Cry of Fear

Cry of Fear is a standalone Half-Life mod developed by the independent game studio Team Psykskallar (Psykskallar is Swedish and can be roughly translated as "psychoheads"), the same studio behind the game Afraid of Monsters. Cry of Fear runs on the GoldSrc (or GoldSource) engine, which is a heavily modified version of the Quake engine that was made for and powered Half-Life. Unlike their previous game, Afraid of Monsters, Cry of Fear was built completely from scratch and doesn't share any assets with Half-Life. Development for the mod started in 2008 and after four troubled years of development, it released on popular modding site ModDB as a Half-Life mod in 2012. After being submitted to Steam Greenlight, it was accepted for a release on Steam and in 2013 was publicly released as a standalone game.
The game follows teenage protagonist Simon Henriksson as he wakes up in an alley after being the victim of a hit and run. With only his phone and a pocket-knife, he makes his way through the unnamed city (based off locations in Stockholm, Sweden) and encounters hallucinations and monsters. Throughout the night, he continues to question his sanity as he continues his way home. 
Cry of Fear is significantly more complex than Team Psykskallar's previous game, Afraid of Monsters. Cry of Fear includes cutscenes, voice acting, an inventory system, and utilizes advanced graphical techniques. While Afraid of Monsters plays more like a shooter, Cry of Fear plays more slowly with a focus on survival more like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Cry of Fear also includes a deep plot whose themes are similar to aforementioned Silent Hill and movies such as Jacob's Ladder, relying heavily on symbolism.
The original mod is available on ModDB and the standalone game is available on Steam.
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=Overview=
Cry of Fear is a survival horror game and not a straight up shooter. The player has limited inventory space, must use morphine syringes to regenerate health, can only save via the use of a tape recorder (on Nightmare difficulty one must have a tape that can only be used five times in order to save, somewhat similar to the use of typewriters and ink ribbons in the earlier Resident Evil games). Ammo and firearms are also fairly rare, and the player will probably end up using more melee weapons than firearms throughout the story, similar to the Silent Hill games.
The game has three modes, the first being the main story line following Simon.
Completing that unlocks the "Doctor Mode" where one gets to play as the Doctor character from the main story. While short, the Doctor mode is also significantly harder than the main storyline.
The third mode is a co-op campaign where up to four players can team up as Police Officers trying to find Simon. The co-op has a much bigger focus on action than the other modes.
While the extra modes have their own stories that tie into the main narrative, they are seen as non-canon.
The game features an enemy players should be weary of using firearms around called the "Drowned". If one has a firearm equipped close to them, they will force the gun to Simon's head, with the player having to click the mouse button to resist the urge to pull the trigger.
A small but interesting detail is how the game handles ammo. Weapons that are fed with detachable magazines only track the number of full magazines the player has picked up, and upon reloading one of these weapons, any rounds left in the magazine will be lost instead of magically added to the player's reserve ammo pool as in most video games. This means that one must consider potentially wasting ammo in favor of a faster reload and ensuring one won't run out early into a fight. Weapons with internal magazines - the Taurus 605, Remington 870, and Lee-Enfield - go for different systems depending on the weapon, which are noted in their specific sections below.
=Handguns=
All handguns except for the Taurus Model 605 can be dual-wielded with any other non-handgun item such as melee weapon or some type of light source. However, it is not possible to reload or aim a handgun when it's being dual wielded. While Simon will hold any weapon in his right hand and support it with his left when using it alone, he will hold weapons in his left hand when dual-wielding any other item, indicating that he might be ambidextrous.
==Glock 17==
The Glock 17 is the most common firearm in the game, being the very first gun Simon gets his hands on. It's incorrectly labeled as a Glock 19 in-game (it even has Glock 19 markings), which includes holding 15 rounds in the 17-round Glock 17 magazines. It can however be identified as a Glock 17 due to its size. The Glock 17 is also used by the "Suicider" enemy type, making them the only non-boss enemy to use firearms while also making Glock ammo the single most abundant type.
==Heckler & Koch VP70M==
The Heckler & Koch VP70M with its distinctive stock is a fairly rare weapon in-game. Due to the fact that it is locked to fire in three-round bursts (leading to strong recoil) and its ammo being somewhat rare, it is a rather impractical weapon.
==Ruger P345==
The Ruger P345 is first seen in a bowling alley in the mental hospital. When first picking it up, it's empty and there's no ammo around for it. Simon must bring it to the Doctor, where he's given the choice of either keeping it for himself or giving it to the Doctor. If one chooses to give it to him, it's not possible to acquire the Taurus Model 605 later on. The P345 is also the starting weapon in co-op mode, as all four Swedish cops will have one with a few extra magazines for it. While it has more stopping power than the Glock 17, it's overall a worse weapon, having a slower reload, smaller magazine capacity, rarer ammo, and more recoil.
