, I'll bump it up to 7.    … Expand
  2. GeorgeA
    Jan 18, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the first title, It had exciting shootouts, great graphics and excellent AI. The second one was average, having nothing really new to say, but as a a hardcore shooter, it was even better. Now we have this disaster made by Day 1 Studios, people who just ported the first F.E.A.R. on the consoles. The story is nonexistent. If F.E.A.R. 2 at least had some sort of story, Here you just run from Point A to Point B, shooting everything on your way, two(the bridge and the market) levels were made just to extend four hour(!) campaign as they have absolutely no other purpose. The same goes for the entire campaign. It's boring, very predictable and uninteresting. Many things just don't make any sense at all. Why Becket is so important to anyone? How capturing him will lead someone to Alma? How do you suddenly teleport from the airport terminal to some vault? Where the hell is the U.S. Military? The game is just so full of plot holes. Graphics are horrible: low quality textures, poor lighting, old animations. As for models, well, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher bay,released in 2004 , had more detailed models than this abomination( You can check that , if you want).Despite all this, F.E.A.R. 3 runs badly as it is unoptimized. But more importantly, guns (except for the rifle) behave badly and shootouts are boring. As for scares, well, F.E.A.R. series wasn't really scary to begin with, but the horror elements did add unique and interesting atmosphere. Here this atmosphere is gone.The game doesn't even try to scare you. Playing as Fettel is fun for some time, but then you realize, that for the most part it's the same as playing Pointman, only without slow-motion. The co-op seems to be normal, but there are other co-op shooters, much better than this and multiplayer may satisfy someone for a short time. Overall, a very boring Co-op shooter and not worthy of called F.E.A.R.… Expand
  3. Melancholy
    Jun 26, 2011
    4
    If you're looking for the same hair-raising horror game driven by an immersive and interesting story that the previous two titles had, best look somewhere else. As an avid fan of the F.E.A.R. series, I was fairly disappointed with this latest installment. Despite boasting that the game had the expertise of John Carpenter and Steve Niles used in development, it remains largelyIf you're looking for the same hair-raising horror game driven by an immersive and interesting story that the previous two titles had, best look somewhere else. As an avid fan of the F.E.A.R. series, I was fairly disappointed with this latest installment. Despite boasting that the game had the expertise of John Carpenter and Steve Niles used in development, it remains largely uninteresting, incredibly short, and hardly frightening for a good majority of the game. An obvious console port, F.E.A.R. 3 at its best is another generic shooter placed in a bloody box with paranormal wrapping. Much of the paranormal happenings that were commonplace in the first and second titles are no longer present, and the ones that are there are hardly anything terrifying. The single player campaign suffers the same problem as the majority of FPS title produced these days by being too short, easily forgettable, and un-note worthy as a whole. I do like that Point Man makes a return as main character, with the psychic visage of his brother Fettel acting as a companion of sorts. The level-up based progression system implemented is enjoyable too, though I found myself many times performing differing actions for the sake of gaining experience rather than progressing through as I normally would in a FPS game, which takes away from the immersion some. The cover system, while easy to use, is largely unnecessary

    I bought this game because I thought what I was buying was another F.E.A.R. title. But instead, I got a mediocre, run-of-the-mill FPS game with little in common to its namesake, dressed up and propped up by its multiplayer co-op fanfare that cheapen the feel of what I thought was going to be a great story driven horror title. Good to rent, but not to buy.    … Expand
  4. Xanifur
    Jun 22, 2011
    4
    I love the FEAR franchise. I loved the action horror, and I especially loved FEAR 2. It is a sad time for the FEAR franchise as this is just another poorly ported console game. Graphics are not up to par with FEAR 2, why are we regressing? FEAR 2 flowed so organically, and I could not stop playing until I beat it. In this installment, we the PC gamers are left with an overly difficultI love the FEAR franchise. I loved the action horror, and I especially loved FEAR 2. It is a sad time for the FEAR franchise as this is just another poorly ported console game. Graphics are not up to par with FEAR 2, why are we regressing? FEAR 2 flowed so organically, and I could not stop playing until I beat it. In this installment, we the PC gamers are left with an overly difficult jerky controlled game which design seems to be based around a buggy, unwanted and unnecessary cover system which leaves you looking at the poor wall texture as you wait for your health to regenerate (which is all the damn time). FEAR 2 had health packs, and it was brilliant... you the player were in control of your fate. Why, Monolith, have you forsaken your true core audience? A truly sad ending to a great series. I wont get to know what happens in the story, because this game is too frustrating to look at, and ultimately play.… Expand
  5. Degtyarev
    Jun 23, 2011
    4
    The PC version of FEAR3 is an abortion. Low resolution textures and a sickening field of view that can't be changed immediately stand out. Aside from that, there are hitmarkers in single player - someone should be fired. This is a COD clone through and through, devoid of anything that made the first game a classic. The idea of horror in this game is a can falling over...or someone throwingThe PC version of FEAR3 is an abortion. Low resolution textures and a sickening field of view that can't be changed immediately stand out. Aside from that, there are hitmarkers in single player - someone should be fired. This is a COD clone through and through, devoid of anything that made the first game a classic. The idea of horror in this game is a can falling over...or someone throwing a cup out of a cell peep hole.

