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Point Man in a scene from 'F.E.A.R. 3.'
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F.E.A.R. 3 is all about family

F.E.A.R. 3 is all about family

Warner Bros. has taken dysfunction to a new level with the F.E.A.R. series. Point Man for instance, the main character in F.E.A.R 3, is a tough but really screwed up guy and yes, that's his real name. Feelin' sorry for him already? Me too.

Since the series began, we watched as his father, Beckett, a super soldier hired by the mysterious Armacham Technologies Corporation, hunted his mother, Alma, an escaped test subject who knew no life beyond the laboratory. Using her heightened psycho-kinetic abilities, Alma forced herself on Beckett and the ensuing pregnancy was the ill-fated Point Man. Then Point (as his friends would call him) is forced to hunt his own mother, along the way learning he has an evil, insane brother named Paxton Fettell. Pause for a second to let that sink in.

Exactly! He gets a cool name like Paxton Fettell and you get Point Man. And to make it worse he's really just a big brother-wannabe and before we killed him in F.E.A.R 2 we caught him gnawing on a corpse. That's right, he's a cannibal. Mom lets him get away with anything.

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Or at least she used to. After the failed attempt to wrangle Alma in FEAR 2, Point Man now must form an unholy alliance with the spirit of his evil brother, whom he just killed, in order to find Mommy and get her back behind padded walls before she gives birth to that baby. Wait, what? Yup, she's pregnant again, and now you and your flesh-eating brother must find her and her presumably twisted fetus. Failure will result in a really awkward Thanksgiving and probably some other bad stuff too.

Obviously, I love the story line. It's different from the normal fare that permeates the market. Zombies, infectious outbreaks, and aliens are around every corner in the horror/shooter genre. The F.E.A.R. series is a bit more original and has the feel of The Grudge or The Ring. Gamers, however, will be pleased to know that it plays just like its predecessors with a little extra thrown in for flare. And that extra is Paxton. What a showoff, that guy!

Point Man still has all his abilities like slowing time during combat to gain an advantage. He still has the psychic connection with his mother and often experiences visions about her comings and goings. His brother still has the same connections, but his abilities as a spirit are far different from his big bro. He has an added ability to possess the enemy. He can suspend them in mid-air to inflict more damage and even fire off some fatal psychic energy from his hands. Sounds powerful, huh? That's because it is and even though you can play as Paxton immediately in multiplayer mode, if you want to play him in solo mode you'll have to first clear the level as the main character, Point Man.

This happens because the developers really want you to play the game in multi-player. During the co-op mode one player plays as Point and the other as Paxton. Their combined strength is nearly unstoppable and two really good shooter fans will have no problems mowing down the enemy in creative ways. For instance Paxton can suspend a large group of enemies in the air and Point can slow time and take them out one by one. Or Paxton can possess an enemy combatant from across the room and outflank them from the rear. The game was already built as a run-and-gun shooter, but now it's even more effortless with two players.

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Visually the game isn't much above F.E.A.R. 2. In fact it sort of looks like it was made at the same time and released later. The background music is appropriately creepy, adding to the suspense of the game. Smartly the music doesn't end when you kill the last guy in the room as with other shooters, always a sure sign the risk is over.

The combat is extremely fun and there is certainly no lack of action. Holding your site reticle over an enemy's head waiting for him to pop up so you can cap him doesn't work in F.E.A.R. like is does in other shooters. He's just going to wait you out until his buddies can outflank your rear. Aside from a few predictable moments, the enemy acted as though they were thinking for themselves, often luring you into a cross-fire or flushing you out of hiding with a well-placed grenade.

F.E.A.R. 3 does what a good sequel is supposed to do. It furthers the story line in an interesting way, offers the same great gameplay with a little extra, and keeps you wanting more. It plays great as a solo mission but co-op your brother for some real fun. Unless, of course, he's a biter.

Contact Tom Fisher at tfisher@ theblade.com.

First Published August 4, 2011, 4:15 a.m.

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Point Man in a scene from 'F.E.A.R. 3.'
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