Fear: Eternal Evil

Fear: Eternal Evil is a 3D fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios. It was published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It was released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on October 13, 2013. It features a wide cast of horror movie icons from different franchises (Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Chucky, etc.). An iOS version of the game was also released a week after the console versiosns.

Gameplay
The gameplay involves one-on-one matches (or two-on-two in Alliance Mode) within a two-dimensional plane, although characters and backgrounds are rendered in a three-dimensional fashion. Each match consists of two rounds (three if each player wins once) Each also has a title: Part 1: Origins, Part 2: Vengeance, and Part 3: The Final Chapter. The game uses a four-button control layout of light, heavy and medium attacks (similar to Injustice: Gods Among Us). There are three categories of characters: Brutes (ex. Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers), who rely on heavy attacks and close-quarters combat, Agiles (ex. Freddy Krueger and Chucky), who rely more on swift than heavy attacks, and Technicians (ex. Herbert West and Tallman), who rely on projectiles and weapons.

There is also a stage for each character (ex. Freddy's Boiler Room stage and Jason's Camp Crystal Lake stage). Players can interact with the stage as well, using items and weapons located in the actual stage. An example is Jigsaw's "Game Room" stage, where you can access blades, razors and traps. But each item is used differently by character. For example, Brutes can pick up an axe and swing it at opponents. Agiles will use an axe to swing at opponents, and swiftly take a backstep (although the attack will be weaker, but more rapid). Technicians will throw the axe from across the stage, and will have to go back to it to be able to use it again.

At the end of the second (or third) round, the winning player will be able to perform a Brutality (a spin on NetherRealm's flagship series, Mortal Kombat's, Fatality). The winner will brutally and violently kill the loser, whether it be burn them to death, tear of limbs, or rip out internal organs.

The story is split into four acts (Evil Has Origins, Revengeance, The Dead Awakens and The Final Chapter). As the narrative progresses, the player must swap into different characters for each portion of the story. Additional features to the game are Versus Mode (featuring Crossover, Alliance Mode and Tourney), Bodycount (Training) Mode, and Write Your Fate, which allows players to create their own mini-stories that features previously-created cutscenes (with the player choosing characters to be featured in them). These stories can be shared on Xbox LIVE and PSN. Online multiplayer includes "The Embodiment of Evil", in which up to eight players can spectate a match waiting for their turns to fight. Also included is "Franchise", which the current winner's health bar and character selection is carried over into each preceding match.

Characters
The game features many horror icons (as well as more obscure, or lesser-known villains) as playable characters. There are 45 (36 default, 9 DLC) in total (15 for each of the three categories).

Brutes: Agiles: Technicians: -Downloadable Content
 * Jason Voorhees
 * Michael Myers
 * Leatherface
 * Pumpkinhead
 * Rawhead Rex
 * Gill-Man
 * Frankenstein's Monster
 * Candyman
 * Captain Spaulding
 * Djinn
 * Pennywise
 * Alex DeLarge
 * -Maniac Cop
 * -The Dutch Businessman (Hostel series)
 * -Patrick Bateman
 * Freddy Krueger
 * Chucky
 * Xenomorph
 * Leprechaun
 * Ash Williams
 * Ghostface
 * The Creeper
 * Norman Bates
 * Dracula
 * Chop Top
 * Jack Torrance
 * Wolfman
 * -T-1000
 * -Hitchhiker (Texas Chainsaw Massacre series)
 * -Tiffany (Child's Play series)
 * Tallman
 * Herbert West
 * Pinhead
 * Otis B. Driftwood
 * Andre Toulon/ Blade, Jester, Six Shooter, Tunneler or Jester
 * Jigsaw
 * Samara
 * Regan MacNeil
 * Predator
 * Hannibal Lecter
 * Carrie White
 * Count Orlok
 * -Robocop
 * -Capt. Rhodes
 * -T-800

Stages
Each character has his or her own respective stage.
 * Camp Crystal Lake
 * Haddonfield
 * Sawyer Home
 * The Mountains
 * Irish Highlands
 * Black Lagoon
 * Dr. Frankenstein's Lab
 * Cabrini-Green
 * Murder Ride
 * Persia
 * Derry Sewers
 * Dystopian London
 * -Police Station
 * -Torture Room
 * -Manhattan
 * Springwood
 * Good Guy Factory
 * The Nostromo
 * O'Grady Farm
 * Woodsboro
 * Cornfields
 * Bates Motel
 * Dracula's Castle
 * Carnival Home
 * Overlook Hotel
 * London at Night
 * -Steel Mill
 * -Hardesty Home
 * -Toy Store
 * Morgue
 * Miskatonic University
 * Hell

Development
Fear: Eternal Evil was announced on June 22, 2013. According to Ed Boon, the goal was to return to the more gruesome roots of the Mortal Kombat series and have it feature some of horror's most prominent villiains. The companies that licensed their characters allowed NetherRealm to put new twists on the characters. This allowed for more creative freedom, and an easier way to tie all of the characters into one whole narrative. Rob Zombie penned the script for the game.

The creators also came up with three DLC packs, each coming with three new characters for each category, a stage for the three DLC characters and alternate skins for each character in the corresponding category.

Similar to Injustice, the game runs on a modified version of the Unreal Engine 3.

Marketing
Similar to Injustice's Battle Arena, Warner Bros. Interactive hosted a 18-week-long tournament entitled Master of Horror. All characters but the DLC characters were included. The series was hosted by Rob Zombie and Sherri-Moon Zombie. It features weekly matchups between the playable cast in a tournament-style fight. Fans vote for the likely winner (to avoid favoritism, Warner Bros. Interactive had voters provide a reason they would win, based on skills) in a fight. The more powerful villain advanced to the next round, until the two finalists meet up in the "Final Chapter".

A comic miniseries entitled Fear: Evil's Rise was published by DC Comics. It was written in collaboration by Rob Zombie and Tom Taylor, and illustrated by Jheremy Raapack. It explained the events that took place leading up to the plot, mainly the Lord of Darkness's rise to power. It explains Pinhead's election of the Lord as new Chancellor, and the Lord's overthrowing of Pinhead, which leads to Pinhead asking Ash Williams to help him gather Hell's strongest warriors to destroy the Lord and end his tyrannical rule.

A demo was also released, which allowed players to choose between Ash, Pinhead and Michael Myers. The pkayer fights the two he didn't choose, as well as Lord of Darkness in a boss battle. This all takes place in Pinhead's Hell stage.