Feeling ignored? Pick up the shiny yellow object!

I just finished giving F.E.A.R.'s multi-player aspect a whirl. At first glance, there's not much there that is any different than any other multi-player portion of a game -- you've got Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag games, with various maps for each.

But then I noticed something: Slo-Mo Deathmatch. Nani?!

Oh yes, you can use bullet time in multi-player. As if that, in itself, wasn't glorious enough -- the way they incorporated it into the game is rather ingenious. (Not to mention extremely fair.)

Get this: You go into a Slo-Mo Deathmatch game with 8 players. You all spawn into a different area of the map with your weapon. Somewhere in the level, there is the yellow injector that will give you the slo-mo ability. You just have to find it, and get it before someone else does. The game even points you in the right direction, with an arrow telling you in which direction it is, and how far away from it you are.

Then you pick it up, and wait for it to charge so you can use it. The catch? Everyone else in the game now knows where you are, and that you have it. And they're coming to take it from you. When you pick up the slo-mo injector, the game automatically tells everyone else in the game, and gives them an arrow telling them where you are and how far away from you they are. It's a great device that makes it so the slo-mo isn't an unfair advantage -- it's a risk. When you pick it up, you have no idea if it will completely charge before anyone reaches you. Brilliance. At times, I found myself reluctant to go find it, and simply settled on my own skills to kill the enemies. But once I got brave enough, I went after it, killed the person who had it, and took it. And let me tell you -- if you ever feel neglected in a multi-player game, and feel as though no one is paying any attention to you -- just go grab the slo-mo injector. Then EVERYONE will be paying attention to you. In other words, everyone in the game is then HUNTING YOU DOWN.

But I soon found it worth the risk. Huddled in a corner waiting for it to charge, someone threw a grenade at me. I ran out into the open as the guy leaped in a karate kick to take my head off, but at that moment my slo-mo was completely charged. I activated it, and watched as the entire world slowed down around me, including Mr. Karate Kick in mid-air. I then blasted him in the head and went hunting for more prey. Resplendent!