==Taurus Model 605==
A Taurus Model 605 with rubber grips, called the "Taurus .357 Magnum" in-game, is carried by the Doctor in the story mode and the unlockable "Doctor's Story" mode as well as being a obtainable weapon in Co-op mode. He will use it against Simon if the player chooses not to give the Doctor the P345 in the mental hospital, whereupon Simon can take it after defeating him. Doctor's Story has him start with one in his inventory, with 25 rounds in reserve.
It is very powerful, being able to take down most smaller enemies with just one shot. It can't however be dual-wielded with any other item, limiting its use. It also only holds five rounds, has very strong recoil and a long reload time. Additionally, reloading will cause Simon to drop every round loaded into the weapon, without attempting to retain any unfired rounds, then reload them one at a time - although the second half can be interrupted after any number of bullets have been loaded if the situation requires it.
==Browning Hi-Power Mark III==
A Browning Hi-Power Mark III makes a brief appearance in the endings of the game, however it is only briefly usable in one of the endings. Hidden underneath the grip panels is an image of Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil franchise (specifically, her appearance from the third game as depicted in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles), which cannot be seen in normal gameplay.
=Submachine Guns=
==Brügger & Thomet MP9==
The B&T MP9, originally and incorrectly referred to as the earlier TMP (a fact noted by the dev but intentionally unchanged), is only available to people who donated money to the game's development; it and its ammo take the place of some spawns for the VP70. It is not a particularly useful weapon as the recoil of firing in full-auto leads to very poor accuracy. 
thumb|600px|none|Simon making his way towards an escalator, MP9 in hand for whatever might be waiting at the top.
==Heckler & Koch MP5A3==
To get the Heckler & Koch MP5A3, the player must join the "Cry of Fear Mappers" group on Steam. Prior to an update in November 2020, the group was not accessible publicly, and joining it required one to make a "quality map" for the game and then contact ruMpel, who would then invite the map's creator to the group. Once activated, the weapon will be available early on in the game. Though nice to have access to a powerful weapon from the start, it's locked to full-auto and while it comes with eleven total magazines when picked up, there are no other ammo pickups for it.
=Shotguns=
==Remington Model 870==
A Remington Model 870 with a 4-round magazine tube that holds 5 rounds is the only shotgun in the game. While its ammo is fairly rare, its power more than makes up for it. Its ability to reload at any time without having to lose ammo (thanks to its tubular magazine) is also very helpful. As with all long guns, however, it's limited by the fact that it can't be wielded along with a light source, having to settle for what light shines through Simon's bag if he leaves the phone light on when putting it away.
thumb|none|500px|Remington 870 Wingmaster with 20" Home Defense barrel - 12 gauge
=Rifles=
==Stag Arms AR-15==
The Stag Arms AR-15, a civilian semi-auto rifle in reality, appears as the sole assault rifle in the game that does not require unlocking. The in-game model is a mix between Stag Arms' rifle and the military M16A2 - like the semi-auto rifle, it does not have a bayonet lug underneath the gas block and the first non-safe position for the selector switch is labeled as "fire" rather than "semi", but it also features the A2's upper receiver with built-in carry handle (the SA AR-15 features a railed upper with removable carry handle like the M4/M4A1 and M16A4) and an additional unmarked 3-round burst mode. It is a powerful weapon, though one should stick to semi-auto unless they've got a damn good reason, as the weapon has high recoil when firing in bursts and is generally overkill against most enemies. It's generally better to go for one shot to the head instead of three in the chest. It is loaded with 20-round magazines that correctly hold 20 rounds.
==Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk.III* (HT)==
The Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk.III* (HT), the sniper variant of the No. 1 Mk.III*, is the only firearm in the game with some sort of optic/scope. While it's powerful, it has limited use as most of the combat in the game takes place at close ranges. Its 10-round magazine is always loaded with only 5 rounds. A minor detail is that when the player starts a reload on a partially-loaded magazine, the chambered round will be lost, while the rest will remain in the magazine.
==FAMAS G2==
The FAMAS G2 is only available to players who have completed the game on Nightmare difficulty, which is no easy feat. The effort is however worth it, as the weapon has infinite ammo. Its presence is possibly a reference to the team's first mod, Afraid of Monsters, wherein completing that game by seeing every possible ending unlocked the "gm_general", an Enfield L85 with infinite ammunition (Cry of Fear even recycles the infinity-symbol HUD icon from AoM for the FAMAS).
==Gewehr 43==
The Gewehr 43 is only available in the co-op mode. The weapon deals slightly less damage than the SMLE with similarly high recoil, but has the obvious advantage of semi-auto fire and using sights more suited for the close ranges of the majority of the game's combat. Unlike the SMLE, the G43 correctly holds 10 rounds per magazine.
=Cut Weapons=
These firearms were cut or replaced before the game's final release.
==Taurus PT92AF==
A Taurus PT92AF was initially supposed to be the main handgun in the game, later being replaced by the Glock 17 for unknown reasons.
Category:Video Game
Category:Horror
Category:First-Person Shooter