by Scott - December 28, 2005

You are Matt Carter, a freelance journalist who, just twelve hours after arriving in Russia, is stripped of his possessions and finds himself amidst an international conspiracy. You will need to use your intelligence with creating gadgets and help from others to escape and clear your name or else you will executed.

Stealth Is The Key

Cold War is set in 1980�s Russia where you play as a regular journalist who must escape and uncover a conspiracy against him using recovered weapons and gadgets you create from objects you find along your way. This has a blend of gameplay that you�d expect from Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell and James Bond titles. The fact that Carter can make gadgets from anything he finds seems suspicious, but this is a video game and protagonists are allowed leeway. Controlling Carter is simple enough with just a keyboard and mouse. The mouse will be the workhorse of the operation, handling the aiming, use functions and interacting with context-sensitive locations. The mouse wheel (if you have one) is used to adjust your speed, from a sneak, to a walk and then to a jog. Keeping with the stealth aspect, you will obviously not want to be jogging around for everyone to see.

Stealth in Cold War is handed simply for the player, but in some places it like cheating. There is bar in the lower right corner that indicates how stealthy you are. Crouching and hiding in dark spots obviously keep that indicator low, while running through a well-lit hallway is sure to make you Captain Visible. The problem is that the A.I. can be too smart some times with the distance. This wouldn�t be a problem if the view distance in your perspective was farther, but darkness and the dusty fog that seems to drift around everywhere limits your view distance. Sometimes it won�t be until you see a officer�s outline before you can see him, but if you�re not hiding in complete darkness, more than likely he can see you. This forces the gameplay to being strict on the stealth and slowing it down as well. This can be both good and bad. There are going to be some levels that drive you nuts and sneaking around at a turtle�s pace doesn�t help. As you advance from the beginning, you�ll start to run into more advanced enemies and soon you�ll find yourself sweating from just sneaking around, even on easy settings.

Creating gadgets consist of finding junk around the level, from cans to alarm clocks. To create these gadgets you need to collect blueprints that add to your tech points. As you get more and more points, you�ll be able to create more and better gadgets. While I have found the best gadget being anything that fires a bullet, the later levels will start getting tough enough to facilitate the use of the gadgets. You can create slingshots that fire knockout darts, ether bombs to render enemies unconscious, or if you want to feel like a kid again, a luring device to attract attention. The problem with some of the gadgets is that they don�t seem to work perfectly or as used. Trying to attract attention elsewhere with a coin and a slingshot hardly work and the ether bomb is tough to use accordingly. As I said before, if the situation calls for it, stick with the bullet throwers.

As I mentioned before, the A.I. can be brutal, even on easy settings. If they see you they will not hesitate to put a bullet in your head. Unfortunately, you are not a super-marine that can take pain, you are just a journalist. This can be avoided by being stealthy, but once the proverbial manure hits the fan, you better find a place to hide. Taking down the enemy can be approached in several ways. Sneaking up behind them is cool enough, but the A.I. seems to have eyes in the back of their head. While this isn�t a problem once you�re allowed to kill the enemies, some missions require knocking out certain people. The bad part is that trying to knock out these certain people is very tough and frustrating. Once you are past all that, it definitely allows you to breathe a sigh of relief.

The cool part of Cold War is the x-ray camera you have. It is a huge help for you since you cannot see the location of enemies on your map (like Metal Gear Solid). With this camera you can fire a blast of x-ray power to blow up or disable alarms, disable guards or see what is behind the door. This is a neat feature but for detecting enemies it is only good for short range. Not knowing where the patrols are on the map makes you rely on memory and sometimes luck which most of the time is not with you.

Overall the gameplay in Cold War is an interesting change from most action stealth-themed games. Being fragile and relying on gadgetry to just live makes for fun gameplay in some levels. The A.I. is a little too tough though even on easier settings and the stealth action needs cleaning up.

Intense Visuals

The graphics in Cold War are incredible. The atmospheric effect of dust and darkness add to the element of excitement and stealth as you sneak around Soviet compounds and buildings. The colors are mostly dark and drab to reinforce the dark visuals of being �behind enemy lines�. Characters look very well detailed save for the lack of emotion on their faces during some in game cut scenes. Watching characters talk with no emotion ruins the immersion somewhat, but it isn�t too painful to watch. There are some cut scenes between levels that are done in comic book fashion. They have very little motion and look too silly to be taken seriously save for the dialogue. From the looks of it the look was done with CGI characters and then applied filters to achieve the comic book look. I would have figured that if the graphics looked so well that the cut scenes would have been done better.

Character animations are varied but can be stiff. The transition from Carter�s jogging to running looks roughly done and when you pick up objects they are awkwardly held and put away in your bottomless pocket. Handling firearms moves the camera to an over-the-shoulder view, but it feels unrealistic as you move. For a better visual, imagine Carter being pushed on a cart with wheels while wielding a sidearm.

The interior levels are impressive with realistic-looking locations and rooms. Most of them are unusually dark, even when in operation by an enemy. As I had mentioned above the dust and fog of levels hinder distance, which can work against you.

Overall the graphics of Cold War are impressive with level design and how the levels look as well as the characters themselves. However, they suffer from the lack of more motion and certainly emotion, which ruins the immersion.

So-So Audio

The sound in Cold War is average at best. The voice acting for Carter both makes him sound like a cheap comedian and overdramatic. The Russian accents on the guards and other Russian characters sounds genuine and professional. Sound effects in the environment are another matter. Footsteps and opening doors are too quiet to listen for approaching patrols. Enemies come at you just as silently as you can and finish you off before you even hear them. If they were louder or more defined it would sure improve the gameplay within the game.

The music can get repetitive while playing as it changes to when you are discovered or have set off an alarm. This gets annoying as you play over and over and while it can help to hint that you have been spotted, the alarm noises and guards firing pistols at you are just as helpful.

Overall Cold War�s sound effects are just too plain and generic. Environmental sounds are few and far in between to immerse the player within their surroundings.

Another Stealth Game

Overall Cold War is just another stealth game. While it has the conspiracy story within it along with some twists, it�s the same story that many gamers have seen before. Gamers who don�t want to focus too much on action and want to try a different kind of game from Splinter Cell should give Cold War a go around.