Well... This one just didn't quite do it.
User Rating: 6 | Cold Fear PS2
Cold Fear ended up being one of those games that had a lot of good things but had even more bad things. The gameplay in Cold Fear wasn't horrible but it could have used a few tweaks here and there. There are 2 views you can use while playing through the game. First off there is the 3rd person view. This view is pretty much pointless except for making some pretty cool cinematic moments. The other view is an over the shoulder view where you're aiming your gun. You will proablly stay in this view most of the time whether you're walking or shooting just because it's a lot easier to use. One thing I've read a lot about before I bought this game was the loading times with the PS2 version. The only problem I saw with the loading times was that there were just too many. It didn't take but a few seconds to load the room but when you're just hopping from one room to the next all game long, it get's really old. Another thing that should be mentioned is there is no map. That means you will be walking aimlessly around the boat trying to figure out exactly where you're supposed to be... This is ecspecially annoying thanks to the frequent loading times mentioned above. The action is one thing the game did do right. You'll come up against countless enemies throughout the game. There are a lot of Russian enemies on board and even more monster enemies. The human enemies you'll face can be pretty easy to take down, but generally the monsters require you to shoot them in the head to kill them. If you miss the monsters head, but you shoot him enough that he falls to the ground for a second, you can just walk over him and smash his brains in with the bottom of your boot. Another thing the game did right was the amount of ammo and health you'll come across. The game will give you just enough ammo that you'll want to make your shots count. The health kits never seem too frequent. You always seem to come across a health kit just when you need it the most. The graphics, while not the greatest thing I've ever seen, are still very well done. The lighting, the detail to character, even the head popping animations look great! When you're out in the rain you'll see rain drops drip onto the screen. Or when you're shooting someones head off you'll see blood splatter on the screen. Almost makes you feel like you're there... Almost. The sounds usually play a big role in the "scare" factor of a game. While this may not be why this game failed to be scary, it certainly helped out. I mean it's supposed to be scary so where are the creepy sound effects? The monsters didn't sound scary, the boat didn't sound like it was being thrown around violently in the storm, and the voice acting could have used a lot more work. So on one hand, this game has little to no replay value, isn't scary, has a few clunky controls, and also a pretty sorry ending... And on the other, the gameplay is fun most of the time and the graphics are pretty good... I guess it's worth a rent... Well maybe. 
