F.E.A.R. (PC) 1 Hour Gameplay

I don't know why this game runs so chunky on my current rig. I am running it off the disk version of the game I bought over 15 years ago, and I think this runs better on my Windows XP rig with it's Radeon HD GPU, and that's probably true considering it is more period appropriate hardware. Honestly, we are spoiled today with how optimized games are, well, a lot of them.

From what I remember, FEAR was always a chunky game to run. My rig at the time could run Doom 3, and Quake 4 pretty well. Not on max settings, but I think at least medium setting, however, FEAR was an extremely more chunky game to run than Id Tech 4. I guess when you take an already chucky game, and run it at 1080p on max, you get variable results. I turned V-sync on for this footage, but in an unlocked framerate, I get anywhere from 200+ fps, down to 45 at times. It's weird.

I love FEAR, even though I have never finished it. My PC I was running it on at the time ended up dying, and I had to downgrade to a less-powerful rig for over a decade. I just never got around to it again until recently.

Honestly, F.E.A.R., Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Quake 4, and more represent the final great era of PC gaming in my opinion. Hear me out, I'm not saying that PC gaming is bad today, I'm just saying that post-7th console generation where developers raided the best of PC gaming, and ported them to every console under the sun on consoles that were just as capable of running them almost as well (kinda that era where consoles finally caught up), PC gaming hasn't had any major exciting exclusives since this era. It is a great gaming platform, don't get me wrong, but it's become flavorless, and unexciting since this era. Most of the games on Steam are on every console as well, and the only flavor I find is in vintage/retro PC games that are available (Blood, System Shock, Quake, etc.).

I guess the e-sports titles make PC gaming exciting for some, but I'm not 12, and since the consoles are also becoming flavorless download-boxes themselves with all their exclusives going everywhere else, they are becoming as flavorless as everything else. Honestly, the Switch seems to be the only unique platform out there anymore, and I say this as someone who doesn't own any console newer then the PSWii60.

I guess my point is, this era of bleeding edge tech like id tech 4, CRYENGINE, Source, Lithtech, and etc, is legendary, god-tier if you will. I don't see any other era as being nearly as exciting as this short window of PC gaming goodness. Unity, Unreal 5, and all the raytracing in the world will never be as cool as that crazy visual jump, and distinct flavor of PC gaming in this era. Seeing Doom 3 running for the first time is still cooler than anything today. Half-Life 2 looked amazing at the time, and then FEAR came out, and after that Crisis just blew everything away. Such an awesome time in PC gaming.

#fear #PC #gameplay