Cold Fear features great gameplay, violence, gore, top of the line graphics and sound...what more do you want?
While you are playing the game, you will have a third person view, and an over the shoulder view. Both camera angles are effective. While in over the shoulder view, you will be able to use the right analog stick on the Dualshock 2 controller to turn Hansen any which way you want. Mutants and other enemies need to be shot in the head to actually die, and over the shoulder view makes it easy to blow the brains out of your enemies.
Tom walks slowly through the environments, but you have an option of running as well, just by pressing and holding the X button of your PS2 controller. There will be times that you will have to time your moves, in order to keep from slipping off the edge of the rocking ship. You can feel the rocking of the ship, explosions, and Tom's heartbeat through the vibration of the controller. You will undoubtedly find many things realistic about Cold Fear's environments.
Apart from the environments, Cold Fear's controls are easy to learn, and ammo and health always seems to be around right when you need it, which is convenient and makes for a more enjoyable and less frustrating gameplay experience.
Cold Fear's graphics are top of the line, with obvious effort put into the in-game videos and graphics of the game itself. Characters and enemies contain much detail. While you go through the game, you will unlock "The Art of Cold Fear" which will show you some of the original designs for the game. They are quite impressive, and really show off the talent of the artists behind the game. Although not as impressive as some of the graphics in Square Enix's Final Fantasy series, the graphics and art designs in the game are really good, and no one should have anything to complain about them. The game has a lot of blood and gore as well, which make the game even more enjoyable! (for me anyway).
Music in Cold Fear adds to the game's creepy atmosphere, and sounds of mutants groaning are somewhat freaky at times. Also included in the credits of the game is Marilyn Manson's "Use Your Fist and Not Your Mouth", which is a really great song.
This game will last you about 8 hours, maybe a little bit more, but it is truly an enjoyable experience. A cheap one at that too. You can find this game for $20 or even less. It doesn't have much replay value, but you could always just play it again for fun! It's a worthy addition to any game collection.
Overall, Cold Fear is a great game. It should not be missed by anyone with a PS2, XBOX, or PC for that matter. The story and gameplay will have you begging for more, and the graphics and sound are top of the line. What more do you want?