Squads of tactical teams use coordinated attacks and flanking maneuvers to pin you down and take you out. High tech assassins cling to walls and ceilings and ambush you from the shadows. Heavy armor units that soldiers will advance behind and use for cover and an advanced Special FX system showers you in sparks, smoke, and debris, making combat as intense and exhilarating as an action movie.

Players will employee high tech firearms and classified weaponry such as the corkscrew missile launcher, rapid-fire battle cannon, and sub-nuclear blaster that turns enemies to pillars of ash. You will also experience a catastrophic helicopter crash entirely in-game and then fight off waves of enemy special forces. Plus you can ride shotgun in a high speed car chase, pursued by assassins on motorcycles and enemy attack helicopters.

The latest in DirectX 9 rendering technology uses real-time per pixel lighting, shadow volumes, normal mapping, and advanced shaders to create a world so convincing you'll forget you're playing a game. Havok 2 Game Dynamics system makes unleashing hell on your enemies visceral and satisfying. Bodies recoil and collapse accurately and objects react to being shot, pushed, or blown up.

The weapons are either are inspired by the developers research into the Department of Defence prototype weapons or are direct descendents of weapons from previous Monolith games (Battle Cannon – Shogo's Shredder; Remote Mines – Blood and Shogo, etc.).

Melee Attack:
The melee attack is an extremely powerful but risky attack option that requires a proximity to your enemies that you generally want to avoid. In the multiplayer mode, however, unarmed attacks are a fantastic way to humiliate opponents. In addition to using your weapon as a bludgeon: you can slide kick, triple kick, jump kick, or punch opponents to devastating effect. (Note: The melee of F.E.A.R. will be given a more exhaustive look in a future article)

Rakow HP-14 Pistol .40cal
This is your run-of-the-mill hand cannon. The pistol has great stopping power, armour penetration and allows you to move quickly with it equipped, but is burdened by a lengthy reload time and low clip capacity. If you're a John Woo fan you won't be disappointed – they've got a dual handgun mode that looks mighty cool and you'll appreciate the extra ammo and firepower of an additional gun. The pistol is a semi-auto weapon (i.e. every mouse click fires it) so the ROF (rate of fire) is controlled by the player.

Vollmer VK-12 Combat Shotgun 12g
There is nothing quite like a shotty blast to the face at close range. The combat shotgun packs a nasty punch and is great in close quarters if you want to put someone or something down in one shot. This is the ideal weapon for a player with fast reflexes and a penchant for close combat.

Sumak RPL Sub-Machinegun 9mm
Because of its high-capacity clip and sizzling rate of fire, this is the perfect weapon for the accuracy-challenged. With 50 rounds to burn through you can get away with a little spray and pray with this baby. It's got low armour penetration and reduced effectiveness at range so this is the best candidate for some run and gun tactics.

Rakow G2A2 Assault Rifle 5.56mm
The SMG's big brother makes up for what it loses in rate of fire with pure stopping power. "The Assault rifle is the overall most well-rounded weapon. Good rate of fire, decent round capacity, with ability to zoom. Works well for rushing assault or defensive sniping with shallow range" (Wes Saulsberry, F.E.A.R. Art Lead). You will grow to love your assault rifle.

Baksha ASP Rifle 7.62mm (Semi Auto Rifle)
This weapon features three round bursts of deadly stopping power and a scoped zoom that allows you to reach out and touch someone from a tremendous distance. You'll want to keep your distance because the power and armour piercing come with the disadvantages of a pretty significant movement penalty and a decreased rate of fire. If you get caught in close combat with this guy, you might want to consider braining your opponent with the butt of the rifle.

Armacham 10mm HV Penetrator (Nail Gun)
When blowing opponents into a bloody mess just isn't enough, grab a nail gun, blast a guy and watch him dangle from the nail that you have just driven through his forehead. The Nail Gun has a slightly lower rate of fire than the SMG and half the clip capacity but it makes up for its shortcomings with pure nail-driven power.

Armacham Type-7 Particle Weapon (Plasma Gun)
This futuristic plasma weapon is absolutely devastating from afar but it comes with a serious movement penalty. It's a "one shot one kill" affair against an un-armoured opponent with a slow rate of fire and a digital scope. In the hands of a skilled player a plasma weapon can also be a deadly option for close combat against single opponents.

Obregon MP-50 Repeating Cannon 20mm (Battle Cannon)
A shoulder fired fully auto repeating cannon. Yeah, it's as badass as it sounds. It does severe damage at point of impact and has moderate splash damage. However, you won't be winning any foot races when lugging this huge cannon around.

Andra MOD-3 MP Multi-Rocket Launcher
When you want to rain down the wrath of God on your opponents, grab a Rocket Launcher and let it fly. The rocket launcher fires salvos of three "drunken missiles" (they swerve around) that reduce anything into its path into a cloud of blood and debris. Good times when you are on the firing end but be careful with this guy in confined spaces: fire it at close range and more likely than not, you won't be around to enjoy the carnage

N6A3 Fragmentation Grenade
Fire in the hole! Need to get an enemy out from behind that crate? Lob a grenade back there and wait for that unfortunate bastard to choose between scurrying out into your line of fire, or flying out in a flurry of shredded flesh and bones. When the frag grenades explode they send out a concussive shockwave that warps the area of explosion. It looks cool but it's beauty is best viewed from a distance and even more impressive while in slow-mo.

AT-S Proximity Mine
The proximity grenades will remind you of the infamous "Bouncing Betty" from that little war in Nam. You set this little treat and then forget about it until someone or something is unfortunate enough to walk near it. When triggered, the grenade pops up to about head level before detonating for some in your face explosions.

M77 Remote Bomb
The remote grenade is a descendent of the remote charges from Blood and Shogo. The remote detonators in this game have several unique features which makes for some really entertaining game play. The remote detonators stick to pretty much any surface in the game (including other players), and you are able to simultaneously detonate multiple planted bombs with a single trigger pull. The remote bomb is a great weapon to use in Multiplayer