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Cold War - First Look Preview
Derek dela Fuente
21/06/2004
Derek sneeks inside the HQ of Mindware to get the scoop on this stealth/adventure title...
From the recent E3 there were a number of games that stood out and if you had to pick one title from a selected band of publishers then Cold War from Dreamcatcher would be the choice pick from this Canadian publisher.
Billed as a stealth action strategy game, it is the ultimate fight for survival behind Russian Lines, which follows a freelance journalist who finds himself in the midst of an international conspiracy that aims to control the U.S.S.R. It chronicles events twelve hours after his arrival in Moscow for a routine story where he has been stripped of all possessions, beaten unconscious and thrown into the KGB's political prison. He must now evade or overcome elite Soviet forces and defeat the conspiracy before he is sent to a Siberian prison camp or killed.
Derek dela Fuente spoke with Karel Papik, CEO Mindware Studios from the Czech Republic, who gave us an exclusive insight into what the team was hoping to achieve in a game due for the end of 2004 which is looking remarkably detailed and one we shall be keeping tabs on, from a team who appear to have a collection of talented people.
âCold War is the first game from Mindware Studios and we are fortunate enough to have people who have worked on projects such as Hidden & Dangerous, Original War, UFO, etc. Our biggest advantage is that the game Cold War uses environments from the real Cold War, which is something we have experienced substantially. We are thus able to depict this environment better than those teams who did not have such experiences in the past.â
Mindware has tried to create a game that does not run along the lines of a set formula and will give gamers some fresh perspective and ideas. With some great looking and detailed locations recreated from mid-1980s U.S.S.R: Chernobyl, the Mausoleum and the KGB's notorious Ljubljanka prison, once you enter into Cold War you will be immersed and impressed with the kind of detail on offer.
âWe are happy that our hero is not just another super-deadly agent, but a journalist, a guy who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong moment. Even though he can shoot, this is often a last resort; he must improvise and be very shrewd to succeed. The tasks are varied and traps have more than one solution.â
Our journalist goes to the Soviet Union on a banal and ordinary job, but soon he gets involved in a secret service plot and is falsely accused. He is desperately trying to save his life. He escapes, but the enemy is everywhere, and he cannot just hide and wait until they forget about him. He must get to know his enemies, trace their trail, find their weak spots, cross their paths and defeat them.â
Sneak around â“ action counter terrorists games - appear to be the flavour for 2004 and Cold War offers the kind of action that gamers presently canât seem to get enough of. The familiar objectives of moving around enemy installations, with a bag load of weapons, trying not to be spotted may appear to be an all too common scenario but with devious puzzles and some clever ideas Mindware is hoping to create their own unique package which will also throw up a number of solutions for each task and possible outcome. Thankfully the action to succeed will need some cool thinking and will not be mindlessly set.
Getting the right kind of plausibility to ensure cerebral ideas and full immersion for the player requires not only a very ambient and detailed setting but one where the enemy, and also the person you control, acts accordingly.
Karel spoke about the teamâs focus in ensuring the gameâs cast has a wealth of behavioural responses pertaining to what is happening onscreen, as he went on to comment.
âThe behavioral interaction of the game is important and is an area we are working on. We believe that the AI is very understandable, so the player always knows what is going on in the game, whether the enemy is doing fine and drinking vodka or whether they are searching for him, if they are running to get help or if they are running away from him. There are many reactions and we are trying to distinguish them to offer a game of real believability!â
It goes without say that a game of espionage, action and counter terrorism goes hand in hand with a boot load of weapons and gadgets and Cold War is no exception.
The predominant third person camera view switching to first-person when using gadgets is well implemented and a host of tech toys will have gamers wanting more. Mindware does appear to be moving along the right lines and the mix appears just about right.
âThe gameâs would be hero has a pistol, a nice makarov, and he'll easily plug someone. But this weapon is noisy and thus not always ideal for his actions. Luckily, he is equipped by a rather vast arsenal of various malicious weapons like mines, a slingshot or the marvelous x-ray, which allows him not only to see through walls, but also to fry the brains of his enemies like a microwave oven or remotely detonate fire extinguishers.â
So with a good game design, a good layout as well, it must be commented on that its actual looks certainly elevates it high in the order of presentation with more polish and sophistication still to be added. Karel commented that the game Cold War involves lights and shadows, but the player is not dependant on them - he can hide under a bed or in a cabinet. Many game objects are interactive, for example cameras, safety doors, laser traps, etc. There appear to be many touches in the game that you would not notice but the endless amount of detail builds to present a rich setting.
With a massive setting, one which is very open ended, you do not feel you are being guided or on rails and gives you a real sense of purpose.
Yes, the environments are often very open and it is up to you to try to sneak through a corridor or if you find an open window, you will need to shimmy hand-over-hand on the window sills (careful though, it is slippery in places and you may also get pushed away by hot steam). The game being set in places, which are real beacons of the Soviet Union, gives Cold War, a spark! It is amazing how this environment fits into our conspirator story; imagine you are crawling through the marble hallways of the Lenin Mausoleum or through the secret corridors of the Kremlin!â
