E3 | Cold War Impressions
E3 | Cold War First Look
Author: Susan 'Maj1013' Arendt
Publisher: Dreamcatcher Games
Developer: Mindware Studios
Platform: PC
Dreamcatcher has thus far been known primarily as a factory for classic adventure games such as recent hits Syberia and Syberia II. Wise enough to dance with the girl that brought them, the developer continues to crank out beautiful point and click puzzlefests, such as the upcoming titles Aura and Atlantis Evolution. Dreamcatcher's recent release of the first person shooter Painkiller proved that they could successfully move beyond static environments and countless doors with bizarre locks. The 3rd person action/adventure title Cold War should effectively finish what Painkiller started: giving Dreamcatcher cred as a solid action developer.
You play as a freelance journalist who inadvertently gets tangled in a conspiracy to control the U.S.S.R. (you'd be surprised how often that happens to us writer types). Shortly after you arrive in Moscow to work on a routine story, you're stripped of your belongings, beaten, and tossed in a KGB prison. Using improvised weapons and gadgets, you have to avoid being recaptured and defeat the conspirators, or else your butt is headed for Siberia.
At first glance, Cold War looks like a cross between Beyond Good and Evil and Splinter Cell. You're an average guy turned reluctant hero, using a nifty assortment of gadgets to sneak past all manner of guards, both mechanical and flesh and blood. The big difference, according to executive producer Tomas Pluharik is that the gameplay of Cold War is remarkably open. Instead of being "on rails," as he put it, you can wander around as you see fit, acquiring and achieving goals as you go. Most games of this nature, he explains, are really fairly linear. Even if you have more than one way to get past a guard, for example, you still have to get past him to continue. Cold War is designed to be more open and free-flowing, with the player directing the action instead of the other way around. Also, in a pleasant nod to reality, you don't go from average Joe to G.I. Joe once you pick up a gun. Yes, you can certainly shoot your way out of a situation, but you're no crack shot. I know games are about escapism, but it's kinda cool to for once not find yourself going from zero to Rambo.
The other thing a first glance will tell you is that Cold War is absolutely gorgeous. Ok, maybe that's not all that surprising, coming from a company that made its mark with games stuffed to the gills with eye-catching visuals, but it's one thing to make a pretty background, and another to make it seamless and fluid. The environments I saw were huge, detailed, and distinctive. One of the nicest effects I saw was an x-ray camera that comes in handy when you're trying to get the lay of the land without sticking your neck out. The animations were smooth and natural, with each character being easily recognizable from the others. Being set in iconic mid-80s Russia helps Cold War easily establish an identity and atmosphere without having to hit you over the head with it. Among the settings you'll visit are Chernobyl, Lenin's tomb and Ljubljanka prison.
Unfortunately, the demo I saw was strictly hands-off, so I can't say how easy the controls were to master, and I only got to see bits and pieces of levels, but I'm definitely intrigued. Cold War is due out for PC this winter and for the Xbox (yay!) sometime in 2005.
