Part 1: Penthouse

Part 1: Penthouse
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Our introductory level kick starts the plot and we meet the majority of characters in the game as well as get introduced to just about every mechanic there is.

One thing that bugs me in the tutorial level is the really weird oversight of not giving you a full on tutorial of the melee system. It's a bit more complex than just punching a guy in the head. You have two special moves available: The jump kick and the slide kick. Both are one hit kills and pair really well with another FEAR staple: Slow Motion Gameplay. The slide kick is much more difficult to do, requiring players to hold forward and sprint and then hit crouch and melee at the same time. The rewards are that you'll bowl over multiple enemies, stay crouched and be able to fire as soon as the animation is over. Good for getting into cover or taking out a guy on a corner.

The jump kick is good too, as it clears out a pretty wide area, but it takes a bit longer to execute and leaves you defenseless for a time. You also can't really run and jump kick successfully as running and jumping aren't really compatible. Luckily your character has the lung capacity of an overweight asthmatic 4th grader and can sprint for about eight feet before taking a hit off his puffer, so you won't be caught in the awkward position of hitting the jump button too late and flying right past the guy you wanted to kick too often.