First Encounter Assault Recon. That's what F.E.A.R. stands for, not that the title has to be an acronym for anything. Fear could easily be the word used to describe this scary first person shooter. Released in 2005, this scary shooter became an instant hit and spawned several expansions and sequels years later. We play F.E.A.R. to give us a break from all the indie and third person horror games we have recently been playing.