One of the best PSX games of the year

I was pleasantly surprised when I first played Fear Effect. First off, let me just make a brief statement about the replay value, it has none. Once you’ve beaten it, that’s about it. Expect for the fact of an extra ending in Hard Mode, that’s about it. Just call it Resident Evil-type length, which comes out to about 4-5 hours. But believe me, it’s well worth the time you play through it.
Fear Effect definitely has a dark anime-type feel to it. The character animations, voice acting, and even lip-synching are done very well. The graphics are simply astounding. I would never think the Playstation could possibly make a game like this. However, these being possibly the last-generation PSX games, I’m sure developers have gotten used to the machine and are using ever last bit of power they can squeeze out of it, it certainly shows in Fear Effect. Fully interactive, moving 3D backgrounds highlight this game’s dark nature. The game even plays in letterbox the entire time, heightening the mood of the game. There are plenty of FMV’s included, which contributes to the 4-disk length of it. Don’t be fooled, each disk takes a minimum of about 30-45 minutes to complete, because they are so many FMV’s and because of the animation and constantly moving backgrounds that the game is utilizing.
The story I also feel is very top-notch. It’s future China, and you take on the role of three mercenaries (Hana, Deke, and Glas) hired to find the daughter (Wee-Ming) of an influential Chinese businessman. Of course, there’s a huge reward involved but the question comes into play: Whom can you trust? Numerous surprising plot twists, and 5 total different endings may keep you coming back for more. The sound is also top-notch, with the blasting of the assault rifle and the tense heartbeat that you actually hear (and feel) when stealthily moving in for an unexpected kill. I also love the addition of swearing (yes, there is cursing) which added to the mature name of the game. I mentioned the heart beat because quite frankly, I found this feature unique. It’s called the Fear Meter and it weighs how silently you kill a enemy and determines the amount of fear you’re feeling at that time and fills your health gauge based on how scared you’re are. Bottom line is that there’s no health meter, and that might or might not suit you.
Only one major gripe I had was with the graphics. Visually, it’s one of the most gorgeous PSX games to date, but the problem is in the constant looping of the backgrounds. For instance, a leaf swings in the breeze, and the animation of the leaf stops, only the restart the previous leaf animation, and so on. But that’s a problem one can easily overlook when given the nature of this game. Overall, I feel it’s quite enjoyable, for the brief amount of time you spend with it. The characters are well rounded out, and they will grow on you such as in popular RPG’s. Well worth your time and highly recommended.