Top Mods - Max Payne and F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R.

So maybe F.E.A.R. isn't all that scary. Maybe the story takes a little too much from Akira. Maybe having a main character who has no name and the capacity to kick the arse of everything and everybody in slow motion with one hand tied behind his back isn't the most engaging idea in gaming history. Or, maybe it's the best first person shooter of all time. Opinions vary depending who you speak to, but you won't find many people who'll find fault with the engine and the action. F.E.A.R. looks pretty and plays with an energy and brutality that makes games like Quake 4 feel comparatively mellow.

How do you make a game featuring some of the most ruthless and exciting battles yet seen on a PC even more enjoyable? Well the simple answer is of course make the single player campaign multiplayer. This is precisely what the Co-Op Warfare modification does, and it is available here. While still only in beta 0.4, the Co-Op Warfare mod works and works well with F.E.A.R. version 1.05.

Installing the Co-Op Warfare mod is very easy as it has its own installer program and from this its own shortcut to run the game. From here you can enter or create online co-operative game servers just as you would with the original multiplayer games.

Supplied with the mod is a selection of levels from the game retooled as co-operative fights, where you and your comrades essentially fight through the level as a team from a start point, and also a handful of completely new maps designed from the ground up to be taken on as a team.

The notable differences between co-operative play and the single player game is that just like in ordinary multiplayer, you choose your weapon before entering the fight, rather than having to rely on finding what's available. There is no shortage of guns for the group and you can put together a team with, for instance, a sniper for long range support and a shotgun trooper to lead the charge into close quarters fights.

The AI in F.E.A.R. was always one of the highlights of the single player game and, to its credit, it is not in the slightest daunted by the appearance of several players on a level. Enemy grunts still try to pin you down with suppressive fire and advance or dig you out from cover with grenades, although as there will naturally be much more answering fire from the players they are often forced to take cover more.