Another vital element in this is the game's AI, with Monolith employing a never-before-used technique to give hostile NPCs an unusually broad range of actions in response to what the player is doing.

[15] The latter characteristic is important, as the more powerful weapons (rocket launcher, cannon, and particle beam) tend to be more cumbersome and slow the player's movement and reaction speed.

[17] The butts of all firearms can be used in close combat; lighter weapons, although less powerful, allow the player to move around more quickly and increase the chances of a successful melee attack.

[15][19] As well as the basic melee attack, players can also perform a jumping kick and a sliding tackle, both of which, if landed correctly, instantly kill regular enemies.

Point Man learns that Fettel's brain waves during his revolt were identical to those during the "first synchronicity event", which happened when he was ten and resulted in the termination of "Project Origin".

was formally announced at E3, with the reveal of the game's title, a trailer, a brief plot outline, the genre (first-person shooter), the platform (PC), the release date (fourth quarter of 2005), and the probable rating (M).

[22] Kevin Stephens, Monolith's director of technology and one of the game's lead programmers, later elaborated that the concept was to make the player feel like the hero of an action film.

[55] It was this ambition which led to the development of reflex time; Hubbard said he wanted "to make combat as intense as the tea house shootout at the beginning of John Woo's Hard Boiled", and defeating "enemies with style" was crucial to this.

[59] With these influences in mind, and wanting to create as immersive an experience as possible, reflex time came to play a key role in the game's combat mechanics.

[64] With this in mind, he attempted to strike a balance with the narrative elements of F.E.A.R., giving players "enough clues so that [they] can form [their] own theories about what's going on, but ideally [they will] be left with some uncertainty".

"[25] This is manifested in the gameplay insofar as, a character that formulates his own plan to satisfy his goals exhibits less repetitive, predictable behavior and can adapt his actions to custom-fit his current situation.

[78][79] The following week, Vivendi allowed journalists to play through the first four levels of the game, unabridged, which generated even more positive reaction than their previous hands-on experiences.

[82][83] A week before release, Vivendi had film director John Carpenter attend a number of media events, giving his thoughts on the game, of which he said, it was "as close as I've ever come to playing a movie.

(People Acting Normal In Crazy-Ass Situations) is a parody of F.E.A.R., produced primarily by way of the machinima technique of synchronizing footage created by a game engine (in this case, the LithTech Jupiter EX) to pre-recorded dialogue and audio effects.

We liked the idea of creating a humorous viral machinima series that would entertain fans and showcase the spectacular visuals and character animations offered in the game.

As team members start dying in horrific fashion, Frank is incredulous to learn his teammates don't believe in the paranormal and keep coming up with increasingly ridiculous explanations for what is happening.

[95][96] The Xbox version also features an exclusive bonus level not found in the PC original, which depicts Holiday's attempt to extract Bishop from ATC headquarters.

[98] The PlayStation 3 port was announced in August 2006, with Vivendi revealing it would be one of the console's launch titles, scheduled for North American release on November 17.

[101] It also has its own exclusive additional weapon (a street sweeper shotgun) and bonus mission, which depicts the Delta Force recon team's journey through ATC headquarters prior to encountering Alma.

He especially praised the AI ("hands down the smartest AI-controlled opponents I've ever faced") and the combat mechanics ("intense almost to the point of sensory overload").

Although he was critical of the plot and the game's horror element (citing "treadmill scare tactics"), he praised the combat mechanics, AI, and implementation of slow motion.

[106] IGN's Eric Brudvig scored it 9.1 out of 10, praising the atmosphere, combat mechanics, AI, graphics, and instant action mode, but criticising the story and level design.

However, he praised the combat mechanics, implementation of slow-motion, AI, multiplayer, and graphics, calling it "easily one of the most intense and atmospheric games on the Xbox 360.

"[116] The UK edition of Official Xbox Magazine scored it 8 out of 10, praising the AI and slow motion, but criticising the level design and plot.

Although he wrote that "the PS3 doesn't hold a candle to the visuals found in the Xbox 360 version", he argued that the game is "still one of the best experiences I've had on a PS3," praising the combat mechanics and multiplayer.

[118] PSM3's Tim Edwards scored it 7.2 out of 10, and was critical of the game's pace, the graphics, and the complex controls, although he was impressed with multiplayer and instant action mode.

[115] Electronic Gaming Monthly scored it 5 out of 10, with Joe Rybicki calling it "a tragedy" and citing "inexcusable technical issues", such as stuttering graphics, a delay when pressing fire, and sound coming from everywhere instead of being localised.

documentary, a one-hour "Developers' commentary" (featuring writer/director/designer Craig Hubbard, artist David Longo, producer Chris Hewitt, programmer Kevin Stephens, and lead level designer John Mulkey), and "Episode #0" of P.A.N.I.C.S.

), it was clarified in a press release that the plot for Extraction Point had been approved by Monolith and was in line with their own plans for a full sequel, which had been announced in February.

Project Origin's lead artist, Dave Matthews, explained that the expansions were made outside of Monolith and they took the story in a very different direction than we had intended, so when we started working on F.E.A.R.