    The only positive I can pull out of thin air is that overall, the graphics are very good. The atmosphere is nice and thick despite the textures breaking immersion and the fact that windows are not transparent, they appear to be self illuminated in most instances.

    Someone figured out that the game runs at 30fps, and each frame is shown twice to give the false effect of 60fps. Unacceptable. Might as well have stabbed myself in the face and let Warner Brothers urinate in the wound.

    Forget that this is FEAR, forget any idea of horror, forget immersion...actually just forget the entire game. Go play COD instead. That's all this is.    … Expand
  6. lolmetacritic
    Jun 29, 2011
    4
    If you play this game it feels like it has been made by people who haven't even seen fear 1 and 2... Fear 2 was already worse than 1 but this... This looks, feels and plays like a $10 budget game. It has no atmosphere, it has no story, it has no tutorial even. It has nothing. It's the biggest waste of money you can ever go for. Avoid it at all costs. Fear 1 had 9-10 from me, Fear 2 hadIf you play this game it feels like it has been made by people who haven't even seen fear 1 and 2... Fear 2 was already worse than 1 but this... This looks, feels and plays like a $10 budget game. It has no atmosphere, it has no story, it has no tutorial even. It has nothing. It's the biggest waste of money you can ever go for. Avoid it at all costs. Fear 1 had 9-10 from me, Fear 2 had 7-8, this gets 4.… Expand
  7. somemadcaaant
    Jul 14, 2011
    4
    Wow how can we play a game that has botched mouse over sensitivity... do they not QA titles any more. First Fear was ground breaking, 2nd was missing its charm and features - @Xanifur agreed this is just money grabbing nonsense.

