Cold Winter

"An adrenaline pumping cinematic experience"

Released for both the XBOX and PS2, Cold Winter does not revolutionize the FPS genre, but with a highly cinematic storyline, the ride from beginning to end is nothing short of entertaining.

Andrew Sterling, a former British agent in the MI6, is captured by the Chinese government. For six months, while being tortured in cruel and gruesome ways, Sterling remains in prison with no hope of escaping. Randomly, a former ally breaks him out of his cell and gives him a gun, a needle which replenishes health whenever it is needed, and an assignment: escape. After mowing down the unaware guards in the prison, Sterling's real assignment begins. . .

Unlike many FPS' before it, Cold Winter attempts to build an enthralling and thrilling storyline that will motivate the player to play through each level. Each piece of dialogue is splendidly delivered by talented British voice actors who add drama and realism to the situation(s) at hand. Just note, though, that the game tends to drop the F-bomb and other obscene words frequently, so if you are the type who gets easily offended, do not play this game. Before each mission, the player will receive a briefing of what needs to be done. During the mission, you will receive orders of where to go and what to do when going from point A to point B does not go as simple as originally planned.

Most missions consist of going from point A to B while the enemy will do anything to stop you. Aside from mowing down the enemy with the machine gun you conveniently stole from the guard you just killed, Sterling will also have to plant explosives, hack into computers, and secure certain locations.

So while all of this sounds so original and fun, how does the game play, arguably, the most important part of the game, hold up? Adopting a similar control scheme seen in Call of Duty, the left analogue stick is used to control Sterling while the right stick controls the camera. R1 fires a round of bullets, while L1 is to jump. The D-Pad's right button is used to switch guns, as Sterling can carry up to two weapons, while the left button is to use the needle that Kim, the agent who saved Sterling, gave him. The needle regenerates health no matter where you are, which may be a bit unrealistic, but so is the cover and regenerate health system, so that point is moot. X is the action button, which is used to search dead guards for important items and armor, open crates, operate levers, hack computers, etc. . . Triangle is the attack with your weapon in a melee fashion button and O brings up the menu, where the player will see the objectives that have been completed (or not), what items Sterling has, any important pieces of intel, and the items you can create. Wait. . .What!? Items you can create? Sterling, a McGuyver of all sorts, can create useful items out of everyday junk. For example, Sterling can create a lockpick as long as he has a pair of wire scissors and a piece of metal. This will help him get through doors with those nasty masterlocks! While this is a neat idea, there are very few opportunities where the player will actually need to make an item. Another idea that never fully lived up to its potential is the ‘cover' system where Sterling can use an everyday object to hide from guards and the bullets they fire. An example is a table, which you can kick over to its side and hide behind as you reload your gun, use the needle to regenerate your health, etc. . .

The major flaw in the cover system is that the game relies on the player to run and gun, not find a good spot somewhere off in the distance and snipe away. Unlike Call of Duty, where the R1 button is used to look through the scope of the gun, Cold Winter does not offer such an option. What this means is that it is difficult to be accurate from a distance, which means that the player will find him/herself running up to the enemy while holding down the trigger button. Even though you could hold down the trigger as you sprint towards the enemy your rank will surely go down.

At the end of each level, you will be given a score, or rank. Your rank will change depending on your accuracy, the number of side objectives completed, (these are purely optional and consist of small missions, like find the 5 red folders scattered throughout the level) number of enemies killed, (the higher, the better) and the number of intelligence papers you find (this, too, is optional). Rank only judges your performance and in no way changes the outcome of the game. What does change how the game plays is the difficulty you choose in the very beginning. There is easy, normal, hard, and elite (which is unlocked after completing the game once). Once a level is beaten, at the start up screen, you will have the option to replay any level. This gives the game some artificial replay value as you can keep replaying a level in order to get the S, or perfect, rank.

The game mechanics are simple, the menus are easy to navigate through, and the learning curve in terms of control should only be at most fifteen minutes. If you have played any FPS, then you will learn the controls once you get out of the jail cell. The controls are fluid and responsive. Even if you forget certain controls, the game will hint what to do. An example is that if you stand near a crate, on the bottom of the screen, it will say HINT: Hold Triangle to break crates.

Graphically, the game does not impress. Sadly, the levels are rather bland in design and technical prowess and the character models lack detail. When the enemy is shot, though, the game has a brutal depiction of their death. Limbs will be exposed, blood will be splattered on the wall, which earns this game its “M” rating. The technical flaws become even more apparent when more enemies (which in this game, is like 6) appear on the screen as the frame rate will begin to stutter. This seems to happen most frequently when something blows up. Despite the apparent technical shortcomings, the art direction is rather nice, as it reflects modern day society. For those with HDTV's, this game does not support either 480p (progressive scan) or 16:9 (widescreen).

There is online, but this is a feature I have yet to experience. Assuming the online is dead (it's 2009 when this game came out in 2005), the game still offers offline multiplayer and bots. The game lets you play up to eight players online and four players offline in all the usual death match, king of the hall, and team play modes. There are 6 modes in all with 12 multiplayer maps to choose from.

While the game is not innovative, it is definitely entertaining for anyone who enjoys the FPS genre. Even though the game is not visually impressive, the 8 hour or so campaign will entertain you as the game is a simple shooter with no convoluted missions or overly difficult puzzles. The multiplayer may not be active, but anyone who needs a quick FPS fix with a cinematic story should pick this game up.

Score:

Graphics: 6/10
The bland graphics takes away from the realism, but the game has nice art direction. Also, the level of gore would appease those who like to see the carnage of their dead opponent.

Sound: 7/10
The voice acting is fantastic along with some of the music that plays in the background. However, the noises the guns make sound like hitting a tin can continuously and the monotonous blowing up sounds detracts from the overall score.

Gameplay: 8/10
Fluid and responsive controls, but a number of great ideas were not executed properly (eg. Item creation and cover system)

Lasting Appeal: 5/10
Besides the single player campaign, there probably is no reason to come back to this game (especially in 2009 when there are many other games with a more active online community)

Overall: 7.5/10
There is nothing great about the game, but nothing bad about it either. An enjoyable experience those who like the FPS genre. Do not expect anything innovative, but expect to be entertained for a few hours.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/23/09

Game Release: Cold Winter (US, 05/11/05)