Zombies on a ship!!
The game takes place in a large Russian boat out in a freezing storm. The CIA orders you, Tom Hansen, a coast guardsman, to invest the ship. You'll find Russian soldiers and uncover secret testing facilities from the government. Zombies and mutants will roam around the ship as you find out the causes of the mutation and save the world.
Standing on deck, the ship rocks left and right, the waves come crashing on the side of the boat, the rain blurs your vision, and zombies are chasing you out in the center of this artic storm. The setting is remarkable and beautiful, but its not perfect. Outside on deck, you'll frequently run into zombies and Russian soldiers firing at you with machine guns. The camera is too focused on rocking the ship that it may become difficult to pinpoint your aim. Adding the occasional rain blur, you will occasionally lose sight of your enemies.
The interior of the ship is very dark with plenty of blood stains and corpses lying around. The rooms aren't particularly spacious either, and it helps accentuate the fear of being a target in an enclosed areas. However this doesn't work too well because most of the rooms are way too dark to explore. With the handgun being your only source of lighting, it's mandatory that players equip the handgun to explore and battle enemies. It seems the developers tried to remedy this problem by giving the monsters a glow in the dark eye. Even so, when your being pummeled by zombies and leeched in pitch black darkness, you'll either waste rounds firing and hoping to hear a body hit the ground, or running for the nearest exit all while switching to your handgun for some lighting.
The game play is broken down into missions. You'll be pick up key items, unlock doors, and rescue a women. Save points are automatic. You won't be able to save unless you advance the game and complete an objective. Usually before tough battles or "trial and error" situations, the game will prompt you with a save screen, and it's usually a good idea to save. Your explorations will take place in 3rd person view, with an overhead camera. In combat, you'll switch to a flawed behind-the-shoulder view. Many times when camera angles change, your character will walk in the opposite direction. There are also moments where Headshots won't decapitate a zombie, and you must always blow their heads off to kill them. I found that if you tried to kill a zombie on a stair, its almost nearly impossible because your character can't aim near his feet.
The sounds department is the best part of Cold Fear. You can hear the zombies shriek (they don't moan nor bite, they just want to kill..), the conveniently placed barrels that explodes, the mushy exploding heads, and the notable artic storm. There is also a strange rock/techno theme that runs during zombie encounters. It doesn't fit the horror theme, and makes the game feel like a slaughter-fest (which it really is due to an over abundance of zombies and mutants). One gripe that bugged me was Tom Hansen's obnoxious one-liners. Whenever you try to open a locked door, he'll say things like "Danm, it's locked" or "Great, just great". It sounds a bit over exaggerated and uncharismatic. The cut scenes further elevates his unlikable personality in an extreme environment.
Almost all the zombies look alike. There is very little enemy variations and one boss battle to speak of. The monsters don't look too horrific, but their AI makes them a threat. Some will play dead, and jump at you as get close. They'll run at you and swing axes or fire rifles. Some zombies have creatures called Exocels that'll come out of their bodies and look for a new host or attack you. There will also be Russian soldiers that'll cover and fire at you. There are certain events where zombies and Russians are duking it out, its pleasant and fun to watch, but when the battle is over, they'll start walking in your direction and attack. The enemy AI is very questionable. Their fast and they can climb a stair to catch you off guard, Sometimes they can be dense and walk right off the ship and into the ocean.
Unlike Jill valentine or James Sunderland, Tom can't stock up on healing items when he sees them. He can't pick up ammo for weapons that he hasn't acquired, and he doesn't carry a map. You'll frequently backtrack to restore health and stock up on ammo, all while getting lost on this huge ship with no sense of direction. Each door you enter comes with a brief loading screen, and you'll identify the room name by reading the Russian words on the door. However, this takes lots of memorization and many door signs mis-translate the room names.
Now lets get down to what really matters in this genre, horror and entertainment. Cold Fear does have its moments where it made me jump, but everything else is severely lacking. The environments look great and nightmarish, but they don't stand out. The enemies are bloody and detailed, but their similarity bogs down their impact. Cheap scares are abundant, and you'll see it before it comes. What happens when you walk past the bunk beds with dead soldiers? Or how the zombie sleeping inside the cyro tank? The minute you walk past, they'll burst out and start chasing you. I do question why some zombies randomly climb up on the side of the boat in an artic storm, and ones that come crashing down from a ceiling like ninjas.
Cold Fear was a very promising title. The setting was perfect, the environments are well detailed, and the sound of gusty wind, pouring rain, roaring ocean slamming across the ship is immersive. If only the camera and controls worked better, we'd have ourselves a contender. We seen it all done before and there's really no reason to play cold fear.