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228 Comments

Th3 Dumb3st G4me N4me 3ver

Is the next F.E.A.R. following in the footsteps of the worst naming concept of all time?

 D00D S1CK!!111111
 D00D S1CK!!111111
So this teaser image of a new game in the FEAR franchise popped up on NeoGAF yesterday. It's attributed to "a Spanish magazine," which isn't exactly the most solid of sources, so let's hold out some hope here. But, by the looks of this, there's some sort of chance that the next FEAR game is going to be called... F.3.A.R..
 
Of course, this isn't an officially released image. On top of that, reps for Warner, which would publish any sort of would-be FEAR successor, didn't offer any comment when asked about it. But doesn't your gut already hurt in that special way that tells you that this is absolutely legitimate?

Assuming it's accurate and official, I'm left wondering one thing. Why, exactly, does anyone still think that slamming a number into your title is a good way to make your sequel stand out? All I ever think of is DRIV3R, which (in case you forgot) was an utter trainwreck. It doesn't add edge to a game, it makes it look like it was written out by some script kiddie WH0 L0V3Z 2 B3 L33T S0N!!!!1111

While I'll give a partial pass to games that use them for dopey abbreviations (Left 4 Dead, Ready 2 Rumble), the numbered sequel thing sucks almost as hard as a thing can possibly suck.

More importantly, I wanted to point you to our page in the database that deals with this tragic topic, Letters Replaced by Numbers in Title. It's a pretty comprehensive list of this sort of thing. This awful, awful thing.

228 Comments

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RafaelMei

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Edited By RafaelMei

In the fifth game they'll use 2 great cliches: plural + letter replacing = F.E.A.R.5.

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InTheEnd

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Edited By InTheEnd

|)00|), |)0|\|7 |-|473

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deactivated-5ffc9b0923f9f

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similar to the Nintendo 3Ds

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meteora

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Edited By meteora

This is a utterly retarded idea.

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Ubiquitous

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Edited By Ubiquitous

Hah. Thanks for the link to the concept page.
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opuelas

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Edited By opuelas
@MattBodega said:
"I can't wait for the Sequel, F.E 4. R.  God damn it. "

Goddamnit. Pray no one from Monolith reads this site. :(
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Cornman89

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Edited By Cornman89

Stupid title.
 
Awesome concept page.

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel
@creamypies said:
" I don't see the problem. Why is F.3.A.R any worse than F.E.A.R. 3? "
Because there's no reason to put a 3 where the E would go.  It just fucks up the acronym.
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Dion250

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Edited By Dion250

Why is it ok for Left 4 Dead to have a number.  But other games can't?

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ashogo

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Edited By ashogo

 Meh. It doesn't bother me at all. It's a neither great nor terrible name.

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bravetoaster

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Edited By bravetoaster

will the name keep anyone from buying the game?

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Willy105

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Edited By Willy105
@TripMasterMunky said:
" similar to the Nintendo 3Ds "
3DS stands for something, instead of replacing.
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AndrewB

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Edited By AndrewB
@Axxol said:
" will the name keep anyone from buying the game? "
I think it's possible for people to point out the stupid naming convention and still be excited about it. I know I am. And... did... point it out, that is...
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bravetoaster

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Edited By bravetoaster
@AndrewB said:
" @Axxol said:
" will the name keep anyone from buying the game? "
I think it's possible for people to point out the stupid naming convention and still be excited about it. I know I am. And... did... point it out, that is... "
Yeah I didn't think anyone would be turned off by the fact that the name sucked
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KowalskiManDown

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Edited By KowalskiManDown
@AndrewB said:
" @Axxol said:
" will the name keep anyone from buying the game? "
I think it's possible for people to point out the stupid naming convention and still be excited about it. I know I am. And... did... point it out, that is... "
Exactly. So who the fuck cares what they call it?
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Bakaneko

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Edited By Bakaneko

Do I need to retroactively go back and consider Se7en a dumb title and movie because of this?
 
Oh, wait, I do already.

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bravetoaster

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Edited By bravetoaster
@creamypies said:
" @AndrewB said:
" @Axxol said:
" will the name keep anyone from buying the game? "
I think it's possible for people to point out the stupid naming convention and still be excited about it. I know I am. And... did... point it out, that is... "
Exactly. So who the fuck cares what they call it? "
yeah a game could be called Space Zombie Granny Panties for all I care as long as it's good
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MeatSim

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Edited By MeatSim

Leet speak in game titles it's all down hill from here.