    -smc
  8. Abutreca
    Jul 7, 2011
    4
    El juego es monótono hasta decir basta, la historia incoherente, los niveles son una linea recta, no da absolutamente nada de miedo ni susto. Y el hermano con superpoderes se supone que solo lo ves tu, entonces ¿cómo le disparan los marines contra los que juegas si solo le ves tú?
  9. Robmoo
    Aug 3, 2011
    4
    This is F.E.A.R. meets Modern Warfare 2 and Mass Effect 2. I was looking forward to a new story line, better graphics, with similar game mechanics. I was not expecting a cover based, health regenerating game. I'm not sure I can even suck it up to finish this one. I may go back to playing the Perseus Mandate for a 3rd time. I can understand wanting to make changes from game to game,This is F.E.A.R. meets Modern Warfare 2 and Mass Effect 2. I was looking forward to a new story line, better graphics, with similar game mechanics. I was not expecting a cover based, health regenerating game. I'm not sure I can even suck it up to finish this one. I may go back to playing the Perseus Mandate for a 3rd time. I can understand wanting to make changes from game to game, but why turn FEAR into a copy of MW2 or ME2? Could they game developers not think of an original concept? this game should be call Modern Warfare: The Alma Project.… Expand
  10. madruhi
    Aug 6, 2011
    4
    F.E.A.R. 3 is a really big disappointment.I've never played 1 and 2.I played 3 and I was expecting to fear.I waited for it but I didn't fear.There's nothing to fear.It was just an ordinary FPS.I bored when I played.
  11. grandpajoe6191
    Mar 14, 2012
    4
    After playing "FEAR 3" I was very, VERY disappointed. As a fan of the orignal FEAR I always loved the adrenaline rush and the tense moments of the game. It always sorta wanted me to...continue on the game on and on. "FEAR 3" is a different picture here. Except for the decent graphics everything has changed, BIG TIME. Wtf happened to all the med packs and armor? The various weapons? TheAfter playing "FEAR 3" I was very, VERY disappointed. As a fan of the orignal FEAR I always loved the adrenaline rush and the tense moments of the game. It always sorta wanted me to...continue on the game on and on. "FEAR 3" is a different picture here. Except for the decent graphics everything has changed, BIG TIME. Wtf happened to all the med packs and armor? The various weapons? The smart AI enemies? The player-involving story? The scary environments?… Expand
  12. namDa65
    May 27, 2012
    4
    Broken multiplayer. Way too much motion blur. The shooting feels dated, (it is the fear engine). Also, CONSOLE PORT, no dedicated servers. Hence the broken multiplayer. I can't connect to anybody and I have port forwarded for this game. The only game where I have not been able to connect to anybody. GG.
  13. concharty
    Dec 10, 2013
    4
    Who slopped their Call of Duty all over my F.E.A.R.? That's what I'm constantly asking myself. It's definitely the poorest, weakest entry in to the franchise so far. Not as scary or engaging, and the game play has been toned down in to this horrible call of duty style cover shooter with health regen and bad A.I.. How can you justify having bad A.I. in a series that's known for pushing theWho slopped their Call of Duty all over my F.E.A.R.? That's what I'm constantly asking myself. It's definitely the poorest, weakest entry in to the franchise so far. Not as scary or engaging, and the game play has been toned down in to this horrible call of duty style cover shooter with health regen and bad A.I.. How can you justify having bad A.I. in a series that's known for pushing the envelope in that department? As a huge F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2 fan who's not particularly fond of Call of Duty or its imitators, this is a mediocre and ultimately forgettable FPS that just happens to have some F.E.A.R. branding slapped on it. I felt like it was a chore I forced myself through to see the continuation of the story from two games that I actually enjoyed.… Expand
  14. Gavin7887
    May 20, 2013
    4
    i got this game thinking, Oh boy, a scary coop game! well it turned out to be a average shooter with good coop.but i am sick of the shooters that call themselves "scary." I remember playing fear 2 with better graphics and accually on the edge of my pants. huge dissapointment
  15. Anapiroz
    Dec 22, 2013
    4
    Nothing special about this game,i think 4 is more than enough.I Played all FEAR games,i have to say the FEAR 1 and 2 are great games and worth playing even in 2013 but FEAR 3 damn so sad game
  16. Vilio
    Nov 14, 2013
    4
    This game has nothing with FEAR and FEAR 2. Only names are used from old FEAR games, otherwise is completely different game. And terrible. I finished that, because I wanted to have good feeling and finish all FEAR games. Otherwise it will be uninstalled after few hours of gameplay.
    There is missing athmosphere, scary moments, feelings, you are in some horror, story..
    Only graphic is better.
  17. djball
    Apr 19, 2017
    4
    This is a mindless corridor shooter, in every bad way. At least it runs smooth, and you can usually get it for $5. Sometimes a crappy shooter can be fun for about 30 minutes, but this is just simply terrible.
  18. pawq
    Feb 7, 2020
    4
    Eh, so bad compared to the first two games... Pretty generic, unimmersive, extremely linear and repetitive shooter with barely any development and a story I couldn't give less **** about. It wasn't excruciatingly bad, but I would avoid it if you're not a completionist of the series. Probably the strongest points are the challenges and the co-op mode, but after completing the story byEh, so bad compared to the first two games... Pretty generic, unimmersive, extremely linear and repetitive shooter with barely any development and a story I couldn't give less **** about. It wasn't excruciatingly bad, but I would avoid it if you're not a completionist of the series. Probably the strongest points are the challenges and the co-op mode, but after completing the story by myself I feel saturated with the game already.… Expand
  19. T3ruKuu
    Feb 15, 2021
    4
    Compared to other games in the franchise I would say that this is the worst, it does not cause terror or any distress to those who play it, it works very well as an action game but even so it becomes sickening. I recommend that if you play this game, play with a friend.
  20. Bushido_DZ95
    Apr 14, 2023
    4
    This is what happens when developers focus on consoles. Any franchise becomes a typical hide-and-seek shooter where all the drive and adrenaline that we loved the first part is lost. In addition to the console priority, the developers succumbed to the influences of the trends of the time, which made the game a dud.
    To be fair, all the same problems were present in the sequel, but in the    This is what happens when developers focus on consoles. Any franchise becomes a typical hide-and-seek shooter where all the drive and adrenaline that we loved the first part is lost. In addition to the console priority, the developers succumbed to the influences of the trends of the time, which made the game a dud.
    To be fair, all the same problems were present in the sequel, but in the third part these ideas and misunderstanding of its audience reached its peak.
    Everything in the game became cartoonish. When I got to the level where you have to fight off zombies, I was very disappointed and didn't want to continue playing because Day 1 Studios had turned a once terrible action game into a circus.
    After an average sequel, Part 3 hammered the final nail in the coffin of the FEAR series, and rightly so, because you can't make that many mistakes and ignore your audience.    … Expand
  21. AndyRock
    Jun 23, 2011
    3
    A console game, that doesn't translate to a pc game well, it has multiple achievements, that only serve as a distraction, and adds nothing to the game, and extremely repetitive game-play, that suffers from a very poor cover system and health that regenerates after a few seconds, the only good point I can think of about this game is that the AI is marginally better than other FPS games.A console game, that doesn't translate to a pc game well, it has multiple achievements, that only serve as a distraction, and adds nothing to the game, and extremely repetitive game-play, that suffers from a very poor cover system and health that regenerates after a few seconds, the only good point I can think of about this game is that the AI is marginally better than other FPS games. Overall I uninstalled this game, as I was too bored to carry on, and it was using up precious hard drive space.… Expand
  22. supercollider
    Jun 23, 2011
    3
    An unimaginative, unrewarding grind. Not made by the developers of the first two, but by the people who ported the first one to consoles. And it shows.

