Is F.E.A.R. actually scary?

[Cyotey]

I realize to some of you this is probably the dumbest question a person could ask. 'IT'S A HORROR GAME YOU MORON OF COURSE IT IS!"
But....I'm not easily scared. When I first started playing horror games I started with Dead Space. I tried it and couldn't touch it for another couple years. Then I bought it for myself and bit the bullet. It was freaky for a while but the feeling didn't last long except for a few other moments that really only got my adrenaline going. There are still some that get me (own Amnesia on disk and lost it.....now own it on Steam and have barely touched it since it's a masterpiece when it comes to sound and atmosphere....scares the ♥♥♥♥ out of me) but for the most part it's almost just more fun than anything. So I'm curious what you guys experienced and think. Thanks for your opinions and stories!

[Unknown_Emrys]

Fear in games is.. well... pretty individual I suppose. It's like going to a haunted house around Halloween. Some find them terrifying. Others? They're just fun diversions. I suppose I'm kind of the latter type of person.. I don't scare easily because death doesn't scare me. I might wince, or find something in a game particularly brutal but... scare? Not really... To ask if it's "scary" is kind of silly, since each person has their own idea of what "scary" means to them.

[Cyotey]

Originally posted by Vital_Shot:

Fear in games is.. well... pretty individual I suppose. It's like going to a haunted house around Halloween. Some find them terrifying. Others? They're just fun diversions. I suppose I'm kind of the latter type of person.. I don't scare easily because death doesn't scare me. I might wince, or find something in a game particularly brutal but... scare? Not really... To ask if it's "scary" is kind of silly, since each person has their own idea of what "scary" means to them.

Good point. And if you wouldn't mind telling, what does scare you?

[Unknown_Emrys]

Originally posted by Frillin:

Originally posted by Vital_Shot:

Fear in games is.. well... pretty individual I suppose. It's like going to a haunted house around Halloween. Some find them terrifying. Others? They're just fun diversions. I suppose I'm kind of the latter type of person.. I don't scare easily because death doesn't scare me. I might wince, or find something in a game particularly brutal but... scare? Not really... To ask if it's "scary" is kind of silly, since each person has their own idea of what "scary" means to them.

Good point. And if you wouldn't mind telling, what does scare you?

Not much... Tornadoes... bees... mostly things I had negative experiences with as a child... but video games don't generally scare me because I don't find the perception of danger is strong enough. Again, using my haunted house example, when I know that the "scary things" are either physically or morally compelled to not touch my person, the fear is largely gone. I can be shocked, or startled, or even disturbed... but fear is far different than those. The splicers from Bioshock are disturbing, but scary? No. Just an example.

[Cyotey]

Yeah same here really. I'll get tense when I know something is about to happen and depending on how it hits me I may jump but I always just smile afterwards. Games that pit you in narrow dark hallways and near pitch black areas seem to affect me the most. Condemned is another game that really hits my fear factor. Sometimes it's clear to me why and sometimes it isn't. But that's the pattern I noticed. Apart from games I've always had a phobia of heights and only just recently started riding serious coasters. I still need to "warm up" with the smaller ones and probably always will. But it's something I never thought I'd do. I'm more intrigued and excited by tornadoes and heavy storms. Not enough to be a weatherman and chase them but I find it interesting. And there aren't many people who are comfortable around bees. I'd say I'm actually fairly comfortable with them since you have to really provoke them to sting since it kills them. But I don't like wasps in the slightest.

[Vuitton Vampire]

Its a different kind of scare, im about 3 hours into the game and I mean overall you can kinda tell when the "scary" bits are going to happen. You clear a room of bad guys and then you realize youre walking around empty hallways and then you see some ♥♥♥♥ in the distance. Its SPOOKY I wouldnt really say scary.. It is however a GREAT game so far (: pretty brutal too.

[Jeff]

It made the hair on my legs stand up and I still play it.Go too you tube and watch the vid of people playing it in the dark it funny.

[Jeff]

Also remember there are 5 parts to this story so get them all.

[⎛⎝ ＰａｐａＧａｎｇｓｔｅｒ⎠⎞]

I'm 5 hours into F.E.A.R the first game and am yet to be scared to the point where I have to close the game but that doesn't mean i wouldn't recommend it it's a great game!

[Jeff]

Remember people are so flooded with graphic stuff nowdays they become numb to it.

[n15bkfl]

I'm a little ♥♥♥♥♥. Every time the little girl shows up I save the game, close it and play some Battlefiled or any other shooter games to calm myself. Then I reopen F.E.A.R and play it again. Then when she shows up again I save again, close again and play another shooter again. So its a cycle now.

[BanOphobia My Struggle]

Personally I just replay Fear for the combat thesedays. Still one of my fave FPS even if the scares have got old.

[Unknown_Emrys]

Alma is creepy, yes. But scary? No.

[Skiddyscorpion]

If you've seen the Babadook or maybe Marble Hornets I'd compare the feels/atmosphere of F.E.A.R to them.

edit: It's like a feeling of dread whenever nothing is happening. Pretty cool/intense.

[Cyotey]

Originally posted by Paladin:

If you've seen the Babadook or maybe Marble Hornets I'd compare the feels/atmosphere of F.E.A.R to them.

edit: It's like a feeling of dread whenever nothing is happening. Pretty cool/intense.

I don't know what either of those are but the feeling of dread is always intense. With how the game looks just by the screenshots....I don't think it'll really bother me. Little ghost girls and boys don't scare me. I can never take them seriously after watching The Grudge (original). But I could never really take them seriously to begin with. Who knows though. Maybe this game will surprise me.

Originally posted by Jeff:

Remember people are so flooded with graphic stuff nowdays they become numb to it.

I'm a gamer who actually couldn't care less about graphics as long as the game is good. Are graphics awesome to have? Yes. Do they determine whether or not a game is good? No. Warband is a great example. Terrible graphics but a surprising amount of depth and infinite replayability. Can't wait for the new one. But anyway I'm digressing. This game is....10 years old now? Obviously I'm not expecting great graphics. I'm expecting a unique experience. People who have to go around crying about the graphics not being top notch aren't real gamers in my opinion. You play because you appreciate the art. Not because it looks pretty.

[Skiddyscorpion]

Well I don't scare easily, but I will say that the brand of horror exhibited here is my preferred form.

But I think the dread feeling is the seller for me personally. I'd rather have that than a jumpscare fest.