Are you scared of little girls? I wasn't before this game, but I don't think I can look at them the same any more. Let me guess - this is not how you expected a videogame review to start. That's because this isn't just any review; this is a review for F.E.A.R., a gruesome FPS that mixes gunplay with dementia, crafting a chilling tale of secret ops, cloning and scientific breeding. Standing out as a truly exceptional title on its previous stops on the PC and Xbox 360, this version stumbles out of the gate, suffering less from young maniacal females than it does from bland textures, a sputtering frame rate and a distinct lack of substantial new content, easily crowning it the weakest link in the series' short time span. The awesome gameplay - which includes spectacular enemy A.I. and a trippy story (when you can actually hear it) - serves as a strong enough foundation that the entire game doesn't crumble underneath the sloppy port job, but there is enough wrong that this currently respectable PS3 FPS will surely become rot into mediocrity once the next wave hits the system.

F.E.A.R. weaves one compelling story. Your main character, a silent man referred to throughout the game as 'Point Man,' has just recently joined the U.S. Miltary's F.E.A.R. branch, or First Encounter Assault Recon. This group, formed in 2002, has been tasked with the job of defending national security and interests from paranormal or supernatural threats. From the common person's perspective, the threats they protect against are unbelievable, leaving F.E.A.R. members to suffer under a steady barrage of criticism from their peers. Despite his rookie status within F.E.A.R., the 'Point Man' is sent out with the rest of his team to investigate and put a stop to a recent attack on the Armacham Technology Corporation. Surveillance video shows a man by the name of Paxton Fettel controlling a small army of cloned supersoliders, mercilessly killing everyone they come across, including the brutal devouring of one corpse by Fettel himself.

From the very moment you are set down at the ATC, it is nothing but an uphill battle against foe and storyline. As you make your way through the game, you will slowly piece the story together via communication with your teammates, run-ins with Fettel and other NPCs, as well as various other minor sources such as computers and voice mails. Oddly enough, only the face-to-face meetings can actually be heard, as for some unknown reason the headset communications are set at such a low volume that they are nearly impossible to hear and their on-screen icons are far too small to read, even on an HD display. As the majority of story is given through these means, expect to be taken out of the game any time one pops up. I tried changing all the in-game and TV sound options I had and came up with no solution to this problem.

Even if you are able to find some way of gleaning all the information provided via voice, there are some things that can only be experienced. Your character houses a secret even he isn't completely aware of (or so it seems), but instead of continuing to rely on 'telling', the developers included a slew of scripted sequences, hideous in nature, to flesh him out in wondrously appalling ways. These can be as harmless as a simple bout of slow motion, but can ramp up to ferocious levels, as the entire world morphs into a demonic world of crimson and fire. I don't think there are many people who can say walking in slow-motion through a hospital hallway, filled to the ceiling with blood, while creepy music and bloodcurdling screech out, isn't unhinging.

To keep with the 'showing' concept, the developers continue to throw scripted event after scripted event in their never-ending task of crafting a haunting ambience. Bodies seemingly fall out of thin air, lights flicker and swing, objects fall over for no apparent reason, offices are ravaged and huge puddles of blood and completely cleaned off skeletons constantly make appearances - just to name a few! The score of F.E.A.R. does little to soothe during these moments, as a constant barrage of skin-crawling, straight-out-of-a-horror-movie melodies keep tensions high. These songs are seemingly sung quietly in the background, as if for one person's amusement, just to break into a loud boom as a scripted event begins. I could keep going, but I don't want to ruin any more of this extremely effective feature than I already have. The developers went a long way to keep your fight-or-flight senses on alert, and they excelled with flying colors.

Before you say "I thought the 'S' in FPS was for 'shooter' not 'scares'", let me say, "I'm getting there, hold your horses!" F.E.A.R.'s gunplay involves sneaking around buildings, flashlight in hand, searching frantically for enemies to shoot using a medley of weapons, both real and fictional. As fun as splattering an enemy solider to bits using the auto-shotgun is, there is no greater gun-related moment in the game than landing a shot with the Type-7 Particle Weapon, a long-range laser rifle that reduces an enemy to a smoking skeleton soaking in a puddle of blood with one well-aimed blast.