    At their best, the first two FEAR games were masterpieces of atmospheric tension ratcheted up through stunning graphics, brutal-but-fluid combat, and immersive level design. At its best, FEAR 3 is a jumbled ball of textbook action and    An unimaginative, unrewarding grind. Not made by the developers of the first two, but by the people who ported the first one to consoles. And it shows.

    At their best, the first two FEAR games were masterpieces of atmospheric tension ratcheted up through stunning graphics, brutal-but-fluid combat, and immersive level design. At its best, FEAR 3 is a jumbled ball of textbook action and horror cliches slathered in super-reflective blood textures and washed-out lighting, hinting at some "scary" story about something or other as it stumbles from one flat, murky combat sequence to the next. This game feels like it was designed by people who had been very briefly told about, but never allowed to play, the first two games, and plays like the various people designing the story, combat mechanics, art, level design, achievements system (so annoying), and "scare sequences" never actually met or even spoke. I guess someone thought they had a really profitable shooter clone on their hands they could churn out for big bucks if they slapped the name FEAR on there. I feel like a chump for having helped prove them right -- and for assuming that the makers of a FEAR game would have wanted to appeal to the people who bought and loved the first two games.    … Expand
  23. shrinen
    Jun 26, 2011
    3
    Don't waste your time. Better games than this with better stories and better gameplay were released 10 years ago. There's no atmosphere here, no interesting characters, no interesting gameplay. It's like ordering a pizza in 1999, getting it delivered in 2001, and eating it in 2011. You can probably swallow it down somehow and trudge through, but I can't promise you won't regret it. TheyDon't waste your time. Better games than this with better stories and better gameplay were released 10 years ago. There's no atmosphere here, no interesting characters, no interesting gameplay. It's like ordering a pizza in 1999, getting it delivered in 2001, and eating it in 2011. You can probably swallow it down somehow and trudge through, but I can't promise you won't regret it. They likely took the old engine, through together some levels in a few minutes, and made the textures blurry to make it look 'better.' Go play the original (again, if need be), but don't support this garbage.… Expand
  24. sethman75
    Jul 31, 2011
    3
    What a shame for such a once great franchise to fall so badly into mediocrity. The PC version is like stepping back in time to 1997 when all FPS games were played on the keyboard, that is the amount of control you feel you have while playing with a mouse and keyboard. This crappy console port not only plays badly, it looks worse than the original, has a tacked on cover system that was notWhat a shame for such a once great franchise to fall so badly into mediocrity. The PC version is like stepping back in time to 1997 when all FPS games were played on the keyboard, that is the amount of control you feel you have while playing with a mouse and keyboard. This crappy console port not only plays badly, it looks worse than the original, has a tacked on cover system that was not needed or wanted and just like every other FPS console game has regenerative health system which i'm now sure the only point of is that it lengthens the playtime because you are stuck behind a crate for 60% of the game. Played for a few hours, uninstalled and reflected how good the original game was and what a pile of crap this was. Once again, bad or lazy development has killed this game and possibly the franchise for me. Such a shame.… Expand
  25. potatoes351
    Jul 31, 2012
    3
    F.3.A.R is abysmal. It feels like Killzone on a PC and has gone the other side of the spectrum from the original. With no good features remaining from the previous two titles and just making the bad bits worse plus including an unacceptable completion time of 4 hours. F.3.A.R is a fitting end to a dying series, a good story but sadly was extremely poorly executed.
  26. Aeslegend
    Nov 1, 2012
    3
    Hey, I just met you
    and this is crazy
    but F.E.A.R 3 is a terrible **** game and never ever buy it maybe seriously, never. The franchise has been ruined to the point where the combination of action and horror elements is clearly dysfunctional. I started the game, having enjoyed the first title many, many years ago and never having played the sequel, curious to see how the title has    Hey, I just met you
    and this is crazy
    but F.E.A.R 3 is a terrible **** game
    and never ever buy it maybe

