Customization: Downloadable Content
Number of Players: 1-16 Players
Number of Online Players: 16 Players Online
ESRB Descriptors: Blood, Violence
Difficulty: Medium
Price: $49.99
After a long hiatus from the ol' Xbox I decided to sit down and give Project Snowblind a try. I can honestly say that this game in many ways fell short (It is no halo 2 killer), rises just barely above the mediocre "run of the mill" FPS, and yet somehow manages to keep the players complete attention all the way through. The one thing the developers did right was they laid the flow of the game out in such a way as so the pace would pick up whenever it started to slow down. Whether it is by new weapons, new characters being introduced, or the acquisition of new abilities.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/reviews/920210_20041215_screen013.jpg)
GRAPHICS
The graphics of the game are quite good. At times I experienced some less than enjoyable visuals, but on the whole the game does a good job of maintaining visual consistency. The characters look good, the atmospheres looks good, and the weapon affects look awesome. My one big complaint with the visuals is the fact that the main character of the game is so "uninspired" looking. He is a very basic looking, non-imaginative character. He has no special armor, no special look to him, just a plain looking guy with an armed forces issue shirt and pants. The one good thing about him is how his skin is altered so that it looks like he has huge circuitry running through his body. If he did not have this it would just look like some crazy guy picked up a gun and went nuts. Everyone else in the game looks pretty cool. The uniforms and the armor for both feuding sides look pretty good. Our main character must have gotten the short end of the stick when they were issuing uniforms. The lighting affects in this game are also quite amazing. The light glow that is cast throughout the game allows for many of the rough and tattered edges of the game to be covered up in a soft, stunning glow.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/reviews/920210_20041215_screen014.jpg)
SOUND
The sound quality is great. Everything is crystal clear and the sound effects are right "on the money" so to speak. No twang, no metallic sound, just plain old enjoyable noise.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/screen0/920211_20040913_screen004.jpg)
STORY
The story is pretty run of the mill. You are a soldier who was, for all intents and purposes, killed in battle. You awake to find that you have been augmented with all kinds of biomechanical augmentations and other fun things like that. Oddly enough you do not question why this has happened or why you were chosen, instead you immediately start taking orders and go to battle. The main spike in the story is that some mad man general has been working on these bombs that, when detonated, will wipe out every piece of electronic equipment within a certain radius. Calling the plan Project Snowblind you are the one who has to shut the operation down before it gets out of hand.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/screen0/920211_20040913_screen007.jpg)
GAMEPLAY
The game play in the game is actually quite fun. Though it is pretty much a "run and gun" type game there are many other elements incorporated within it. This game was once set to be a Deus Ex spin off so you can expect it to borrow a lot of elements from that series. Some of the finer points of the game are that you can take over a whole arsenal of mechanical mayhem. Cars, robots, turrets, cameras, security systems, they are all ripe for the hacking. For all the "shooters" out there this game packs plenty of fun and innovative weapons that every gamer should find enjoyable. Guns that fire through walls, guns that fire shells that track their target, mine throwers, rocket launchers, it is all here. The game allows for a huge amount of depth through the abilities that the character receives throughout the game. Once the player receives these special abilities the game play completely changes. One can go from stealth to straight out balls to the wall firefighting in the drop of a hat, and do it with a relative amount of style. The game also makes good use of the rag doll physics that has become so popular over the past couple of years. I really REALLY enjoyed this aspect of the game.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/reviews/920210_20041215_screen009.jpg)
FINAL THOUGHTS
With all of the hype this game got I thought it was going to be a lot better than what it was. This is in no way saying that it is a bad game, because it is not. It is a fun, and at times, completely engrossing game. It is challenging, but not very frustrating. Though it is no Halo 2 killer it is still a solid game. I would like to see some of the elements of this game changed a bit, but overall a decent FPS.
I give this game a 7. It is to unimaginative story wise and all of the small things I deem wrong with this game prevent me from giving it an 8 or higher.It is a solid FPS, and worth a buy or a rent. Buyers will like the customization of the games multiplayer modes and renters will like the fact that they can get through the game in the 5 or 6 day rental period and not feel they got gyped by a game that was either to short or way to long.
ALL IMAGES PROPERTY OF GAMESPOT
This post has been edited by metalhead212: Mar 23 2005, 08:11 PM
