Lets face it. There are A LOT of shooters out there; you could easily be led to believe that there may be no happier gamer out there than someone who blows stuff up wth ever-enlarged weapons of destruction. When it comes to Project: Snow blind (P:S), these sentiments are also true - its a shooter's game that will keep him/ her happy. It has all the trappings of an FPS game: a hashed plot that could have been much better, hordes of enemies and varied environments to blast your way through. Having said that, it feels highly reminiscent of many other shooters than giving any original experience per se. For example, this game features the inclusion of power-ups, like an energy shield, and enhancements that are very similar to the 'Augmentations' in the mind-blowing Deus Ex. These enhancements make P:S more interesting varied in dispatching enemies but makes the game easy to the point of very little challenge. Many of these power-ups and weapons are not particularly original either, but they are done more entertainingly here than many other shooters. The backdrop for the game is also one that I highly welcome. P:S is located mainly in Hong Kong when our hero Nathan's specialist unit is sent to stop a rising Nationalist terrorist threat that could bring the country near to civil war. But as the plot unfolds, there is a masterplan by a master-bad-guy that is truly global in proportions. I like the fact that it is based in Asia and sees a potential threat from one of the world's hi-tech, financial powerhouses instead of the routine "America under attack" scenario. But the plot simply becomes a stodgy, disappointing affair coupled with some mediocre voice-acting and scripting; I really believe that better story-telling, script and voice-acting would have truly made this game shine given its story potential. But the cut-scenes are very well edited and keep in tune with heavy-shooting gameplay style. I barely noticed the music, but who does unless it really is remarkable? The graphics seem stuck in the middle of "next-gen" and, er "old-gen", the environments are well-made but the look and feel does begin to show a slight dated quality. At least you don't need a behemoth graphics card/ system to make it perform. However, the game is overall well-presented and produced with some frantic fire-fight sequences and eye-catching futuristic weaponry.
The enemies seem to again nod towards the enemies in Deus Ex: a mixture of armoured soldiers and a myriad of cool looking robots. In fact, P:S almost wants to be a shoot 'em up version of Deus Ex. Could this game really have been possible without Ion Storm's classic? I wonder... Overall, your in for a varied, yet run-of-the-mill shooting experience and if you are looking for a good shooter for 8-10 hours or so, then you cannot go wrong with Project: Snowblind. But either my standards are raised so high because of playing dozens of shooters over the last 12-15 years or P:S simply seems much more style than substance that is indicative of short and sweet, console-style gameplay than as a venerable PC shooter.
From the very opening scene to the closing scene, Project Snowblind offers the one thing that FPS craves for; action, action and more action. Heavy fire-fights, smashing tanks, hijacking robots, destroying helicopters, E... Read Full Review
Project: Snowblind is a cyber punk FPS thriller from Eidos. Project Snowblind started out as a Deus Ex spin-off, and while it now no longer has any official ties to the Deus Ex franchise, the game supports an almost iden... Read Full Review
