We weren't sure what to expect when we stepped into the darkened booth where F.E.A.R. was being demoed at this year's E3. Developed by Monolith, the company that brought us Kate Archer in the No One Lives Forever series, F.E.A.R. is a first person shooter that completely knocked our socks off! The player is part of an elite tactical force known as the First Encounter Assault Recon, and their job is to take on threats that no one else can handle. What starts off as dealing with a paramilitary force within an office complex quickly changes into something much more dark and horrific. In addition to the invading force, a mysterious signal was discovered to be emanating from the building, disrupting communications. The first strike force to go in and investigate the disturbance was lost, and now your team has to go in and figure out what's going on. High tech weapons meet the paranormal here, and the result is thrilling.

The graphical detail is absolutely phenomenal, as are the physics using the Havoc 2.0 engine. Even as a spectator, we couldn't help being immersed in this game. It was like watching a movie. Grenades ripple the air as they explode and glass breaks realistically when shot. Shotguns left clouds of smoke when fired and could blow off parts of building columns, which then threw up clouds of plaster, obscuring vision. Bodies flew backward when hit with shotgun blasts, and the A.I. seemed very skilled. The enemy military worked as a team, found cover, and turned over furniture to duck behind. The main characters also had the mysterious ability to focus and slow down time, which made a great special effect. Not to mention the horror aspect. Fountains were red with blood, a boardroom was littered with bodies with its presentation still flickering behind them, and blood dripped down into a pool from the soaked ceiling.

Complimenting the spectacular graphics was the incredible audio design. When there was no action going on, there was sound of the character's breathing, which added to the creepy ambience and kept us on edge. There was a point where a grenade exploded too close to the character and suddenly all sounds were dulled out except for a high-pitched ringing in the character's ear.

The last thing that was shown in the demo was the main character passing out from an unseen (perhaps psychic?) attack, and a shadow of a little girl standing over him before everything went to black. The scene left us chilled and breathless. Our only thought was, "We must play this game!" Although F.E.A.R. isn't scheduled to release until 2005, the demo alone left enough of an impression on us to put this title on our must-have list. This title could possibly rank up with the likes of Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 as far as presentation, style, and story go.