Fear Effect

"...You may not be able to resist saying the Keanu Reeves trademark"

First, and foremost, this game is not for kids. So please, Pamela Soccermom, do not get this for little Jimmy Soccerstar. Got it? Okay, now I'll tell you why. This game contains swearing, extreme (sometimes goofy) violence, and partial nudity. If you don't want your child playing a game with the above types of content then don't get it for them! I just don't want to hear you complaining to the U.S. Senate later. Now onto the REAL review!

Storyline:

You play the game as one of three characters throughout the course of the game. Hana, a former prostitute, now a sexy mercenary. Deke, a total psycho who enjoys killing people, and Royce, who's not much different than Deke. Yes, this game is played with shady characters, for once we're actually playing with the bad guys! Anyway, your little crew of criminals is looking for a certain person's daughter for a fat chunk of change. Sound simple? It's not. I'm not going to say anymore other than this game goes to many different locations. Enjoy.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is solid, for the most part. The controls are nice after you get used to them, and they get the job done. It may take you a while to learn how to roll from side to side, but you'll get it, just stick with it. The guns in this game are nice, too. You have your standard hand gun, shotgun, assault carbine, etc. An overall nice selection. The health management in this game is a little weird. Your health is tracked by a ''Fear Meter'', you get shot up, clawed badly, your fear meter beats faster and turns red. The weird part is that there are no health items in this game, to re-stabilize your fear meter you have to accomplish something...like solving a puzzle. Which brings me to my biggest complaint about this game: The Puzzles. They're completely ridiculous. You'll be flowing through the game, you try and open the door in front of you, then boom...there's a puzzle in front of you. Chances are, that you weren't expecting it, you haven't received any type of clue to solve it, and you're not very happy about it. A great flowing game killed by stupid puzzles that have little to no indication on how to solve them. The developers could have at least implemented a difficulty option for the puzzles, but no. The puzzle-heads who play with color cubes all day will love these, most will not.

Graphics:

The graphics in this game are top notch. The character models have an intentional anime-style look to them, and it's very welcome. The backgrounds aren't real-time 3D polygons, or prerendered images...they're streaming CG videos. They look great, for the most part, though there is a little 'blip' when the video reloads itself after about 3-5 seconds. A good effort by Kronos, as it looks pretty good and adds some personality to the game.

Music and Sound Effects:

The music in this game is pretty cool, it's kind of a ''Matrix'' type of techno music which really makes the game stylish. The music can be summed up in 2 words: clear and cool. The sound effects are great, too. The gun shots are clear and crisp, as is everything else. The main attraction in the sound department is the voice acting. It's absolutely stunning! The actors are convincing and all around cool. The writing in this game is also top notch. Just watch the conversation between Hana and Jin before the 'bomb' puzzle (Friggin' puzzles..) to see the prime example of what I just said. The sound in this game wonderful!

Extras and Replayability:

The extras in this game are invisible, not there, gone, etc. Basically, there are none. The replayability, however, is a different story. There are quite a few different endings for you to see, all of them are worth it, too.

Overall:

This is such a good game. The only thing that's wrong with it are the asinine puzzles. Other than that, the game is near greatness. The voice acting and dialog writing are the best things about it. The story is also nothing short of amazing, with many twists and turns. Fear Effect offers a great sense of coolness so strong that you may not be able to resist saying the Keanu Reeves trademark ''Woah..''.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/01, Updated 03/24/03