Game Chronicles Magazine's 2005 Runner-Up for PC Shooter of the Year is coming to the Xbox 360™ gaming and entertainment system with new levels, new weapons, and more explosive online action - Coming November 2006.

F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) is a paranormal action thriller presented entirely in first person. An unprecedented adrenaline rush of close quarters combat seamlessly melded with the spine-tingling, shocking intensity of the paranormal unknown.

Already a critical and commercial smash on the PC, F.E.A.R. will bring a new level of FPS game play to Xbox 360 with brand new single player content designed to immerse the player deeper in the world of the F.E.A.R. team, as well as brand new multiplayer content created to fully utilize Xbox Live®.

Developed by Day 1 Studios in conjunction with Monolith Productions, F.E.A.R. is an intense first person close-quarters combat experience with rich atmosphere and an engaging, paranormal horror storyline.

Game Chronicles takes a look at this stunning next-gen FPS in our exclusive GCM interview with Senior Producer, Rob Loftus .

GCM: Thank you for your time! Please get us started by introducing yourself and telling us about the team bringing F.E.A.R. to the 360. Is this the same team behind the PC version?

RL: I’m Rob Loftus and I’m the Senior Producer for F.E.A.R. here at Vivendi Games. I served as the Producer on the original F.E.A.R. on the PC and I’m working in conjunction with Day 1 Studios, the development team behind F.E.A.R. for the 360. The folks at Day 1 are the same people that brought you MechAssault and are now lending us their expertise to bring FEAR to your living room this fall.

GCM: F.E.A.R. became an overnight sensation when it released for the PC in 2005. Did you have any idea of what you had created before all the accolades started rolling in? RL: We all knew that the game definitely had a lot of potential but whether or not it would resonate as much as it did remained a mystery to us until the first reviews came rolling in. It was an anxious few weeks after the game had been finished until those reviews came in – and when they did, we couldn’t have been happier.

GCM: What was the inspiration for the unique premise of F.E.A.R. and how much has the game evolved from its origins over the development cycle?

RL: Monolith set out to create the best close quarters battles ever within a First Person Shooter. They wanted the player to feel as if they were an action hero first and foremost within the game. Once that was established they brought in the twist of the paranormal storyline to give something a little different than the other offerings in the FPS space at the time.

GCM: Other than simply reaching out to a new market share, what was the driving force behind the decision to bring F.E.A.R. to the Xbox 360?

RL: We view FEAR as a franchise product and want to expose it to as wide an audience as possible. With the power of the 360, it just made sense to bring the game over. The game plays extremely well on the console and there is really nothing like sitting on your couch and playing through the single player campaign in 5.1.

GCM: What were some key challenges you had to deal with in taking this game from PC to console?

RL: Day 1 spent a lot of time tuning the controls to make them feel intuitive for the console audience. The controls were an iterative process and there were many control schemes and methods that went through functional testing. In the end, I think Day 1 did an amazing job bringing the game to the 360.

GCM: Are there any 360-exclusive features (levels, weapons, etc) that will tempt PC gamers to revisit the game on the 360?

RL: Sure. We’ve added Instant Action – which around the office we call Competitive Single Player. It’s an arcade style mode where the player faces the F.E.A.R. AI and we score your progress against them. At the end of a map, we allow you to upload your score to Xbox live and you can see who the best F.E.A.R. players are worldwide.

Something else we added was a new mission that fills in some of the storyline from the original. You’ll play as a different character, Holiday, who is part of the SFOD-D unit sent in to help the F.E.A.R team. We’ve also added 3 exclusive multiplayer maps as well as a new weapon, the SM15 Dual Machine Pistols.

GCM: F.E.A.R. put some serious demands on PC hardware. What sacrifices (if any) had to be made to make this game playable on the 360?

RL: We actually had room to grow when we took the game to the 360. We added HDR lighting as well as increased the resolution on some effects.

GCM: Can you give some examples of what kind of Achievement points can be earned in F.E.A.R. on the 360?

RL: While I don’t want to give specific examples, rest assured that we’ll be rewarding you with points for a number of things in F.E.A.R. The average player who doesn’t want to go digging for points will find themselves rewarded with a healthy amount just by playing through the campaign. But for those willing to invest a little time in becoming great F.E.A.R. players, we’ll have a number of achievements with a very healthy point reward for them too.

GCM: If you had to pick one single element or feature of F.E.A.R. that sets it apart from all the other FPS games out there, what would that be and why?

RL: Simply the best close quarters battles in a FPS. The way the AI works together as a squad and does so without scripting – making each battle play out unexpectedly and keeping the player on his toes. The sound design of the weapons is fantastic - they’re loud, violent and very satisfying. Those two elements, for me, make the close quarters battles the standout feature of the game.

GCM: Horror movies are back in force. When can we expect to see a movie adaptation of F.E.A.R.?

RL: I’m afraid I don’t have any information on anything like that. Sorry!

GCM: Thank you again for your time! Do you have any last impressions or thoughts for our readers?

RL: Thanks to everyone for checking out the game. We hope everyone has as much fun playing the game as we did creating it.

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