F.E.A.R.'s not a 'scary' game so much as it's just a shooter bolted onto a horror frame - though that's not to say you won't break out in rash of goosebumps from time to time, as it's no easy task keeping your cool when a ghostly little girl with pyromaniacal tendencies tries to flash-fry you into a pile of ashes. It's funny, really. There's nothing more empowering than sprinting through a room and unloading in every direction until there's nothing left but a pile of debris and a carpet of corpses, but the instant Alma materialises in a blink of fire, whatever delusions of Neo-like omnipotence you might have entertained are melted away in seconds. It's a hell of a balancing act; giving players enough power to feel like Max Payne on steroids without neglecting to build up Alma as a credible enough threat so that the ability to sidestep bullets feels downright impotent in the face of a girl who can twist your sanity into pretzels, but Monolith Productions sure pulled it off.
