Project Snowblind review

I sit back, turn the Xbox off, and look over towards my flatmate.
"So. That was all right, wasn't it?" I nod down toward the Project: Snowblind box. A burly chap with a big gun stares moodily back up at me. He looks cross. Mind you, if my life consisted of bouts of blockily textured violence interspersed by minimalist loading screens, I'd probably look cross too.

The flatmate considers her words, visibly weighing her thoughts. Maybe she's hoping my risible online performance will finally make me realise the reason my online performance is so risible is not, as I tend to claim, because I've yet to find a class-based shooter that rewards my strengths but is, in fact, because I suck.

Perhaps she's considering the way in which some gameplay tropes (health packs, breakable wooden crates) have become so embedded in our collective consciousness that we no longer find them surprising, even when we really should (in sterile research labs, antique Chinese bedrooms, Hong Kong diners, opera houses turned POW camps).

It's even possible she's thinking about the way the title's pedigree as as a one-time Deus Ex spin-off has left tiny traces throughout; barely apparent to the uncaring eye but enough to make a fanboy grateful that Invisible War descended so far but no lower.

It's possible. But what she actually says is, "Yeah. That was all right."

And she's absolutely spot-on. Project: Snowblind? It's all right. It doesn't really do anything new, or even anything really – but on the other hand, and perhaps more importantly, it doesn't really do anything wrong, either.

Stop me if you've heard this before

A sci-fi FPS set in a near future you've seen on a hundred cinema screens already: dystopian asian city with crumbling infrastructure, shadowy military factions intervening for mysterious, nebulous ends, big stompy robots, a macho, gruff lead character Rebuilt By Experimental Technology To Wage A One-Man War Against – oh, you know the drill. That or you've been watching Six Million Dollar man reruns again.

Unoriginal? Undeniably. The thing is, it doesn't really matter. Sure, a new twist would be nice, but clichés become clichés because they work. Snowblind's familiar game mechanics and grounding a familiar sub-genre actually works to its advantage, by letting our meta-knowledge creep in around the edges, broadening scope and lending a certain weightiness to the proceedings.

And by "the proceedings" I mean "the killing of things" because no one's going to be playing this for the story, and Snowblind knows it – presumably part of jettisoning the Deus Ex background involved throwing out the complicated backstory (and front story, apparently).

It also knows how to make the killing of things fun, and does so in two significant ways.

Our chief weapon is surprise and fear

The first is the arsenal at your disposal. The usual FPS suspects have been rounded up – sniper rifle, pistol, shotgun, The meat and veg of the genre, solid and reliable enough to see you through to the end especially when the familiar variety of grenades (flash, concussion, frag, EMP) are working with them.

But if you feel like experimenting, Snowblind is willing and eager to accommodate: specialised tools for the swift destruction of electronic-reliant foes, a thoroughly hilarious mine-launcher, a flechette gun (or "Ol' Flesh Mangler" as the flatmate came to affectionately refer to it). There's even the Kinetic Kicker, a tip of the hat to HL2's gravity gun. No HL2 quality physics are in evidence here, alas, but there's enough moveable junk littering the levels to make it worthwhile.

The best of all the weapons is clearly the ice-pick, a nifty little device which you can fire at robots, turrets, and other mechanical menaces and take them over - then blow 'em up and leave someone else to clean up the mess.

Our two weapons are fear and surprise and ruthless efficiency

At plot-convenient intervals, you'll be granted a new ability as the augmentations built into your rebuilt body are activated. Some of these come too late to make an impression, but most are very useful. Useful in the extreme. Want to see enemies through walls? Done! Want to fry enemies with streams of electricity? Done! Want to enjoy your own bio-augmented bullet time? Become invulnerable? Turn invisible? Done, done, and done! Cheat codes? Who needs 'em?

The second significant fun factor comes via the excellent level design.

There's a clear sense of place, of environment, and plenty of opportunity to be creative (lots of vent shafts to crawl through – that'll be the Deus Ex influence, then). The various set-piece sections fit together as a nice organic whole, and many times you'll snake back and forth throughout them to access places glimpsed earlier in play. Graphically, this isn't Riddick or Halo 2 (or even MA2), but in situ the otherwise disappointing textures and models somehow work, integrated by some nice lighting.

Snowblind never really tries to force a particular style of play on you – various (thankfully, decently voiced) characters half-heartedly suggest being stealthy in a couple of places, but honestly, it's just so much more fun to jack a bot and stomp around the place blowing it to bits. NOISILY. Happily, you're never penalised for playing the way you prefer: with plentiful health and ammo pick-ups, Snowblind is just as happy for you to play the tank as it is for you to skulking hacker,

Level objectives, and the routes to them, are flagged by a handy (and optional) giant yellow pseudo-tunnel which looks like something escaped from the madder sequences of Donnie Darko. Combined with some of the augmentations and the plentiful supply of health, your progress is rarely impeded – but that's not what Snowblind is interested in. It gives you a clear sense of place, a clear understanding of what to do, a wide selection of fun tools to accomplish it with and then sits back and lets you get on with enjoying the noises things make when they blow up.

And you know what? That's all right with me.

There are times you want to be challenged, made to think, swept away by something unique and brilliant – and there are times where you just want to kick back and be entertained. For the latter, step up Project: Snowblind.