Fear Effect
Release Date: February 24, 2000
An unusual combination of adventure game and survival horror. The production is maintained in the style of science fiction and is distinguished by its original visual setting, combining rendered backgrounds and target-shade character models.
Fear Effect is an unusual game prepared by the California-based stufio Kronos Digital Entertainment, combining elements of survival horror and adventure game. The title resembles the Resident Evil series or the first installment of Dino Crisis.
Story
The daughter of a mighty boss of the Chinese mafia, Lam, disappears in mysterious circumstances. Three mercenaries, Hana, Glas and Deke, undertake the mission of finding her. The client does not know that in reality, they plan to kidnap the girl and demand a ransom. The plan becomes more complicated when it turns out that years ago, Lam signed a contract with demons, to whom he planned to offer his daughter as a sacrifice. The group of heroes gets entangled in an intrigue and has to face not only gangsters but also supernatural forces.
Mechanics
The game from Kronos Digital Entertainment at first glance resembles popular for PS1 survival horrors titles, such as Resident Evil or Dino Crisis. The action is presented from cameras located at specific points in the location, and the protagonists move according to a specific model in which they behave like a tank - they can only move forward and backward, and rotate to change the direction of movement. What distinguishes the story of three mercenaries from the aforementioned competitors is the ability to move and shoot at the same time.
A unique element of Fear Effect is the lack of a typical health bar. The physical condition of the controlled hero is shown in a ECG chart, symbolizing the level of dread. Any unsuccessful action and taken hit increase the fear of the character, which in time may lead to their death. In order to reduce it, it is necessary to perform surprise attacks and solve puzzles.
Technical aspects
One of the characteristic elements of Fear Effect are its visuals. The devs have chosen an original combination of rendered backgrounds and character models prepared in cel-shading. That's why the whole game was released on four CDs.
Last updated on March 20, 2020
Fear Effect Summary
Game Series: Fear Effect
Platforms:
PlayStation 1
Developer: Kronos Digital Entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix
Age restrictions: 16+
