Eidos is the publisher of many popular-first-person shooter games for the
Xbox console. They have previously published TimeSplitters 2, Hitman: Contracts,
Deus Ex, Thief, and now Snowblind. Although these games are not console sellers,
they are more of the upper middle class games that make playing your Xbox fun
and different, instead of playing Halo 2 24/7. Snowblind, a futuristic first
person shooter war game, has just been released (Feb. 22, 2005) on the Xbox
console, and it definitely compares with these upper middle class games.
Story
As the story goes, you are in Hong Kong with a special force known as the
Liberty Coalition, and you are just trying to keep peace in the area, but a
civil war is beginning to break out. After a number of attacks, it finally looks
as if things are going to be just fine, until a plane flies overhead and drops a
bomb. You notice that one of your buddies is wounded on the floor, so you run to
his aid, risking your life for his. Unluckily the bomb hits just as you grab his
hand and you are blown to pieces by a direct hit from the bomb.
It was not a fake bomb, and it was you, so what kind of game has you dead
within the first five minutes? Well the next thing you know, you are being
rushed into a hospital, and then later you wake up and feel just fine. However,
you have been put back together with the help of new technologies, and you have
a number of blue electronical vanes running up and down your arms, and who knows
where else. Not only are you alive, but they have rebuilt you stronger and with
a number of super-human powers. Now it is up to you to control the outcome of
this war, and believe me, you have more then enough power to do this.
Gameplay
Like most other action games, Project: Snowblind is a mission based game.
There are a number of levels that all have a number of missions that you must
complete before you can advance to the next objective. The objectives and the
cut-scenes blend in extremely well, so the objectives don't seem cheesy or
somebody just decided it would be cool just to do in a game. Mostly all of the
cut-senses are pretty long, well put together, and explain what exactly is
happening in the story, so it is hard to get lost in what is going on.
Once you get into the game, the first thing that you will notice is that there
is an insane amount of different weapons and gadgets. Overall, there are five
primary weapons, two special weapon tools, five different types of grenades,
five super-human abilities, six collectable items, and two other special
devices. Although the amount of objects you can use throughout the game may seem
overwhelming, after playing through a level or two you will become very familiar
with what they are and how best to use them.
The most usefully of these weapons, of course, is your primary weapon, or your
main firearm. The three primary weapons are the pistol, the carbine, and the
shotgun. The pistol, is a standard silenced, but pretty weak, pistol. The pistol
is great for close range, but if you are trying to take out a tank, you better
find a new gun, or just run! The carbine is similar to an assault rifle and
allows you to zoom it to get the shots just were you want them. The shotgun is
the most powerful short-range weapon. If you use it correctly it will send
anyone air-born, due to the sheer power this gun packs. The sniper rifle is
probably the most fun to use, but ammunition is usually very limited. The rocket
launcher is just as fun, but pretty worthless until you approach a tank or a
large turret, or if you really want to overdue it, try it on the closest enemy
marine!
Besides your primary weapons, there are two special guns that you will use
throughout the game, one of them being the ice-pick, or your all purpose hacking
utensil. Once fired, it attaches to a computer module and you will then be able
to enable, control, disable, or do a number of other things to anything that the
computer controls. Usually the computers only control turrets, cameras, or laser
alarms. The second special weapon is the Kinetic Kicker. The Kinetic Kicker is
like the gravity gun in Half-Life 2. You can push or pull objects, such as
boxes, or use it to collect hard to get to collectables such as health packs.
The number of grenades used in this game is just crazy. Totally five, there
is the standard frag grenade, the flash grenade, an EMP, gas, and even a Spider
grenade. The flash grenade is just a grenade makes an extremely bright flash
when exploded and blinds anyone in the area. The EMP grenade will screw up your
vision and your super-human powers will no longer work. The gas grenade is a
standard gas grenade and the spider grenade deploys spider bots that will use
electricity to attack an enemy.
By far, the most useful weapons or abilities in the game is your
Bio-Augmentations, or your super-human powers. After you were blown to pieces
there were a number of new abilities that were surgically implanted into your
body. These bio-augmentations are Enhanced Vision, Cloak, Reflex Boost,
Electrical Storm, and Ballistic Shield. Both the Ballistic Shield and the Cloak
do exactly what they say and are very helpful throughout the game. The Enhanced
Vision allows you to view enemies that are around the corner or behind a wall.
This can be extremely useful if you are low on heath, so that you can plan your
attacks instead of just running into the action. The Reflex Boost is similar to
what is usually referred to as the "Matrix Mode" where time is slowed down and
you are able to time everything more efficiently. The Electrical Storm is a form
of attack that discharges a high-voltage electrical jolt. Although it would be
awesome to just cruse around the missions cloaked, in the Matrix, seeing all
your enemies before they see you, and electrocuting any enemy that happens to
scratch your ballistic shield, but it just happens that you have a meter for how
much of this bio-augmentations you can use. Once the meter reads empty, you will
not be able to use anymore, however you can use certain collectables through the
map to refill this meter.
Besides the weapons and all of the gadgetry, in different parts of the game you
will be able to drive around in vehicles. There are a total of four futuristic
look cars, some made just for transportation and most of them with mounted
turrets. Although it is pretty cool to run some people over, and ramp over gaps,
the physics involved in the vehicles is really unrealistic, and they are
extremely hard to control.
Graphics
The graphics of the game are nothing to drool over, but they are nice to
look at. The level designs are very well done and look like actual places in the
future Hong Kong. Effects such as rain, puddles, and the war torn terrain give
an excellent feel to the game. Player models, care models, and weapon models
were not nearly as good as the environment, but they do get the job done.
Overall
Project: Snowblind is an excellent game that can compare with other Eidos titles
such as Time Splitters and Hitman, but there are a few things that are holding
this game back from being its best. The amount of weapons and gadgetry is
astronomical but doesn't get confusing. The story is well written and hard to
loose track of due to how well the cut-scenes blend in with the game. The
graphics look good, except for the player, car, and weapon models, and the audio
is about the same way. With the amount of multiplayer and Xbox Live game types
available, the game is well worth your money in the long run and is worth
playing through two times. If you are looking for a new first person shooter,
this may have been one that has flown under the radar due to the new games
coming out right now, but the game is definitely worth purchasing if you enjoyed
Eidos's previous shooter games.
| The Core Score |
Overall
8.6 |
| Fun |
|
8.5 |
| Gameplay |
|
9.1 |
| Graphics |
|
8.5 |
| Audio |
|
8.3 |
| Replay |
|
9 |
|
