Well, it looks as though the nightmarish gameplay experience that Day 1 Studios is aiming to inject into its next game has manifested itself in the real world in the form of development hell, as the team’s FEAR 3 has once again been delayed, this time by two months.

Previously, the horror-themed first-person cooperative shooter had been delayed from its intended release date of late 2010 into March 2011, but speaking to videogame consumer site VG247, publisher Warner Bros. Interactive has confirmed rumours of the delay.

A representative told VG247:

“The F.E.A.R. 3 launch date will now be in May 2011, as we look to deliver the best possible game for our fans.”

Unfortunate for horror fans, but I think we can all appreciate that Warner Bros. Interactive and Day 1 would much prefer to release a game of quality, rather than a below average shooter that stands a chance of sinking the franchise following a series of poor expansion packs and an average sequel.

This third game in the franchise is set to be filled with all of the “heart-pounding paranormal horror first-person shooter” action you can handle, and will this time include cooperative play to ‘evolve’ the series beyond previous entries.

Alma (series antagonist and provider of the creep factor) returns in FEAR 3, but the spotlight is on her sons, Point Man from the original game, and Paxton Fettel, another antagonist from games gone by.

In FEAR 3, you’ll be able to play through the singleplayer game as Point Man (“a genetically enhanced super soldier”), or you can choose to play as Paxton Fettel (“whose incredible telekinetic power has given him life beyond the grave”) or Point Man in cooperative play, giving two players access to vastly different gameplay abilities and strategies.

To increase the horror above and beyond what we saw in earlier FEAR games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Day 1 Studios have sought the consultation of horror director John Carpenter (who helped out with the in-game cinematics) and horror comic and script writer Steve Niles (who co-wrote the game script).

Rummage through El33tonline’s previous coverage of FEAR 3 to find a host of screenshots, batches of great trailers and gameplay videos, as well as more information.