Project Snowblind
| Project: Snowblind | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Crystal Dynamics | ||
| Publisher | Eidos Interactive | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
PlayStation 2 & Xbox February 23, 2005 March 4, 2005 (PS2) March 11, 2005 (Xbox)
Windows March 17, 2005 April 1, 2005  |
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| platform | PlayStation 2 , Xbox , Microsoft Windows | ||
| Game engine | GexOmen | ||
| genre | First person shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Mouse & keyboard , gamepad | ||
| medium | DVD-ROM , download | ||
| Age rating |
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Project: Snowblind is a first-person shooter from the US computer game developer Crystal Dynamics and published by the British computer game publisher Eidos Interactive . The player takes on the role of Nathan Frost, a soldier of an international peacekeeping force called the Liberty Coalition. After being seriously injured during an enemy attack, Frost is implanted with experimental nano-technological augmentations and body modifications that will make him a “soldier of the future”. With his new skills, Frost must help the Coalition win against their mighty enemies.
action
The story is set in Hong Kong in the year 2065. The city is unexpectedly attacked by enemy troops from the so-called Republic, led by a renegade Chinese general named Yan Lo. The international peacekeeping force Liberty Coalition based in Hong Kong is tasked with defending the island against the invaders. The focus of the plot is Nathan Frost, 2nd Lieutenant of the Liberty Coalition, who is life-threateningly wounded in a surprise attack by Republic soldiers while trying to save the life of a wounded soldier. Frost's life is saved by the coalition with the help of experimental nanotechnology . Through his special abilities, which are made available to him through his nanotechnical augmentations , Frost takes the lead role in the counterattack of the Coalition on the Republic, whereby he a scientist of the Republic named Dr. Joseph Liaw helps with the overflow. Dr. Liaw informs Frost of General Yan Lo's secret plan called Project: Snowblind.
Yan Lo believes that technology has made mankind weak and therefore plans to detonate an EMP bomb in New York, Paris and Hong Kong . So a large part of the engineered civilization would come to a standstill and plunge the world into a new Dark Age .
In an attempt to prevent the general from carrying out his plan, Frost launches an attack on Yan Los's secret underground bunker, where he meets elite soldiers, also nano-augmented, and finally the general himself. The general, like Frost, turns out to be an augmented oversoldier who was created twenty years earlier with less advanced biomechanical technology. The painful side effects of these physical augmentations drove the general insane and fueled his hatred of modern technology. It comes to the fight between Frost and Yan Lo, in which both deal with almost identical special powers. Frost proves victorious, while Yan Lo overcharges and eventually explodes. However, Frost cannot stop Project: Snowblind from continuing.
In a last-ditch effort to stop Project: Snowblind, Frost and the remaining Coalition soldiers attack the factory where the EMP bombs are being prepared for the attack. Frost succeeds in destroying the factory while the Coalition soldiers defend the entrances against the oncoming enemy reinforcements. The end sequence shows Frost and the remaining coalition soldiers on their way back to the nearest coalition base.
