The Best Cyber Punk Thriller Since Deus Ex
Project: Snowblind’s story is set in a near future (2065) civil war torn Hong Kong. Here you will aid your peace keeping buddies in escaping the Killzone of the city, and bring an end to the conflict so it doesn't escalate into World War 3. How Hong Kong can have a civil war is beyond me, since it's only one city, and how said civil war would cause World War 3 is equally beyond me; however, that is the main objective to be neutralized in Project: Snowblind. All in all it’s not a bad one either, since the intensity of the fire fights, coupled with the games excellent level design, lush yet simple graphics, and well done audio do a superb job of bringing you into the conflict and keeping you there.
The weapons in Project: Snowblind come both in standard and custom editions. You will get everything from the standard assault rifle and shot gun to some new more original gadgets. One example is the lighting gun, which fires high voltage bolts of electricity, which jump from one enemy to the next within a small radius, electrocuting them in the process. Some of the weapons look, sound, and feel a bit underpowered. However, these tend to be the more standard issue firearms in your arsenal and in the grand scheme of things don't pose much of a problem. This is because you will mostly be using said weapons for fall back purposes. Also, there is always an alternative for how to dismember your foes. One example would be through hacking the local defense network so as to override and gain control of nearby turret.
The AI in Project: Snowblind is both creative and intelligent. It never goes solo, uses every possible means of cover at its disposal, and with its dead on accuracy will cut you down in a matter seconds should it catch you in the open or off guard. This makes for some very strategic and difficult firefights, and will always have you thinking.
In much of Project: Snowblind you will move from one highly intense fire fight to next, though there are some stealth based missions. Its not a game over if you fail to be all Sam Fisher and Splinter Cellish though, since blasting your way through these missions is more than doable, making stealth more of a suggestion than a requirement. During the firefights, the environments you will find yourself in can and will be destroyed. The physics in Project: Snowblind are pretty good, as when you blow up that pretty statue over there the debris will fly in all directions and damage anything it hits respectively.
Project: Snowblind’s controls are those of a standard FPS. This makes them easy to use, and allows the player to jump into the action instantly. You can either cycle through your weapons live, or pause the game by binging up your inventory screen and flip through them that way. For the Consoles you move around using the dual analog sticks, interact with the environment with ABXY, or X, Triangle, Circle and Square, and shoot by pulling the respective trigger. On the PC it’s ASDW to move and strafe, while looking and shooting are accomplished through the mouse.
There is a multiplayer mode in Project: Snowblind as well, allowing you to connect to a fair number of game types with up to 16 other players via Xbox Live or Lan. It would have been nice if this aspect of the game had a split-screen option, since then multiplayer would be much more practical and worthwhile, not to mention receive a good deal more mileage than it currently will. Project: Snowblinds multiplayer doesn't support the level of customization that can be found in other FPS's such as Timesplitters or Pariah, and overall is no Halo. However, there is enough content and variety to this part of the game to allow you to get your money's worth. It should be noted that Project Snowblind isn't without its faults. For instance, the music you will hear in the game, while quite good, has a distinct Asian flavor to it. This is great given the setting is a 2065 Hong Kong and Hong Kong is in China. This would have been perfect if the developers had Asian music from the proper Asian region, as what you are hearing most of the time is Japanese and not Chinese. It’s a small continuity error that will go unnoticed by the vast majority that pick up the controller and embark on the adventure; however, it is there and for those that will catch it, should be noted. A second problem with the game is its constant run and gun pace can tend to get very tiring very fast, since the stealth based missions are few and far between. While it’s nice to not be forced to blast everything in site in order to ensure your survival, these missions are nothing short of Capital B-boring and will have you eagerly waiting to soothe that itchy trigger finger. Fortunately, Project: Snowblind's story should take gamers no longer than 10 hours to get through, and thus, the game does a good job of cutting itself short so as not to run out its welcome. Thirdly, even though you are a super soldier, Project: Snowblind is no walk in the park. Expect to die a lot during the course of this game, as success is determined by your strategy of what gun to use and when to use it, along with what ability you choose to use, and where and when you use it. This is not a game you will get very far in, or enjoy much, if all you want to do is fill your enemies full of lead. Lastly, for you PC people out there, you should know that Project: Snowblind was developed specifically with the PS2 and its capabilities in mind. As a result of this, Project: Snowblind looks like yesteryears sleeper hit on the PC. All of the rough edges and graphical glitches that were covered up due to the low power and resolution on the consoles become blatantly apparent on the PC. As such, Project: Snowblind should really be experienced on the console in order to feel its true brilliance.
All in all, Project: Snowblind is no Halo; however, it’s by far no Killzone or Pariah either. If you’re a FPS fan whose been waiting for some intense, fast paced, and strategic combat, or are a fan of Cyber Punk then Project: Snowblind is for you. If you’re not in the groups just mentioned, but are looking for a good game with lots of action and a large amount of fun, then by all means at least do yourself the favor of checking out Project: Snowblind for a weekend rental.