The controls encompass something of a bridge between classic survival horror and more modern action. Like in ‘Silent Hill’ you are able to finagle your point of view, bypassing the hokey fixed camera angles and viewing your surroundings in FPS mode. This mode however is much more polished in ‘Cold Fear’. The first person sight feature soon becomes second nature, giving you an extra level of preparedness when entering a new room. Unfortunately, while the interaction is miles away from the old RE tank controls, there are still a few rough spots. Aiming over railings and other fixed objects can be frustrating, as the game keeps trying to switch between view modes. Likewise, your line of sight comes across rather skewed at first. Shots that seem like they should be clean hits are total misses. This learning curve is steep, but not too difficult to surmount. Like ‘RE4’, some weapons are equipped with laser sights, allowing you to draw a jolly red bead on your enemy. (However, this is much less useful than you would think; enemies tend to scurry about quickly, and the ship movement often interferes with pinpoint aiming.) There are a few nice new wrinkles in the game’s controls, such as grabbing onto railings and the like to steady yourself against the rolling sea. The resistance meter is also a neat idea. Running exhausts you, leaving you more vulnerable to attack. Said grabbing attacks are deflected by button mashing struggles (ala ‘RE4’) which allow you to perform super death moves on your more aggressive enemies.

Some very shallow stab is also made in the way of object interaction. You can shoot explosive fire extinguishers and electric panels to broil your enemies, but after the subtle exploration of ‘RE4’, it all lacks depth. (Yes I know it was basically my point that it’s unfair to compare them, but it’s almost impossible not to do so.)

Voice acting is fair enough, the accents don’t seem too hokey, and there is some genuin-ey Russian language dialogue to add flavor. (At least I assume it was real Russian, they could have been reciting borsht recipes and I wouldn’t have known the difference.)

Likewise, Cyrillic signs must be translated by aiming Tom’s noggin at them. Wee touches like this make any experience a bit more immersive. While the setting itself limits the game design to rather monochromatic surroundings, the art team uses the whaler setting about as well as they possibly can. Though the ship (and later lab) interiors are a bit ‘been there, done that’, they nicely detailed at least. The ocean environment in particular is very well realized, with gigantic dark waves and stinging spray constantly bombarding your vessel. Character models are likewise well rendered, Tom moves naturally, and the desiccated enemies you’ll be facing really are grody looking.

Now speaking of the slimy devil, don’t think you’ll be facing standard-issue cadavers here. Your fetid enemies have an unsettling tendency to break from their leaden pace and run full bore, shrieking at you. It should also be noted that these boogies are perhaps the first example of true zombies yet to appear in a video game. In many other games, while headshots may be more efficient, a constant barrage of lead will drop any undead. This is decidedly not the case in ‘Cold Fear’. You must destroy the brain of every single walking corpse you face, or they will simply keep getting up and coming after you. (And yes, personally, I did thus find them scarier than the parasite-ridden human "zombies" in ‘RE4’.)

Aside from the undead menace, you’ll be facing off against various other monstrosities. They are basically in the ‘Resident Evil’ giant mutant mold, and range from invisible insect like beings to loping polypy hulks. Thanks to the confining nature of your dark prison, the game does a fair job capturing shades of such film as ‘Virus’, and Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’. (It could be said to have something of a ‘Doom 3’ vibe to it as well) The claustrophobic quarters are tight enough for you to feel confined, yet meandering enough to leave one fearing an ambush. This ambience stacks up well against some of the older ‘RE’ games, and rather than considering the game a carbon copy of such, I find it best to of it as something of a control-improved update on the venerable old formula. (For my money, the corpse-haunted barge and abandoned research station are just as ominous as anything Umbrella ever cooked up.)

And it’s a good thing there’s enough borrowed vibe to go around, because this story is insufferably weak. While I’ll agree this is a standard problem with video games, survival horror is known for at least taking a stab at plot. Here, while we come across a few scraps of paper (detailing the past deeds of characters we don’t know and could care less about) the game never really expands on the basic scenario and character attributes established in the game’s manual. Even aside from branching out to explore larger themes, the game cuts corners with the spare linear events needed to drive things from point A to point B. (We can assume from dialogue that Anna removed the Exocel from Hansen, but when, and with what?)

There is just no emotional resonance. Hansen is foreshadowed in aforementioned manual as having past baggage (he was busted down into the Coast Guard) but aside from a throwaway line about an old girlfriend we never learn what the hell his deal is. Likewise, Anna is never truly developed in any way. When you meet her, she’s initially stuck-up and off-putting, but she’s hot, and the only living woman for a thousand miles, so you’d have to have the deductive powers of a clam not realize these two are gonna fall wind up all lovey-dovey. (Wait, a shaggy-haired guy falling for a difficult woman with a bad fake accent while they shoot zombies on a boat. Didn’t I play this game before? )

The game is far too short all around, but what’s worse is that the climax is so damn weak. While the boss himself isn’t bad, he’s a total pushover, and his death leads to nothing interesting. Our pals just fly away into the dark n’ stormy night, leaving behind them far too many unanswered questions, and any shot at this story having a point.
Oh well, at least you never face off against a garden gnome with a napoleon complex.

Still unfairly buried upon its initial release, ‘Cold Fear’ is pretty much wholly forgotten today. This really is a damn shame, as while the game may be decidedly old school, it’s very well executed classic survival horror. If you can get past its shortcomings, it’s a fine weekend rental at the least.