Cold Fear

The Good
Starting with the technical aspects of Cold Fear, I must say that the graphics and visual effects match the game to perfection. A large part of the game happens under the open sky, on a heavy storm on the wild sea, so Tom Hansen (the player character) is vulnerable to all sorts of threats that would naturally occur in that situation. The waves crash against the surface of the boat and the boat itself swings to the sides, which makes it possible for Tom to fall off the boat, unless he has taken hold of something. The rain blurs your vision as you move, and the swinging of the boat becomes realistically noticeable in the gameplay.

As for the controls, there's nothing special about them, but they serve their purpose. Most weapons have a laser sight that makes the behind-the-shoulder camera angle comfortable for shooting.

The difficulty and learning curve are near perfect, maintaining a more than acceptable realism. Loads of human enemies throughout the first minutes help you get used to the controls and gameplay, before you face your first zombies, which are considerably stronger. As the game progresses you will discover that you can frequently use and alter the environment to your advantage, sometimes even as a requirement to move from place to place.

If you get scared easily, Cold Fear will not disappoint. If you're not easily scared, turn off all the lights and play alone with your headphones on. Guaranteed to work. Creatures and noises coming from the most unexpected places will make you jump more than once, while progressively injecting fear on you.

The storyline is somewhat above average, but is enough to keep you interested in finding out what happens next. The dialog is usually fluent and makes sense, unlike many other survival horror games. All parts match to perfection, and there aren't any visible plot holes, which adds to the overall realism.

The Bad
There aren't many bad things about Cold Fear, but there is one in particular that bothered me a couple of times. The camera is fixed when you're not aiming with a gun, and often takes new angles all of a sudden. This makes the game even creepier, but comes in conflict with the fact that Tom can't run while aiming. In a specific part of the game, he needs to run on a near impossible time limit. The sudden change of camera angles cost me over 7 attempts to get it right. Other than that, it didn't bother me at all.

Most people complain that the only way to save the game is through checkpoints, but I think its a nice throwback to old school games. The only other thing worth mentioning is that you get used to the scares. At some point, the game may no longer make you jump. Maybe.

The Bottom Line
Overall, it's a game worth picking up, and chances are that you'll like it. It will keep you eager to continue playing, as you will find yourself wanting to know what happens next. Personally, I think it has a great replay value, and it's sure worth the money.