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Project Snowblind is a new first-person shooter from Eidos. You play Nathan Frost, a soldier set in the future where the weaponry is more advanced, the cities have a futuristic style, and there are many enemies that are highly intelligent robots.

The game starts off with a bang right in the middle of a battle. I was a bit disappointed with the game at first because the first couple of levels seemed just to consist of me running and shooting. There never was a time when I needed to take cover or use some sort of strategy to fight the enemy. I would basically run as close as I could to them and fire. I quickly learned that this was intentional as the game wanted the player to get a feel for the controls and how the game felt. Later levels proved to be more strategic and a lot more fun. No longer could I run around into open areas without gunfire being rained on me. I was really happy about this because I thought this game was going to be an unchallenging run-n-gun type of shooter. It turned out that the game would be a mix of shooting, vehicle driving, interaction with the environment, and other such variations done with FPSs.

The controls, which are probably the most important part of a FPS, are perfect. The game uses the standard dual-analog stick setup where the left stick is movement and the right stick is used to turn and free look. Placement of firing is put onto the shoulder buttons, and there is a zoom feature by pressing in the right analog stick. I particularly really enjoyed this as it made zooming quick and easy since you are already aiming with the right stick. If there's one feature that I really missed it was the ability to be peek around corners. At the beginning of the game I didn't really notice its absence, but later as the game got harder and I had to take more cover, not being able to peek and fire was a huge loss. This being the only complaint, I'd have to say the controls were just short of perfection.

One of the main themes Snowblind presents are the different augmentations Frost can use. These are different power-ups that can be used for a short period of time. I found them to be very useful, and they definitely put a spin onto certain combat situations. Examples of two augs I used a lot were slowing time down and body shield. I mainly used the slow-time aug when certain situations got hairy and I needed to take down 10-15 enemies at once. This aug helps you aim and dodge enemy fire better. The shield was used when my health reached a critical level. Of course you can pick and choose to when you use these according to your preferences and strategies. These augmentations are also great to expand the game's variety.

Graphically the game runs at a smooth 30 frames per second. I didn't notice any drop off or graphical glitches of any kind. The game definitely has a dark feel to it. The city streets are very hip and they have a sort of Japanese, techno, futuristic look: very enjoyable to look at. There are florescent signs and lighting everywhere to help with this look. Besides the lighting of these signs, most of the environments will be dark and gloomy. This helped the overall look of the game, because if you get close to certain objects you'll notice that the textures are not done very well. Again, this is OK because of the way the game is presented.

The graphical effects are something to adore, too. Explosions, gun bursts, electrical bursts all look fantastic. One thing I was particularly impressed with was the draw distance. Even though most of the game is confined to within buildings or streets, there were certain times when looking down the streets, you could see all the way down. The sound is just as good as the graphics. You'll hear your fellow soldiers talking during combat, which really immerses you. All the little sounds of bullets, rain, footsteps -- they are all realistic but do a great job of sitting in the background so they don't distract you. The guns also sound nice, particularly the shotgun, as loading a round of shells into someone seemed very powerful due to the heavy effects. By far the voice work of the game is still the most impressive when it comes to sound.

Snowblind also features LAN multiplayer and online action. Both have the same features, and I was really impressed with the online mode because lag was basically absent. I tried many different servers and connections and never experienced any problems with lag. The only problem with the multiplayer and online modes is that they seemed a bit bland. There's nothing there that separates it from other shooters, and the level designs, which are a very important aspect to multiplayer, were pretty dull and basic. It's good the game has these modes, though. It makes the replay value a lot better, and online play is almost a given nowadays with FPSs. I was a bit sad that there was not split-screen action too.

If there's one main problem with the game, it's that, aside from the augmentations, the game does not stand out at all from other FPSs. One could even argue that the augmentations have been done before, just not in this way. The originality of the game is weak, and it bothered me quite a bit while playing. I always had this feeling of "Man, it seems like I've done this already". This didn't necessarily strike down the fun factor, but there were times when I was just playing the game and wasn't having fun but wasn't having a bad time either. It was almost as if I was in a zone of no emotions. A lot of this was because of the repetition of playing a standard FPS.

Besides my last point, everything in the game is done beautifully. The voice work and look of the cities definitely are the standouts. It's too bad that the actual gameplay could not stand out in certain areas. I do give the game a lot of credit for its variety, and this aspect of the game really keeps it good. The game looks good, sounds good, and plays pretty darn well, even if the gameplay is unoriginal. However, with as much variety as this first entry brings to the table, there is a ton of room for this series to grow.

Graphics: A-

Sound: A-

First Play: C+

Last Play: B

Gameplay: B

Overall: 85% B