Project: Snowblind is set in the year 2065 and casts you in the role of Nathan Frost, a soldier in a peacekeeping force sent to Hong Kong to protect it from the expansionistic desires of a Chinese warlord. After fighting off a particularly frenzied assault by the enemy, you are severely injured while trying to save a compatriot from certain death. Certain that you have reached the end of the line, you’re in for a bit of a surprise when you later wake up a new man. Literally. The doctors were not only able to save your life, but in the process they have turned you into a super-soldier. Implants enhance your natural abilities, as well as giving you powerful new ones. As the game progresses you’ll receive further mods, giving you a very rich set of special abilities by the end of the game. The mods include sight and HUD enhancements that allow you to see through walls or to turn on a very handy objective beacon that will use pulsating circles to direct you to where you need to go. But there’s more here than just visual aids – you will eventually gain the ability to move at super speeds effectively slowing down the world around you in a “bullet time” style effect, to turn yourself invisible for those times when stealth is more prudent than gunfire, and to create a shield around you to protect yourself from damage. Lest these enhancements turn you into an invincible machine and in turn take the fun out of the game, your enhancements require energy and will deplete your energy bar quite quickly. Luckily for you there are also plenty of power-ups to help you recharge.

I said keep out!

Backing up your high-tech body is the arsenal of weapons that you’ll have at your disposal. There are the requisite assault rifles, shotguns, and rocket launchers, each with secondary fire modes, but you’ll also have access to some more unique weapons. One is a gun that can fire special projectiles into control consoles, allowing you to hack the computers within. Why risk life and limb fighting a robotic mech or assaulting an automated defense cannon when you can hack into a console and take control yourself? Or you can pick up a pulse rifle that will arc from one enemy to another letting you hit multiple targets with a single shot. Then there’s the interesting Kinetic Kicker that lets you explore the game’s good physics engine by using it to move and fling objects. In addition to the guns there are a variety of grenades from flashbangs to frags that can quickly and easily be thrown with the left trigger.

With all of these tools and firepower at your disposal, you can probably imagine that you’re up against some opposition. The game is very action intensive and there are plenty of large battles between your army and the enemy. Of course you’re the star of the show and will rack up more than your fair share of the kills, but your fellow soldiers are competent warriors and fight quite effectively in their own right. The enemy AI is also pretty sharp, effectively using cover, moving from place to place, and taking over heavy weapon mounts after the death of a comrade. You can take a fair amount of damage before succumbing to your wounds, but the enemy will have no trouble stopping you if you take a run and gun approach to the battles.

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