F.E.A.R. 3: F***ton Petal and Pointy Man
I awake at 6 am, fully-clothed, drool-covered hands on drool-covered laptop keyboard, nonsense half-sentences on the screen. I brush the sleeping cat off my feet, I rub my agonisingly cricked neck, and I cursecursecurse my decision to go drinking with Kieron and his comics friends rather than cook myself a sensible supper. I also realise I am at least six hours late for Thursday's posts on RPS. I must do them now! But about what? I scour my boozy dreams for inspiration. One in which a PR agency was circulating an image of Felicia Day with a badly Photoshopped-on beard and claiming it was their new hiring, Dave. Something about birds fighting. No, I can't tell you that one. Ah yes, F.E.A.R 3. I actually dreamed about sodding F.E.A.R. 3.
The dream, it seems, was in response to the reveal that the thing is to be called F.E.A.R. 3 after all, and not the ludicrous F.3.A.R. suggested by a Spanish magazine a few weeks back. It takes me a moment to separate reality from sleepy fiction.
Yes, it is called F.E.A.R. 3., but they're keeping the stupid F.3.A.R. logo.
No, Warner Brothers did not issue aggressive take-down notices to any site that had previously referred to it as F.3.A.R. Or did they? I had to check my inbox several times to be sure. No, they didn't.
Yes, John Carpenter, director of The Thing and Big Trouble In Little China is involved.
No, it is not about scary olives. I don't have to check my inbox on that one.
Yes, they're still banging the same scary dark-haired girl drum. But now with more pregnancy:
No, it is not being developed by series creators Monolith. Day 1 Studios, who handled the console ports of F.E.A.R. 1 and were responsible for the underwhelming Fracture, are leads on this, with Monolith providing some sort of support. "Support" as in "wearing the money hat", perhaps. I hope against hope this means the formerly mightly 'Lith are working on something interesting for the first time in years. You were the SHOGO guys! The NOLF guys! What happened?
Yes, it's co-op.
No, it does not star someone called Fuckton Petal. But my dream was nearly right - one of the playable characters is one Paxton Fettel, a mysteriously resurrected cannibal psycho dude who happens to be the son of spooky lass Alma. As does the other playable character, disappointly known as Point Man rather than Pointy Man. I would play a game starring Fuckton Petal and Pointy Man in a second. I dunno about F.E.A.R. 3, though.
Yes, there was a press release, which means I can paste in that, finish this tortured post and go make another coffee.
Burbank, Calif. - April 8, 2010 - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces F.E.A.R. 3, a heart-pounding paranormal horror first person shooter unleashing intense combat, compelling narrative and co-op play that evolves the franchise. F.E.A.R. 3 is set to release on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC in fall 2010.
Alma returns in F.E.A.R. 3 but this time her sons Point Man and Paxton Fettel introduce divergent co-op, giving players distinctly different abilities affecting their own play as well as the experience of their co-op partner. Gamers participate in single player or co-op modes as Point Man, a genetically enhanced super soldier originally introduced in F.E.A.R., or they can play cooperatively as his conniving brother Paxton Fettel, whose incredible telekinetic power has given him life beyond the grave. The game is developed by Day 1 Studios, developer of the original F.E.A.R. console games in collaboration with Monolith Studios.
"Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is evolving the F.E.A.R. brand with top horror, co-op and first person shooter combat in F.E.A.R. 3," said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Monolith Productions has passed the torch to Day 1 Studios to create a quality, powerful game that stays true to the roots of the F.E.A.R. franchise but takes players to a heightened level of gameplay."
To further ensure extreme terror in F.E.A.R. 3, legendary horror director John Carpenter (Halloween, Village of the Damned) and critically acclaimed horror comic and script writer Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) have provided consultation to enhance several of the game's frightening aspects. Steve Niles co-wrote the game script with the development team and John Carpenter provided his expertise in crafting the in-game cinematics.
"After working closely with Monolith, Day 1 is honored to bring the next iteration of the F.E.A.R. franchise to gamers with key elements of the past games yet providing fresh combat and horror experiences in F.E.A.R. 3," said Denny Thorley, Founder and President, Day 1 Studios. "Players can look forward to new features such as divergent co-op, an evolved cover system, and more scares in F.E.A.R. 3."
For more information about F.E.A.R. 3, please visit www.whatisfear.com.