18 Jan 05 Project: Snowblind is a barefaced attempt to deface the towering, carved-in-granite legacy of Halo 2. Having snuck unnoticed into the National Gallery of Videogame Legends, this swaggering, gum-chewing first-person shooter has since doodled a moustache and monocle onto the portrait of Master Chief, before covering the entire canvas in a giant cock and nuts. Take that, old-timer.
Thankfully, Snowblind has balls bigger than its bravado. Having played through five of the maps completed thus far, we're pleased to confirm that ?the waif-like shooter we first saw a couple of months back is filling out very nicely indeed. We thus consider it our privilege to appoint Project: Snowblind as the heir apparent to Halo 2's throne. If anything happens to the world's supply of Halo 2 discs within the next six months, you'll know where to come.
The first thing that strikes you about Project: Snowblind is the variety of the weapons. You begin with six or seven phenomenally harmful guns, from the wonderfully tactless shotgun to the magnificently extravagant rocket launcher. In addition to this Greatest Hits selection of first-person firepower, you're also given a deuce of handy gizmos: the Kicker, a kinetic tool that allows you to throw objects around, and the Icepick, used for hacking into computer systems. Worming your way into enemy hard-drives is a key part of completing Project: Snowblind. Thankfully, it's easier than it sounds simply aim your Icepick at whichever device it is you're interested in taking over, be it a security camera, an automated gun turret, or a locking mechanism, then let the wonder of modern technology do the rest.
You'll need all the help you can get, though, Project: Snowblind being harder than a toffee with an erection. Here, unlike in Halo 2, you're forced to methodically work your way through the battlefield an inch at a time, dispatching each and every enemy as you go. Where Master Chief can often make do with putting his head down and legging it, Snowblind's hero has to take things a little slower.
The opening level, Urban Assault, is the perfect example. Though the main road leading to the first checkpoints is only a few hundred metres away, it happens to be fortified on both sides by gun emplacements, snipers and dudes with rocket launchers. Those who do attempt to run the gauntlet from the beginning of the level to the end without first ducking into shop doorways or hiding out behind crates will be picking up broken legs with bleeding hands before they know what, or indeed who, has hit them.
Look out for the world-exclusive review of Project: Snowblind in next month's XboxGamer. In the meantime, you might want to make a start on those fond farewells to Halo 2.
Xbox Gamer staff