Gameplay
General
Similar to Deus Ex , Project: Snowblind offers the player a variety of options for making decisions about how to solve the tasks. Although the course of the game is largely linear, most levels contain several solutions, for example for a more combat-oriented style of play or a stealth-oriented approach. Unlike in Deus Ex , the game focuses exclusively on fights, even if several approaches are also possible here. Every weapon in the game has a secondary fire mode, some with exotic effects like a swarm of homing robotic drones. In addition, the player has a selection of grenades at his disposal, with effects such as a temporarily stationary energy screen, behind which the player can take cover. The player can use a special Icepick device to hack enemy surveillance cameras, self-firing systems and robots and direct them against the enemy. The game also includes various vehicles. Ultimately, the player character possesses a wide range of nanotechnological augmentations with which he can acquire various skills and which represent one of the main aspects of the game. At the beginning only a few skills are active, but as the game progresses, Frost's skill arsenal expands steadily.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer mode takes over various game elements of the campaign such as the vehicles, the ability to hack surveillance cameras and self-firing systems on the battlefield, or various augmentations. There are six characters with different special abilities to choose from (Grunt, Heavy, Scout, Sniper, Agent, Berserkera). There are also different game modes to choose from:
- Deathmatch / Team Deathmatch
- Hunter
- Capture the flag
- Fast flag capture
- Tactical Assault
- Assault
- Quick demolition
development
Project: Snowblind was originally conceived as a multiplayer-focused offshoot of the Deus Ex computer game series, with the working title Deus Ex: Clan Wars . After the disappointing sales of Deus Ex: Invisible War , the references to the Deus Ex game world were canceled and the game was marketed as an independent product. However, some elements of the game are visibly reminiscent of corresponding elements of Invisible War , such as the spider-like mini-robots or the energy cells for charging the augmentations.
The development work was officially completed on February 14, 2005, on February 23, the game was first available for Xbox and PlayStation 2. The PC version only followed in March.
| role | English speaker | German speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Lt. Nathan Frost | André Sogliuzzo | Tom Vogt |
| Pitney Specialist | Stefan Marks | Dietmar miracle |
| Sgt. Major Chung | Keone Young | |
| Lt. Col. Kanazawa | Chris Edgerly | |
| Dr. Joseph Liaw | James Hong | |
| PFC. John Walker | Earl Gough | |
| Sgt. Stilwell | Robin Atkin Downes |
reception
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The game was criticized for its short duration and the low multiplayer activities, but also praised for its entertaining gameplay. The reference to The Six Million Dollar Man was drawn several times for the player character Nathan Frost .
The PC Games criticized the fact that the game on PC shows its console origin, especially with the graphics, which are characterized by blurry, pale textures and numerous visible edges. The artificial intelligence of the computer opponents is also bad and the physics effects are far behind the performance of comparable competitive titles such as Half-Life 2 .
"The all-rounder among the shooters: Snowblind does everything, but nothing very well."
Web links
- Official website
- Project: Snowblind at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ivan Sulic: Snowblind: Multiplayer Exposed. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , February 11, 2005, accessed August 6, 2015 .
- ↑ Tor Thorsen: Snowblind was Deus Ex: Clan Wars . In: Gamespot . June 16, 2004. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
- ↑ a b http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/project-snowblind-/test/project_snowblind,33306,1452450.html
- ^ Ivan Sulic: Snowblind Gold. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , February 14, 2005, accessed August 6, 2015 .
- ↑ http://www.onlinewelten.com/games/project-snowblind/news/bekannte-deutsche-stimmen-8555/
- ↑ http://www.gameswelt.de/project-snowblind/news/deutsche-stimme-von-laurence-fishburne,79345
- ^ Project Snowblind (PS2) . In: Metacritic . CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
- ^ Project Snowblind (PC) . In: Metacritic . CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
- ^ Project Snowblind (Xbox) . In: Metacritic . CNET Networks . Retrieved November 1, 2008.
- ↑ a b c http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/Allgemein/Test/4448/3527/0/Project_Snowblind.html
- ↑ a b c http://www.gamepro.de/playstation/spiele/ps2/project-snowblind/test/project_snowblind,34571,1292809.html
- ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/project-snowblind-review/1900-6119126/
- ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/project-snowblind-review/1900-6121653/
- ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/project-snowblind-review/1900-6119124/
- ↑ a b http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/snowblind/599829p1.html
- ↑ http://www.ign.com/games/project-snowblind/ps2-683184
- ^ Ivan Sulic: Project: Snowblind. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , March 31, 2005, accessed August 6, 2015 .
- ↑ http://www.ign.com/games/project-snowblind/xbox-683516
- ↑ a b c http://www.pcgames.de/Project-Snowblind-PC-98000/Tests/Project-Snowblind-369580/