You aren't afraid of things that go bump bump on a ghost ship,are you?

In the throes of a ferocious Artic storm-distress signals are sent from a seemingly abandoned Russian whaler.As coast guard veteran Tom Hansen,you board to investigate and discover unthinkable horrors lurking beneath the ship's bloodstained decks.

Game-play:
To a survival game,people would say,All you do is shoot,find clues,shoot some more and find more clues.Well you do this in Cold Fear but there is a twist to it:Using your surroundings may save your life but also can kill you also.
Controls:
X Button:Run while pressed down
Circle Button:Investigate(action button)
Triangle Button:Grab ledge to hold on
Square Button:Reload
R1 Button:Shoot
L1 Button:Over-the-shoulder view
R2,L2 Button:Change weapon
R3 Button:Third-person view
L3 Button:Crouch
Left Analog Stick:Move
Right Analog Stick:Aim
Directional Buttons:Access to weapons quick
Hold on to things nearby is critical and may save your life.When waves or the ship that you are on starts rocking and you are out in the open,you may lose your balance and fall into the icy waters.Also,you can use this as an advantage.Lure your enemies to a nearby ledge or an open part of the ship that leads into the ocean.
Use your surroundings to also kill your enemies.If you see a rocking crate above your head,there you go.Lure an enemy there and bam!Also,there is exploding barrels around parts of the ships o shoot them when enemies are near them.Fire extinguishers,laser mines,hooks,cables,electric transformers and switches are all used to your advantage but be careful,your advantage may turn on you if you aren't careful.
Dead people carry important things so search their bodies and you just might find ammo or other important things.
Keys,keys and more keys are mostly what you'll be searching for to open important areas that allow you to proceed.Looking for keys isn't too tiresome as you may think because you also find documents that contain information on what the hell happened on that ship.So,that'll keep you pretty interested to proceed and also you see some very gruesome places too that will satisfy gorehounds.
Enemies are very full of variety.They all have their weaknesses.One enemy's weaknesses is that you must shoot their heads in order for them to die.Yeah,I know...it sounds so much like Resident Evil but this enemy is much faster and more aggressive than just some dumb zombie.All together,you have 9 different types of enemies.
Steady your nerves,hold on and shoot is where the boat is rocking and a creature is running towards you and the creature can only be killed by shooting him in the head.A tough situation huh?This is one example that makes Cold Fear interesting.
Weapons that you can get is: .465 Handgun,XM1014 Tactical Shotgun,MP5-A3 Submachine Gun,Automat Kalashnikova,M79 Sawed off Grenade launcher,Assault Flamethrower and a Speargun.

5/5 stars

Graphics:
Cold Fear has pretty impressive graphics and look really good on the PS2.You have lots of gore that looks real good and disturbing.When shooting enemies in the heads,blood pops everywhere including the tv screen! Also,the weather effects look really good.The rain looks and sounds like ran,the rain also goes smearing on your tv screen.The ocean waves that makes the ship rock looks real and scary seeing one come near you.The enviroments look good and impressive.The cut-scenes looks really good especially the CGI cut-scenes.Everything looks impressive considering its on the PS2!

5/5 stars

Sound:
Yet again,this category has some pretty impressive stuff in it.The sound of the rain,fire,ocean waves-they all sound real...too real.The creatures' moans and groans are actually scary and maybe be a bit too scary for some.Very impressive for all!

5/5 stars

Control:
This is one of the OK parts of the game.They all look well laid out but performing them isn't too easy.The aiming and the shooting is the worst of the game.Also,practice the controls because the learning-curve for it will take about 30 minutes.

3/5 stars

Camera:
This is another thing that is OK on the game.First off,you can't move the camera when you aren't aiming.So that makes it worse.I'd really want to see what's behind me,in front of me and beside me but no,you have to walk around in order for the camera to move.What would happen if I fall in a trap?Would it be my fault or the camera's fault?A really good question.I did like the behind-the-shoulder type aiming because without that,you'd certainly die all the time.There is a choice though on over-the-shoulder aiming and the third-person aiming but I'd go with the over-the-shoulder.

3/5 stars

Scare-factor:
For a survival/horror game,I didn't find Cold Fear to be really scary but there was some scenes that were a bit creepy and tense but NOTHING scary! This one part that was tense is when you are walking in a storage type area that is enclosed with very little space to move about and the lights go out and the controller starts vibrating and vibrating.Very tense I'd say!There were also some parts of the game where dead bodies or creatures jump out from anywhere but nothing truly scary that'll leave you sleepless.Cold Fear brings suspense with it...suspense of not knowing what is around that corner or what will this room contain in it kinda scares.

4/5 stars

Lasting Appeal:
Cold Fear has plenty of areas and rooms to go explore but the rooms only board a ship and an oil rig.I bought Cold Fear on Thursday March 17 and finished Cold Fear on March 20 2005.So it's a weekend into Cold Fear.You do have unlockables like storyboards,concept art,drawings and an extreme playing level.

3/5 stars

Thoughts on Cold Fear:
Personally,I enjoyed the heck out of Cold Fear.It has impressive graphics even it's on a PS2,the sound is impressive,the game-play is impressive and interesting.The camera,controls and the fact the game is worth just a weekend were the things that OKed me.Cold Fear is just shy away from 5 stars if it wasn't for the game being short and the camera...not to mention the learning curve for the controls.Cold Fear is one of the best survival/horror games of 2005 so far! Oh,by the way,Cold Fear may be a bit hard to find.I'd try EBGames and GameStop.



Cold Fear is rated M for Blood,Gore,Intense Violence and Language.


What lies beneath the ocean may scare you but things on the boat above the ocean is a whole...different...story...