F.3.A.R. (also known as F.E.A.R. 3) begins with an introduction that details the happenings of the games that came before it. Paxton Fettel, the main antagonist of the original game, breaks the Point Man out of the asylum where he was being held while being questioned by the Armacham security. Alongside Fettel, the player is entrusted with tracking down a fellow agent named Jin Sun-Kwon and learning the truth about Alma and the nefarious Armacham corporation responsible for her creation. The narrative may also be experienced in a cooperative mode known as “co-op,” enabling a second player to take control of Fettel and utilize psychic skills while battling the first player.
The player must use a wide variety of firearms, ranging from handguns to rocket launchers, to defeat hostile cult members, opposing soldiers, and monstrous creatures that have taken up residence in the city. The player, just as in other F.E.A.R. games, has the opportunity to use his psychic power, which slows everything around him, to fire the adversaries without their firing back as much. This allows the player more chances to kill them. The player now has the option to take cover behind objects in the environment and wait for an opening before opening fire on adversaries. The moments in which the player snatches a combat robot and can kill the adversaries with rockets while they unthinkingly fire at them are also a returning staple.
Incredibly frequently, there is nothing for the player to fire, and instead, the game focuses on frightening them. This often occurs in locations that can be identified by blood on the walls, damaged lighting, etc. In addition to the cult discussed previously, the player is vulnerable to attack from various monsters. Alma Wade also tends to make an appearance and charge at the player before vanishing again.