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FireSketch

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Edited By FireSketch
@TooWalrus: But when I say "7ekken" I pronounce it "Zekken"
And that's just cool, 4m1r173?
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BD_Mr_Bubbles

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Edited By BD_Mr_Bubbles
@Meatsim said:
" Leet speak in game tittles it's all down hill from here. "
yep
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SeriouslyNow

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Edited By SeriouslyNow

l337

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Lokno

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Edited By Lokno

They should do this, and totally nose dive into camp. There should be aliens, and grind house and a jive-talking Duke Nukem. 
 
I also feel this way about Jur4ssic P4rk.

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ch3burashka

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Edited By ch3burashka

Ironically, you left three "E"'s untouched.

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MrKlorox

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Edited By MrKlorox

Could be worse. First Encounter Assault Recon is already fucking lame. Still has no bearing on the game quality itself.

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ParanoidFreak

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Edited By ParanoidFreak

 I don't understand all the hate for this, the name is OK. 

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bybeach

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Edited By bybeach

Left 4 dead also has a connotation that one would get if familiar even casually with the game, which is all that I am. Four people have been left for dead, just pretty much that. It kind of works. But F3ar makes me cringe a little, especially since the first Fear  was such a tight and pretty much mature game. F3AR just plain comes across kiddie slang time. Absolutly little fit to it's heritage. 
 
But I'm also considering this might be all spinning wheels for nothing. I know the Fear franchise has a confused developing and/or publishing history to it, mabe i need to grasp something better.

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deactivated-5a00c029ab7c1

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The first F.E.A.R. was awesome the second one was a dumb down version with shitty graphics,weak sound effects and stupid ai and they fucked up the slomo.
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Lazyaza

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Edited By Lazyaza

I really hope this game makes up for the immense disappointment that was Fear 2. Couldn't care less about how its named, just don't fuck it up please Monolith PLEEEEASE.

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simply

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Edited By simply

HAHAHAHHAHAHAH that is not leet speak hehehehehe that is noob speak or fake leet speak but ok. hahahahahahhaha

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KingGamer

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Edited By KingGamer

Is the next game gonna be called FE4R then?

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Skald

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Edited By Skald
@Jeff said:
WH0 L0V3Z 2 B3 L33T S0N!!!!1111
This is the best thing I've seen all week! 

It's been a slow week.
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Capum15

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Edited By Capum15

Someone's probably already said it, but if the franchise is still around then, look out for F.3.4.R.

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Kayrack

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Edited By Kayrack

................................. really? .................................................................................... and how much money on marketing and testing did they do to choose this?

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Metroid545

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Edited By Metroid545
@MattBodega said:
" I can't wait for the Sequel, F.E 4. R.  God damn it. "
damnit now that you've said it its too late
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ez123

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Edited By ez123

 Emin3m soundtrack, it explains everything.

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turbomonkey138

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Edited By turbomonkey138

What have you started ...

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dagas

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Edited By dagas

DRIV3R was bad , but not all games with a 3 insetad of an E are bad. WIP3OUT (At least that's what they called the sequel to Wipeout 2097 in EU) was alright.

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roddy72

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Edited By roddy72

lol, i totally agree with Jeff about the title.

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thegriefer

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Edited By thegriefer

fear 34 is going to be awesome! f34r

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RobJ

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Edited By RobJ

That name isn't THAT bad. I think it's rather clever.

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fram

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Edited By fram

5.3.4.12 
 
Trust me, it says F.E.A.R.
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chilipeppersman

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Edited By chilipeppersman
it better be better than fear 2
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TwoOneFive

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Edited By TwoOneFive

I see FUBAR everytime i look at it then im like oh yea fear

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Bionicicide

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Edited By Bionicicide

Makes sense when you look at the logo. 
 
Who are the 2 men?

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lamegame621

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Edited By lamegame621
@TwoOneFive:  perhaps this is a bit of foreshadowing...hmm?
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munnyman5

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Edited By munnyman5

Remember "Bionic Commando?"
 
"FEAR THREE" is still what everybody's gonna call this game. That sounds OK. But as Ryan said, "Bionic Commando" is "a fucking retarded-ass name" for a game.

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Edited By beatz

Haha, why do you ever care what its called? The first one stood for "First Encounter Assault Recon", how can you complain about anything being worse than that?

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sanzee

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Edited By sanzee

I'm pretty sure Left 4 Dead was named such because it has four players... as in Left Four Dead, like "the zombies left four men dead". But otherwise I agree with you on the F3AR naming. That shit is bunk, son.

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Alphiehyr

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Edited By Alphiehyr

I like it because it's simplistic and convenient. I hate it because it encourages next-generation to wr1te like d1s.

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Red12b

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Edited By Red12b
@KingGamer said:
" Is the next game gonna be called FE4R then? "
The twelfth game is gonna be called F.E.A.12