Project: Snowblind

Format PlayStation 2

Developer Crystal Dynamics

Publisher Eidos Interactive

Genre First Person Shooter

You probably won't remember Deus Ex. It turned up on PS2 two years ago on the back of strong reviews from PC nerds but failed to make any serious dent in the charts. Its legacy is far greater though. Starting life as a sequel to Deus Ex, the recently renamed Project: Snowblind bears many of the same traits: a dystopian future world, a protagonist with bio-enhancements and an art style pinched from classic cyber-punk films such as Blade Runner.

Fortunately, that's where the similarities end. While Deus Ex's obsession with freedom of choice left the player with little idea of what they were supposed to be doing, Project: Snowblind knows which side its bread is buttered on. You're given more abilities and weapons than one person could feasibly carry, guided down a rigidly linear path and forced to shoot an insane number of enemies.

Last Man Standing
The opening mission cleverly determines how easy this will be. Fighting alongside you is a set number of team-mates. Those left standing at the end is the squad you take into the next level, and so on until it's whittled down to just you. Faceless grunts they may be, but a few missions in you'll end up wanting to buy them all pints down the local like they're your bezzie mates.

If you do end up on your lonesome prematurely then you can always rely on one of the 24 fantastic weapons you're issued with, each of which has a secondary fire option. There are the usual favourites, like the carbine assault rifle that launches grenades and the shotgun that fires a sticky bomb. There are unique ones such as the flechette that sends a horde of drones after fleeing enemies who might then shoot their comrades in panic. And there are bizarre ones such as the Kicker that repulses or attracts nearby metal object, allowing you to wrench an enemy's weapon out of his hands, or send metal crates crashing into stuff.

Arachnophobia
Items are equally as ingenious. The Riot Wall is a portable shield that can be set up anywhere, with a small hole in the middle to shoot through. The Spider Bot is a walking grenade that detonates near enemies to stun them. It's also possible to combine weapons with items: one gun shoots out mines that shock nearby enemies - attach some of these to a Spider Bot and you've got a mobile shocker weapon.

The development team hasn't revealed how upgrading your bio-enhancements will work, but from what we've seen so far there will be scope to be as creative with your implants as you are with your weapons. One lets you turn invisible for a short time provided that you don't fire any weapons. Another lets you see through walls, though it's impossible to tell if the people on the other side are friend or foe. And there's the obligatory use of bullet-time too, allowing you to pluck live grenades out of mid-air, toss them back at enemies and speed time back up again so they explode before you're shot. How cool does that sound?

Class Act
There'll be even more room to experiment in the four-player split-screen and online multiplayer modes. According to the developer, the emphasis will be on the multiplayer rather than the single-player game. Each of the five player classes has its own unique weapon, so Berserkers get the flechette, Agents get the rail laser that can shoot through walls, Snipers get a sniper rifle... you get the idea. Nice touches include being able to change class at any time during play (at the risk of being shot while you're fiddling around at the option screen), and teaming up with another player to pilot a vehicle that requires both a driver and a gunner.

Project: Snowblind isn't the most original first-person shooter we've played this year. Its near-future, war-torn environments borrow heavily from Killzone, and the linear level progression could prove repetitive. That said, the weapons and abilities make it a joy to play. Levels are basically designed to let you be as creative as you like when it comes to killing. Taken on its own terms, Project: Snowblind is shaping up to be one pure adrenaline-rush of a game.

PSW Staff