Imagine you’re a member of the Coast Guard and you receive a distress call from a nearby whaling vessel. The caller is vague but you feel something disturbing has happened and thusly you and a group of your fellow mates are sent to the ship that looks abandoned. To make matters worse there’s a storm and the ship is being battered by massive waves. That’s not the worse part, though. As you venture deeper into the ship you feel like something not right dwells in the ship ... something not quite right. It isn’t until you see the thing, that was once human, race after you that you know your life is in danger. Welcome to Cold Fear, a survival horror game with a familiar feel.

You play Coast Guard Tom Hansen who finds himself on the Russian whaling vessel armed only with his wits and his trusty .45 automatic pistol with an attached flashlight. Hansen quickly discovers that a CIA Agent has sent out a team of commandos that have been slaughtered by creatures a scientist has somehow brought out, thanks to his research in a drilling platform. Once again a scientist has unleashed a contaminating matter that turns the dead into savage zombies. Hansen soon finds another survivor aboard the ship named Anna Kamsky, who just so happens to be the daughter of the scientist that unleashed these creatures. Together they fight for survival and to discover the mystery behind the scientific research that caused these mutations.

The main plot is nothing new but sadly Cold Fear doesn’t offer any explanations or throws any plot twists that will keep you deeply engrossed in the story. Instead, the game relies on action and all the old-school elements of early Resident Evil games. I mention Resident Evil because - like Capcom’s game - the game feels and plays exactly like an early Resident Evil game. You’ll find plenty of zombies aboard the ship as well as a number of mutated monsters like the ExoCels that zip to walls and finally attempt to attach themselves to Hansen. The zombies in this game aren’t slow or sluggish but rather are quick to rush at you with wrenches or knives. Shooting them in the chest will only slow or knock them down so right away its clear that only head shots will put these zombies down for good.  You can expect heads to pop and the gore to splatter walls or the ground. 

Rocked by huge waves that make it difficult to run across the top deck of the ship, Hansen finds himself exploring the ship’s creepy interior often running across armed Russian mercenaries that see our hero as a threat. You’ll also find that you’ll be doing a lot of backtracking due to some doors that require a key or a code. The problem with the backtracking is that there’s no in-game map of the ship or the oil platform later on in the game. There’s a map of the ship’s many sections in the instruction manual and it’s helpful if you’ve forgotten where many of the rooms are. Hansen can also speak Russian, which is helpful in identifying rooms.

You’ll also discover many of the grotesque monsters like the huge ExoMass or the ExoSpectre. The good news is that you’ll come across plenty of ammo you can take off dead bodies and you’ll come across shotguns, AK47s, flamethrowers, submachine guns with flashlight, grenade launchers and experimental weapons like the spear gun.  

The problem with the game is that Hansen doesn’t move or target enemies as smoothly as many of the recent survival horror games like The Suffering or the GameCube’s Resident Evil 4. Hansen’s pistol has a laser sight that can target specific body parts but because the enemy moves quickly, targeting is difficult. To make matters worse you’re greeted by long load times each time you enter a room. Even with the Ok characters the story just isn’t deep enough to keep you hooked. You’ll go from the ship to the oil platform where Hansen and Anna Kamsky discover what exactly her father was experimenting with and what caused the mutations, but there are no plot twists found here. What the game does right is providing plenty of frights and keeping the tension fresh from start to finish.  

The game’s graphics do an outstanding job of setting the right mood and making you feel as though some horror will pop up from the corner of a room. Many of the ship’s rooms and areas are dimly lit and oftentimes all you’ll have is the flashlight attached to your gun to guide you through the darkness. When you do encounter monsters and zombies, they all look the same but at least they move realistically. The characters are also nicely rendered and look good during cut scenes. This is also a really bloody game so it is definitely not for the squeamish.

Unlike the disturbing visuals, however, the game’s soundtrack occasionally feels out of place. At times there’s some mellow tunes that suddenly become chaotic when enemies suddenly spring up from the ground but these moments are ruined by its heavy metal vibe. Even the sound effects don’t really mess with your senses. There’s no thumping of some unseen object or the creaking of boards. The only time you’ll really feel overwhelmed with sound is when you’re outside as the waves crash against the ship. As for the voice acting, it’s decent enough but nothing really stellar. 

Cold Fear harkens back to a time when survival horror games generated plenty of scares while mixing in loads of bloody action but its old-school appeal just feels too dated here. The game, however, has a delightfully chilling mood that carries out throughout the game and a decent cast of characters as well, and this makes the game worth your time. If anything, Cold Fear is the perfect weekend rental when you’re in the mood for a good old-fashioned scare.

Gameplay: 7.2
The game feels and plays like an early Resident Evil game and that also includes the awkward aiming and the turning. While the story won’t hook you in, it's the whaling ship’s creaking and tossing about that will make you feel like you’re in a dark and mysterious ship where nasty things are just waiting to jump out at you. Still, the plentiful load times kill the tension between areas.  

Graphics: 8.0
The characters look pretty good during cutscenes buts it’s the in-game movement of the dead that will not fail to chill you to the bone. Dead bodies quiver and twitch and the constant rocking of the ship makes things sway and startle you from the near darkness. The game is also extremely bloody so expect to see plenty of gore splatter the walls when you kill these zombies. 

Sound: 6.5
Unfortunately the soundtrack isn’t good at setting the mood and while the best stuff is interrupted by the load screens you’ll mostly find some hard rock riffs that will seem out of place. The voice acting is solid but its nothing that really stands out. 

Difficulty: Medium
The zombies in the game move fast and attack equally quick as well, but thanks to the shove move you’ll be able to knock back a zombie and then shoot him. Since the aiming can be a bit difficulty, getting the fatal headshots is frustratingly hard. Luckily there are a good number of weapons to use in this game and you can always find plenty of ammo. The save points are also nicely distributed throughout the game.  

Concept: 7.5
Cold Fear might feel like Resident Evil on a ship and that’s not a bad thing considering there are plenty of zombies and monsters to go up against in this game. There are also a good number of weapons and enough areas on the ship to explore. Still, I wish there was more to the story and that there wasn’t too much backtracking, but this is indeed one spooky ship. There are also some unlockable bonuses plus Extreme Mode. 

Overall: 7.5
Filled with enough chills and action-packed thrills, Cold Fear brings to mind the classic survival horror games we loved years ago, so fans looking for something entirely new will feel a bit disappointed by this one. It’s a dark game with lots of blood and monsters, but then again we’ve seen all this done better.  Still, you can’t go wrong with a rental.