Cold War Review - PC, Xbox

Instead of playing the part of Sam Fisher, super covert op, Cold War puts you in the shoes of Matt Carter, a freelance journalist in the midst of an international conspiracy to overthrow the U.S.S.R. (remember that place?) There is much sneaking and stealthy combat, but a lot of the fun comes from the variety of 'found' gadgets and gizmos. Cold War is a fun, sometimes quirky, stealth action game that more than adequately fills the gap between now and the next Splinter Cell.

Being a journalist myself, the idea of playing an action hero journalist in the height of the cold war certainly had a lot of appeal. Though I don't expect we videogame reviewers would last long in Cold War Moscow. Fortunately, Matt Carter, the hero/freelance journalist of Cold War, has more skills and athletic ability than yours truly.

Cold War is an earnest attempt to create a new style of stealth action game. Instead of playing super-spy, players act as a civilian caught in the middle of a soviet-era conspiracy. The story twist allows for some creative plot elements, as well as a reason for the hero not to have unlimited resources, instead relying on a bevy of 'found' objects and gadgets. Chief among the gizmos has to be the x-ray camera. The x-ray cam not only offers brilliant eye-candy, but is an integral part of the gameplay. The same, unfortunately, is not true of all the gadgets.

The stealth action is deep and engaging, until you get spotted. Then it becomes an action fight or ends up with you running for dear life. Sadly, a flaw in the level design makes it very difficulty to run and hide once you are discovered, so let's hope you've found and have ammo for a rifle.

For the money, Cold War is a hard game to beat. With strong visuals, tight controls and a compelling story it's an easy game to recommend. Will it change the gaming world? Nah, but it certainly an entertaining diversion.