Besides crazy guns, you have another gimmick at your disposal - 'reflex time' a.k.a. bullet time or slow-mo fighting. Though it may not be the most original ability, it is implemented effectively in the gameplay mold, quickly becoming the main factor between life and death. Plus, you can't argue with the rush acquired from running into a group of heavily-armed soldiers and switching on your reflex time before picking them off one by one like fish out of water. But what was a slight advantage in the gamer's favor in the PC and Xbox 360 versions becomes a necessary crutch in the PS3 version, due to the game's inability to hold a steady frame rate. Trying to aim with any real accuracy without using 'reflex time' just isn't possible, as the enemy or your gun will generally have moved before the shot is even fired. The developers are damn lucky they thought of this, especially beforehand, as this port would fall apart without it.

Careful placement of enemies means you could spend a few minutes searching deserted areas before unknowingly stumbling right into trouble. Without the aforementioned ambience, this would be nothing short of boring, but knowing that at any moment you could be under attack or in the middle of a paranormal phenomenon, your fight-or-flight sense is constantly tingling. This plays right into the hands of the brutal A.I., which is as efficient at killing you as I have seen in any game in quite awhile. Think this is just another dose of hype, as developers have been claiming to have 'the most realistic A.I. to date' for countless years? Crank this baby up to the highest difficulty and see how quickly you last. Enemies relentlessly hunt you until you are dead, using any tactic necessary. They have pack leaders, who hand out orders such as to engage you, call in reinforcements or divvy up other tasks. Once they have wind of you, the enemy becomes as ruthless as human players, throwing grenades to flush you out, carefully using cover, warning others of impending threats and even employing distraction techniques to catch you off guard. I can't remember the last time I played a FPS where the enemy snuck up on me so many times, blasting my head clean off before I even knew they were there. Challenging this A.I., personally, brought me more enjoyment than most human players do, who generally fall into unrealistic habits.

As great as the gameplay is, it's not without its faults. With the original F.E.A.R. seeing release in 2005, with only small changes along the way, there is a distinct lack of the little things that I would consider part of the next generation experience. Part of this is gameplay-related, as enemies do not see the difference between dark and light - meaning that hiding in the shadows is futile, not every object that appears interactive actually is and collision detection is shoddy when interacting with objects, so that even when you do hit them, they rarely react in a believable fashion. But the presentation shoulders most of the blame. The majority of non-people textures are muddy and flat (especially when compared to the PC and Xbox 360 versions), the enemies all look the same (was making them 'clones' just an excuse to make only a couple of character models?), the light from your flashlight doesn't cause objects to cast new shadows, stepping in liquids doesn't change the sound of your footsteps or cause you to leave tracks, the backgrounds when you step outside look terrible and the sounds from hitting inanimate objects are rarely realistic - just to rattle off a few. Oh, and then there are the unnecessary loading times - exclusive to the PS3 port - that will have you flipping between the TV and game impatiently. None of these are crippling problems, but they do damage F.E.A.R.'s ability to cause your to suspend your disbelief, especially if you've played any of the strictly next-generation-developed FPS titles currently available.

Lasting appeal is moderate for a shooter; the main story mode should take around eight hours to complete on the lower difficulties, but expect that number to grow on the harder ones. Missions are available for standalone play after being finished, but if you're like me, you'd much rather just jump back to the beginning and go at it top to bottom, or hit up the Instant Action Mode, which randomly creates a map for you to enjoy. But hey, the option's there anyway if you choose to use it. Up to sixteen players can battle it out online, but a yawn-inducing list of options and a lack of offline, split-screen action have it failing to impress. Oh, and there is a bonus mission, but it's a poor excuse for the PC expansion pack, Extraction Point, which should have been included as well, but isn't. As long as you enjoy the single player, there is plenty to experience and blow up, but those looking for the best of both worlds will be sorely disappointed.

Seeing the first game in the F.E.A.R. series limp to the finish line with this mishandled PS3 port is depressing. There is so much to like about this game, as the ambience and gameplay are very solid, but the bland graphics, choppy frame rate and unintelligible communications cut the game down to what should be an unacceptable peg for so a highly regarded game to stand on. Anyone who has already played F.E.A.R. has no reason to apply here, but if you have yet to play F.E.A.R. then you should definitely pursue it on the PC or Xbox 360. If that's not possible then there is enough working here to get by, especially with the lack of shooters on PS3 currently, but I can't see anyone caring about this game once the next batch of shooters hits the scene, including F.E.A.R.'s own sequel.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).