was very excited to get a chance to play F.E.A.R., which was one of those wildly acclaimed games that I somehow avoided playing on PC and Xbox 360. Although the basis of this PS3 port (the original PC title) is now a couple years old, I’m pleased to report that F.E.A.R.’s taut gameplay can still hold its own with the best of the genre.

Since I imagine many of the people that play this on PS3, like myself, will be approaching this game for the first time, here are the basics: You are a special forces soldier tasked with tracking down Paxton Fettel, a madman who controls a battalion of genetically engineered super-soldiers with his mind. Along the way, you’ll uncover a dark conspiracy involving the government, a large corporation, and a scary little girl that appears to you in visions. Of course, there’s much more to this than meets the eye.

In practice, F.E.A.R. plays out as a finely tuned shooter that distinguishes itself by the copious use of slow-motion shooters á la Max Payne and fairly by-the-numbers scare tactics. The good news is that this is one of the most fun games to run and gun in that I’ve played in ages. While the control is dead-on, F.E.A.R. really comes alive because of its enemy AI, which is quite simply some of the best I’ve ever seen. These super-soldiers are extremely canny, and will pursue, flank, and take cover with ruthless efficiency. All this makes for a single-player campaign that feels as fluid and engaging as a multiplayer bout. Thankfully, once you master the AI, there are human opponents to be had in the solid if not spectacular online component.

However, a few major flaws keep this from being a genre-busting title on par with Half-Life 2 or Halo. For one, the level designs are, at times, downright horrid. Even though almost the entire game takes place in staid industrial and office buildings, the map layouts are mind-bogglingly confusing for no apparent reason. You’ll oftentimes spend as much time wandering around lost as you will shooting. Also, for all the emphasis placed on the scary aspects of this game, I didn’t really feel that the plot or writing was on par with the excellently conceived gameplay. Despite its cinematic pretensions, F.E.A.R. succeeds largely on good old fashioned gunplay, and I’m more than okay with that.