Currently scheduled for release toward the end of next month, Project: Snowblind is a futuristic first-person shooter in which you'll assume the role of a cybersoldier in a Hong Kong ravaged by war. As you progress through the game, you'll gain access to a number of special abilities (such as being able to target enemies through walls), but they wouldn't do you much good if they weren't augmented by a formidable arsenal, which, according to designer Zak McClendon, was a major focus for the development team.

Guns, Guns, Guns

By Zak McClendon
Designer

As I write this, the team is toiling away here in the "Design Pit" (our home away from home at Crystal Dynamics), putting the finishing touches on Project: Snowblind, but we're taking a break to fill you guys in on some of the awesome stuff that we have in store for you via a series of features. First up are the weapons!

All of the weapons in Project: Snowblind will have an alternate fire mode.

We knew from the start that we wanted to make the weapons a major focus for Project: Snowblind. What's more important to a first-person shooter than the weapons? Nothing! So, we went all-out to give the player a huge arsenal and massive firepower. By the end of the game, you'll have access to dozens of weapons and abilities. Because the game takes place in the near future (Hong Kong 2065, to be exact), we were able to straddle the line between modern-day stuff, like your standard machine guns, rocket launchers, and such, and futuristic, sci-fi gear like the HERF gun (a sort of short-range electrical flamethrower that can jump between nearby targets) and the flechette gun (a rapid-fire energy rifle that fires rounds that will bounce off the walls and is great for shooting around corners).

The primary weapons have a little bit of everything, but the really cool thing is that each one has its own unique alternate fire mode. We decided to go really crazy with the alternate fire modes on the weapons. A lot of games just give you a souped up version of the primary fire--single shotgun to double-barreled shotgun, that sort of thing. But we wanted the alt fires to be more like a whole new weapon, sort of like dual wielding in one handy package.

One of the team favorites is the flechette's alt fire--the attack drones (also known around the studio as the "angry bees"). The alt fire shoots out this swarming cloud of intelligent (and very tiny) drones that immediately take off and try to find some baddies. Once they do, they'll swarm around him, peppering him with electrical shocks till he's dead, and then move on. Not only are these great for thinning out a crowd, but they'll also sometimes cause a mass panic, as enemy troops flee for cover and try to shoot them down. They're too small to hit, though, so more often than not the enemies just end up hitting each other in the chaos. They're super fun in multiplayer as well, where they not only cause damage, but also make your enemies "snowblind" by filling their screens with static. Nothing's more gratifying in multiplayer than shooting out the drones and seeing your opponent flee, while you hear cries of, "Ah! Bees! Bees!" from over the cube wall.

Because Snowblind is all about the weapons, just having the primary and alternate fire modes isn't quite enough firepower to satisfy. So, supersoldier Nathan Frost also comes with some handy secondary weapons that players can throw out or use with their left hand, while keeping their main weapon primed and ready in the right. Nate also throws a mean left hook, by the way--popping a soldier in the kisser is often the best way of taking him down, especially if you're low on ammo.

Melee attacks will be an effective way to take enemies down.

The secondary weapons run the whole gamut. You'll get your standard offensive ones like frag or EMP grenades (to take down bots and other electronic security), as well as defensive ones like flashbangs and gas grenades to stun and choke the opposition. We cooked up a few more innovative gadgets for your secondaries though, like the nanoboost, a one-shot medical injection that can restore your health or bioenergy (or even bring you back from death's door, much to the surprise of the guy who just "killed" you), or the spiderbots, intelligent little robot pals that will follow you around to help you kick ass.

Our favorite secondary, though, is the riot wall--a cool little gadget that's really changed up how we've been playing the game. The riot wall is a handy, auto-deploying piece of cover. Slap one down in the middle of an empty street and presto--now you have a position you can defend. As you can imagine, this thing's been crazy in multiplayer. People have been using it to block off escape routes, seal in their flag, keep the enemy from reaching gun emplacements, you name it.

This was really our goal for all the weapons--to give you guys weapons and abilities that not only look cool and hit hard, but can also be combined and used in new and creative ways. We really want every battle to play out differently and, with all the tools we've cooked up, we hope you, the gamers, will really be able to get creative with them. We've already seen some stuff we never dreamed of from the testers here, and we can't wait to see what happens when we release the game into the wild next month. Now, let's take a look at some of those weapons.