Cold Winter Review

Sitting at a roulette table in a face-to-face situation with the super-villain whilst sipping a Vodka Martini (shaken, not stirred) and at least one highly attractive lady gazing on lustily. To many people, the epitome of British spies pretty much starts and ends with James Bond: 007, License to Kill; the girls, the guns, the cars, the exotic locations â?“ all of which exudes a certain romanticism about the foreign intelligence agencies around the world. Cold Winter isnâ??t like that, and in fact, thatâ??s exactly what the developer Swordfish Studios wants players to know, with its strap-line of â??No Tux. No License. No Mercyâ? laying down the intentions of the game.

A strong first-person-shooter exclusive to the platform is something that the PlayStation 2 certainly lacks (with the exception of last yearâ??s Killzone) and there hasnâ??t been a title that really comes up to the standard that Xbox owners have been used to over the years. This year sees the release of Half-Life 2 on the Xbox, which won huge plaudits for itâ??s incredible use of physics and object interaction when it was released on the PC. If anything the release of Valveâ??s follow-up on the Xbox merely shows the gap in power between the two formats, especially since the original Half-Life was ported to the PS2 a couple of years ago.

The story of Cold Winter was always protected by Swordfish throughout its development, due to the various twists and turns as the game progresses. The foundation of the narrative sees the breakout of Andrew Sterling from imprisonment at Chang Political Prison in China for espionage and awaiting execution. An MI6 operative who was cut loose from the service after his incarceration, heâ??s broken out by Kim, a woman from Sterlingâ??s military past. Given a 9mm silenced pistol and an never-ending medipack, the ex-spy begins his fight out of the prison before embarking on a series of missions of increasing conspiracy and plot twistsâ?¦

If itâ??s one thing that has to be said about Cold Winter right now, itâ??s that the level of thought and planning that has gone on in the pre-production and production stages is incredible. It seems that Swordfish has thought about everything, and the results of probably countless meetings and brainstorming sessions are here in the game for all to see â?“ in fact this is game thatâ??s all about the gameplay and a fluid experience. This is evident right from the very first motion made by the player made in the game, which is when Kim asks Andrew to follow the torch. Whereas a similar technique has been used in the past to calibrate the sensitivity of the controls, Cold Winter actually goes one step further and detects whether the player prefers to use an inverted Y axis or not â?“ something that Swordfish has advised has approximately a 98% success rate. It may be a small detail, but itâ??s a detail that instantly pulls the player in to the action of the game and ignites a sense of immersive gameplay right from the off.

Cold Winter also features a series of components that Sterling can use to build other items including Molotov cocktails and lock picks. Again the idea further adds to the gameplay and whilst it may be a matter of picking up the various items and pressing the â??Xâ?? button, it plants the seed in the playerâ??s mind and reminds you that Sterling is (or rather was) a former spy and SAS soldier.

Loading screens are also brought into the game in a unique fashion that removes the fact that it is a loading screen by Swordfish integrating the screens with voice-over briefing sequences. As with the endless supply of medipacks and regular checkpoints, this implementation means that the flow of the game is rarely lost even during the loading sequences. It also means that endless button bashing to progress beyond a traditional briefing section is removed since the player is unable to do so until after the following level is loaded.

As has been mentioned in more than one FPS review here at TVG in previous months, the weapons in a lot of title in the genre can and regularly do seem weak and underwhelming, leaving gamers frustrated at the lack of grunt. This is not a worry or a concern that potential players of Cold Winter should have. The damage caused by the munitions in the game to unfortunate recipients is nothing short of brutal and shocking, which is quite surprising given the amount of violent games on the market today. The AK-47 is particular is one of the early weapons to explicitly show off some of the blood, gore, and decapitation held within the game. There certainly isnâ??t a lack of weapons in the game either, with a range of pistols, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, and heavy munitions becoming progressively available as the game goes on. Cold Winter also includes several grenades such as a fragmenting grenade, smoke grenade, and the aforementioned Molotov Cocktails, all of which can be used to deadly effect.

Swordfish has also implemented a very strong physics engine into Cold Winter, which reinforces a sense of realism and even transcends some of the FPS titles on Xbox such as the Rainbow Six 3 series. Although unable to shoot out the lights or cause much destructible damage beyond creating bullet holes and blowing apart boxes, the fact that every object is integrated in to the physics of the game is mightily impressive, especially on the PlayStation 2. Seeing low chains move realistically as Sterling passes below them and having the ability to use beds and tables as cover (something that the strong enemy AI utilises too) wipes the two minor points into obscurity.

The ability to move objects and use them as strong defensive cover is a key feature of the game, and means that where such items had been previously there to act as environmental â??eye-candyâ??, they now actually have a practical part to play in the game. In other FPS titles objects can be used as cover, however, Cold Winter gives players the ability to pick up and easily manoeuvre large items and move them into the suitable position â?“ once again, the level of thought in the pre-production stage of the game is very evident indeed. The physics engine is also well implemented with regards to the enemies too, so that when a bullet impacts with a part of their body they do react accordingly. Whilst a shot to the leg might drop to them temporarily to one knee, the damage isnâ??t permanent, which is slightly disappointing especially since the body can be easily shredded by using some of the more heavy weapons. Physics and weapon feedback aside, the game doesnâ??t really throw anything new in terms of graphics into the mix, and it is very much a PlayStation 2 title. The visual effects such as smoke, flames, and dynamic shadows all work well to lift the average textures out and further add to the realism of the game.

The enemy AI is again very impressive in Cold Winter, with soldiers and guards all taking evasive action with grenades and making cover out of environmental objects â?“ the fact that they call out for reinforcements and run out at Sterling when cornered makes for some interesting fire-fights. In fact the level of AI in the game is easily the best encountered in an FPS on the PS2 and sits highly amongst other titles in the genre on any format. Whatever visual negatives there are in the game pale into insignificance when you actually sit down and think about the level of depth that Swordfish have managed to programme.

As with most FPS titles, the weapons make the grade in terms of sound which helps to further adds weight to the power behind them. The voice acting is above average, and certainly helps to convey a sense of mystery and intrigue in the game â?“ there also seems to be emphasis towards British actors, which is certainly something doesnâ??t happen regularly in videogames (Lara Croft aside.) The musical score for Cold Winter is also suitably fitting, offering suitable audio atmosphere that perfectly compliments the game â?“ in fact it wouldnâ??t be out of place in a Hollywood thriller.

Swordfish has also included a series of Multiplayer options to expand the life of the game from four-player Multitap or eight-player via Net Play including King of the Hill and Last Man Standing. The option include twelve maps to play through as well as thirty player skins, and team options are also available to gamers. The option may not offer the most original multiplayer experience, but it all adds up to create a rounded experience away from the single-player mode...