    seriously, never. The franchise has been ruined to the point where the combination of action and horror elements is clearly dysfunctional. I started the game, having enjoyed the first title many, many years ago and never having played the sequel, curious to see how the title has evolved throughout the years. I was disturbed, not by the same fake ghosts that pop out each corner in FEAR 3, but by how badly of a job WB or whatever since Vivendi studios do not take part in the production of the games anymore, have done in the third installment. I remember when playing the first game, the atmosphere had this genuinely unique and creepy vibe to it. FEAR 3 dumbed it all down to a mindless CoD clone, with the cheaper jump scares than ever, but this time done so awkwardly its not scary, but more cringey.

    gameplay - 6
    visuals - 7
    story - 1    … Expand
  27. umdum9
    Nov 8, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ugh where do i start the graphics are horrible and its barely linked to f12r fear 1-2) you might as well make this one the first one cause all we know is beckets sons is just some cannibal nazi and the other just some long haired loser with reflex sprinkled on top...… Expand
  28. thesisko
    Jun 23, 2011
    2
    Another worthless console shooter identical to every other title. Cover system, 2-weapon limit and health regeneration. Tired of picking up games and realizing it plays like an expansion to any other console-port shooter. Remember when different games were actually different? I do.
  29. Galnospoke
    Jul 5, 2011
    2
    This is simply bad game. Nothing else. Terrible GFX and music, stupid gameplay, only AI is good.
  30. Elco32
    Nov 6, 2011
    2
    Complete consolized garbage. A slap in the face to those customers who made the FEAR franchise a success., I hope the development team feels some sort of shame.

    I'm not sure what great lengths one has to go to make the control system of a PC shooter feel unwieldy, but this game as achieved it.

    Textures are terrible.
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Awards & Rankings

93
#93 Best PC Game of 2011
47
#47 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
52
#52 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 19, 2011
    80
    The third installment of the Fear series sees the once fresh shooter descending into the mire of modern mainstream gaming, but it is still a fairly compelling play and a fun co-op. [Aug 2011]
  2. Gamer.no
    Sep 16, 2011
    50
    This game would have been a lot more exciting if it either way genuinely scary or embraces its action parts a lot more. Instead it's stuck in purgatory, as a generic shooter with superficial horror elements.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Aug 29, 2011
    70
    Fear 3 is just good shooter – more thriller than horror game. Duels are almost perfect so you'll be satisfied with them even when they are the only contents this game offers. [Issue#207]
See all critic reviews »