Cold War Impressions

We recently had a chance to see Cold War, the upcoming stealth action game from DreamCatcher and Czech developer Mindware Studios. In Cold War, you'll play as independent journalist and former CIA agent Razor Kane during the height of the Cold War struggle between the US and the Soviet Union. While in Moscow, you get caught up in an international conspiracy and must pursue the story while outwitting and evading the authorities.

The gameplay in Cold War is reminiscent of the gameplay found in Ubisoft's Splinter Cell games. We were shown one level in which Razor Kane must infiltrate Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square. By hiding in the shadows, Kane is able to avoid the roving patrols, but he can be detected if he strays into view of a guard or if he makes too much noise. After waiting for a guard to pass by, Kane can sneak up behind him and knock him out, then hide the body. While you'll have access to some firearms, you're supposed to minimize casualties, so your most useful piece of equipment will be your slingshot, which you can use to cause a distraction or to inject a guard with a tranquilizer. You can also plant ether and luring mines to take out guards. Ether mines emit a gaseous cloud that knocks out guards, while the luring mine will create a distraction and draw a guard to investigate.

Another neat piece of equipment at your disposal is the X-ray camera, which literally lets you see through walls and human beings. By using the camera, you can detect where guards are in a building. The way you can see a human skeleton moving about is presented with an interesting visual effect. But the camera also has other potential uses. For example, you can use it to determine the path of a cable connecting a surveillance camera with a guard hut. You can then cut the wire to kill the camera.

The graphics in Cold War look very good, and the game incorporates the latest pixel-shader technology, so you can experience cutting-edge graphics as long as your video card is up to the task. The game is single-player only, so there isn't a multiplayer component. The gameplay in Cold War feels a bit familiar, but the presentation is quite strong. We may have to wait a bit longer for the game, though, as it appears that Cold War may miss its Christmas ship date and slip to 2005. We'll keep you up to date with developments.