Cold Fear Review (no fat)

Game Description

For a long time, survival games have been struggling to get past the Resident Evil episode. They did so by applying various recipes: use less corridors, put more weapons, make it darker, turn the lights on, do tours of the East and many others. Not all of these boats floated. However, Cold Fear has a boat that does float. Literally.

Cold Fear – The plot

The entire game is set around Tom Hansen, a US sailor sent to investigate a strange Russian frigate that seemed to simply stop in the middle of the ocean, for no apparent reason. The ship seems OK from distance, but the investigation doesn't go too well in the end and Hansen remains stuck on the ship. As if the ship wasn't bad enough because it was Russian, some strange things happen there. Russian soldiers are trapped along with some strange alien creatures, using them as hosts, and maybe hiding some more secrets. Since you're stuck on the ship anyhow, you are supposed to investigate everything further until you find a way to escape.

The storyline, although hiding a few clichés, does a grand job in Cold Fear. The micro-universe of the ship is a remarkable addition, and well rendered, with much impact on the game.

The action takes place in a 3D environment, with a 3rd person perspective which can be adjusted. You can either choose to have traditional fixed-angle camera, or go for the Resident Evil-style camera-over-shoulder mode. This is really a matter of a personal choice. The latter does offer you the option to go for a more first-person-like perspective using the Zoom option, but this is a minor advantage, especially with the strange beasts in the game.

Cold Fear, Literally

The action itself generally revolves around staying alive, which is not exactly the easiest thing to do. To start with, the Russian soldiers aren't exactly the most friendly people on Earth, and they won't hesitate to stuff you with lead if you are too noisy. However, the biggest threat is, by far, the Exocels. These are creatures that generally crawl on quite about anything, looking much like spiders, and easy to take care of when they're on the ceiling or on the floor. When they've taken possession of a body though, things become more difficult due to the genetic twists. Too add to the nightmare, they often get out of a dead bodies and keep chasing you, often seeming to come out of nowhere.

In fact, the enemies in the game are some of the most creepy you'll come across. The sensation itself may be reminiscent of the Doom-like "there's something behind that door", only more elegant. Enemies hide in corners and don't make a move until you haven't turned your back on them, they jump out of NPCs while you are talking to them and they leap from behind doors after a few seconds, when you're sure there's nothing inside. There is an interesting move if your enemies jump on your back (and they sometimes will, as you will find yourself running away a few times). You can try to throw them off, and obtain a critical hit. The effect itself looks nice and you will sometimes find yourself doing this on purpose, as critical hits are more effective than normal hits.

Still, the arsenal you have at your disposal is not to be neglected. Meeting the good old AK-47 again is a nice experience (although we've done it sooo many times), and, unlike the usual Resident Evil tradition, you can aim and fire while moving. The controls facilitate this seriously. They are intuitive and easy to grasp, which was a must-have due to the way the ship rolls. Rolls?

The ship's deck is probably one of the most interesting places you've ever been to in a computer game. First of all, because the ship rolls, and it does so enough to make aiming quite difficult on the deck. The waves crash against the cold metal and sometimes even knock you over board, a very unpleasant situation as sailors may tell you. The place is very atmospheric and makes the name of "Cold Fear" very well deserved.

The rest of the ship also feels cold and creepy. Everything is full of shadows and water, and there's not much light to stare into. You will sometimes find yourself longing for a good a flashlight. Nevertheless, it's an excellent place for a scary and addictive gameplay, despite the some minor glitches.

Cold Fear Technicalities

There are two areas where the gameplay has problems. The first one is the absence of an in-game map. Sure, it's not realistic to have on, but a frigate isn't really a living room. This is why, even though Hansen can translate some of the signs (he knows some Russian), you will often find yourself getting lost. The other problem is that saving is done automatically. The bad thing here is not that it happens too rarely to be of any use, but simply because you will often find yourself replaying a boring section simply because you can't save where you want to.

Graphically, although the game doesn't shine, there's not much to complain. The textures do look a bit sparse, but it seems as if it was done on purpose, as some more complex textures do appear. The entire thing is very moody and touching, exactly what we would expect from those who gave us Alone in the Dark.

The sound effects are not too bad either. The entire batch of growls, howls, roars and screams are available in the inventory, and if that sounds weird, do remember it's a survival game, so don't expect anything too elegant. Hansen's voice acting is well done and quite believable, too.

Cold Fear Technicalities

For anyone looking for a survival TPS, Cold Fear is a great game that’s going to jangle your nerves a bit. A must have for the sheer thrill of it.

Cold Fear Price

Prices for Cold Fear wander around 19.99$ US.