I played F.E.A.R. for the first time.

[hollowleviathan]

As Yahtzee mentioned in his review, the game has a visible schism in design, and doesn't transition well from superhero combat to powerless horror outside of a few well placed creepy moments like climbing down a certain ladder. If it had been bold enough to mix the gameplay elements around to create uncertainty doubt and, even, fear, it could have been a much more frightening game.

In the end it's a good game and has good pacing if bad transitions, but there was no uncertainty or reluctance to move forward for me. I knew exactly what was going to happen, I could easily tell when I'm a relentless killing machine and when to sit back and enjoy the spooky interlude before more killing.

To contrast by example, in Condemned: Criminal Origins, the main villian intimately knows your methods and abilities, and gets the jump on you, leaving you powerless in his hands most every time you meet. Yet somehow you need to try to stop him. That feels much more frightening and scary, where you can't trust yourself and are on the defensive.