Introduction:

Project: Snowblind initially started life out as Clan Wars, which was to be a part of the Dues Ex series. As anyone who has played Deus Ex would know , that game was full of issues. In an effort to lose any bad stigmas the decision was made to re-name it, Project: Snowblind was born.

Project: Snowblind Vital Stats

System Requirements:

• The minimum system requirements are as follows:
• OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows 2000/Windows XP (admin rights required) (Windows® 95/98/ME/NT not supported)
• CPU: Pentium IV 1.5GHz (or AthlonXP equivalent)
• RAM: 256 MB System Memory
• GRAPHICS: 100% DirectX 9 compatible 64MB Direct3D Card with Pixel Shader 1.1 support (GeForce 3/Radeon 8500+)(GeForce 4MX not supported)
• SOUND: 100% DirectX 9 compatible Sound Card
• OPTICAL DRIVE: DVD-ROM drive
• HARD DRIVE: 3GB free disk space
• INPUT DEVICES: Keyboard and Mouse

Recommended Spec:

• CPU: Pentium IV 2.4GHz (or AthlonXP/64 equivalent)
• RAM: 512MB System Memory
• GRAPHICS: 100% DirectX 9 compatible 128MB Direct3D Card with Pixel Shader 2.0 support (GeForce 6 Series/Radeon X series)
• INTERNET: LAN and Broadband Internet play supported.

Game original release date: March 2005

Developer: Crystal Dynamics

Publisher: Eidos Interactive

File information: No patches released, demo available but contains SecuROM

Project Snowblind Homepage

Setup & Install:

The game was easily installed, since it came on one DVD-ROM. All games should come this way by default, instead of charging more for the DVD-ROM version. After all it costs less to produce one DVD than 4 - 5 CDs.

When I first got Project:Snowblind it had just been released, and was $34.99 from my neighborhood Game Stop. Not a bad price for a new release with MP, or so I thought. Now it can be found for as little as $14.99 !

The movement and interaction keys are all the default that you find in most all games. These can be changed to suit your personal gaming tastes.

Graphics & Sound:

At the time of it's release Snowblind had some hard acts to follow in the way of graphics. Games such as Half Life 2 and Painkiller.

Project: Snowblind's look would best be described as a cross between Halo and Deus Ex. The movements of the characters do use the ragdoll physics, nonetheless seem to be awkward, and cumbersome. You want to move faster, but the only times you can is when you use 'reflex boost'. This is one of special abilities you gain later in the game. Now having played Painkiller, which utilizes ragdoll physics to its fullest, I'm not sure what went wrong with Snowblind.

Story:

Singleplayer:

The singleplayer starts out at a fast clip. You are at a military base in Kowloon, China that is under attack. The action continues, giving you the opportunity to learn weapons, and some tactics. This is also where you learn it is hard to separate the good guys from the enemy. The uniforms for all character models are very similar in appearance.



(Just bring boys!I like these odds!)

All this action is just to prep you for the main storyline. That storyline includes the part where you die, and are brought back to life.This is not a new direction for a single player storyline, and Project Snowblind really does not bring anything new to the table to make it stand out.

When you are brought back to life, you're an augmented soldier. You have some special abilities which are pretty cool. They include the electrical storm, thermal vision, cloak generator and reflex boost.

The enemies in Snowblind can be quite formidable. They have similar weapons, and are more robot than human.



(Peek-a-boo! I shoot you!)

When you are killed you can hit the 'Shift' key, and automatically you will respawn where you were. There are limited number of times for those, so you want to use them carefully.

Unfortunately, there are no random save points, only set ones in-game. However, they do seem to be placed at all critical spots.

There are 13 weapons, and most have an alternative fire. Each one does have a map or situation that it is best suited. I did find that my favorite weapons were the rocket launcher ( usually love this in any game!), and the stealth pistol.

The single player is relatively short, with only about 10 - 12 hours to complete it. There are no levels of difficulty, so the replay at a harder level is not open to you. Which is a real shame.

MultiPlayer:

Going from the single player to the multi you are subjected to a constant load screen. This is painfully slow, so be ready to wait. When this first happened I thought the game had crashed, but found out it was normal. To play online you also have to register an account, but this is not unusual anymore in games.

There are seven (7) gameplay modes in MP: TDM, CTF, Fast CTF, Tactical Assault, Assault, Demolition and Quick Demolition.

When I initially got the game MP was fun. It was very fast paced, more so than I had expected. With the mode varieties there was plenty to choose from. However, at this point the number of server(s) is very few and players are even more sparse.



(I'll be taking your flag now!)

Anyone who knows me, knows I am HUGE on anti-cheats for games. Specifically PunkBuster. Project: Snowblind does not even require a CD key be entered to play, much less any kind of anti-cheat. WOW! When will game companies realize this is the kiss of death for games?

Conclusion:

Project: Snowblind was once one of those games that held promise for me. Promise of being the next great game for me to enjoy for endless hours of gaming goodness. Alas, this was not meant to be. The game brings nothing new really to PC FPS games genre. What it did bring were issues that were never fixed in patches. No anti-cheat so cheaters ran amuck. All things combined really dwindled down any community this game could have had. In the end Project: Snowblind can be listed as another of those games that had promise, but missed the mark.


In the GameApex World of Do Over or No Do Over, I say Project: Snowblind gets a No Do Over!

So, would you say the game...

Falls flat on it's face, and hits several branches on the way down only to get hit by a car before slamming into the pavement. ?

Good Do-Over. I'm sorry you had to suffer through it again

Great review, Foe. It's a shame that the Devs (etc) just didn't manage to get it right with this game, and all i can say about not having the option to play on servers that utilize some sort of anti-cheat system: To the creators of this game - put down the crack pipe and step away from the keyboard!

I think that there's a lot of pressure on companies that create and market games to come up with something that's completely revolutionary. In my opinion, that's not necessary, and i think it detracts from the bottom line of any game: it has to be fun to play.

Thanks for the comments guys!

And yes Stud, I would classify this in the immortal words of Marvel_T0xin:

Quote: Falls flat on it's face, and hits several branches on the way down only to get hit by a car before slamming into the pavement. ?

:biggergri