There is something that separates a scientific mind from the rest of us. Something scrambled in their fight-or-flight reflex, that, when confronted with the unknown, while the rest of us reach for the doorknob or a can of Baygon, the scientifically inclined reach for their head, to scratch it while muttering ' I can use that'. It is an admirable trait, and one that can sometimes benefit all of humankind (see Ben Franklin and the lightning rod), but can also be rather unpleasant (see Ben Franklin and, well, the lightning rod). It is in this same spirit that the foolhardy scientists in

Ubisoft's latest survival-horror game, Cold Fear, faced the tentacled parasites discovered during an illegal oil dig. 'I can use that', you could just imagine them say, before providing the cuddly visitors from below a buffet table of potential hosts to snuggle up to. True to the genre, experiments go horrendously (and not unexpectedly) wrong and a lone hero is dispatched to save the day.

Developed by Darkworks, whom you may remember for helming the spectacular comeback of the Alone in the Dark series that never came to pass, Cold Fear is the latest in a handful of recent freshman entries in a genre largely defined and dominated by the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill (and if you turn the clock back further, the original Alone in the Dark games). The adventure begins in a calamitous arctic storm, where your avatar, Tom Hansen, is among a skeleton crew of coastguards sent to investigate/rescue the, well, investigating/rescuing team that never made it out. It took all of 3 seconds after boarding the vessel for the entire team to meet unfortunate ends, and as the only survivor, you must battle hordes of reanimated corpses armed to the teeth (or with teeth), as well as the storm while completing your mission. The plot is fairly derivative of the action/horror genre, but does become more interesting after you and your newly rescued damsel get off the ship.

Right off the bat you will notice that things quickly go down a slippery path. No, really. The developers of Cold Fear have obviously gone to great lengths to simulate the experience of being at sea during a storm, and the results are impressive. As you move across the ship deck, the entire ship rocks from side to side, and it is quite possible for you to be thrown overboard if you fail to watch your step. Fortunately, Hansen can usually grab on to a ledge or two before he's thrown clear, giving you a chance to pull him back up onboard. Waves also conspire against you as they create conveniently dangerous platform puzzles where you must time your movements to avoid taking damage. The scathing winds can also hinder your progress as they cause all sorts of contraptions to sway back and forth, and catching a metallic hook in the noggin can be just as bad as becoming fish bait. These storm effects add greatly to the atmosphere of the game as well as give cause to some physical puzzles. However, given the inherent potential, I had expected the dramatic storm effects to have more impact on the way the game is played, as well as more varied and challenging puzzles in which the player can overcome environmental obstacles.

Once you manage to get a roof over your head, the game turns into a claustrophobic romp through hallways and rooms, with occasional outdoor trips through the rough weather to get you to more hallways and rooms. Thankfully, there is a lot of neat (and gory) detail that make each room distinctive and memorable so that exploring your surroundings remains interesting (and dangerous) for the duration of the game. Some rooms are flooded with water, making advancement slow work with the added possibility of electrocution if you accidentally expose live wires. Other rooms are pitch black and require the use of your flashlight to navigate around. Despite that, it's difficult to shake the feeling that much of the game is a still a simple key hunt inherent to most survival horror titles with the requisite backtracking and magically locked doors that become accessible only when the plot calls for it.

Perhaps in a bid to eschew survival horror tradition somewhat, you won't find a map anywhere in Cold Fear and surprisingly, this isn't as big a deal as I would've imagined it to be. Perhaps due to clear signage (written in Russian, and in a nice touch, require you to shine your torch on them for Hansen to translate them for you), distinctively designed environments, and of course, those conveniently locked doors that prevent you from straying too far off course, finding your way around the ship, and later on, an oil rig, rarely gets confusing or frustrating. I even find that, without a map, I am forced to relate to my environments more than I did in other similar games where I spend 50% of my time in map view following a little blinking arrow. However, I can see this become an annoyance for people who take week-long breaks between game sessions and having to remember where they have been and where they should be headed.

Most of the areas you will visit are under new management by the mysterious parasites that won't leave the dead well enough alone. Add some Russian mercenaries fighting to reclaim their turf, and you have one hell of a fight on your hands. Fortunately, the game throws an impressive arsenal your way including AK-47s, shotguns, spear guns and grenade launchers. Certain weapons will be more suited for some encounters and you can usually count on being fed lots of ammunition throughout to keep on shooting. This is a good thing, as even on the default difficulty level, the undead creatures can take an unhealthy amount of lead before even slowing down.

Your enemies come in several varieties, the most normal of which are the gun-toting Russian mercs that tend to work in groups, making each encounter a dramatic firefight. If you think they are trouble, wait until they're dead! Parasitic blobs that are menace enough on their own can enter a corpse as long its head is still intact and turn it into an undead maniac. The only way to dispatch these deadites permanently is to blow off their heads (or gently stomp on them with your foot after they go down), but count on their undead reflexes to still deal you a few blows even in a headless state if you happen to stand too close. Pretty soon, the first thing you will be doing whenever you enter a new room is to blow off the head of every corpse you see so they don't turn against you. Of course, there are yet other nightmarish creatures waiting for you in the dark, ready to tear you to pieces if you are not careful. All the enemies you will encounter have fairly predictable attack patterns, but their inhuman agility and the usually close-quarter encounters make them formidable foes all the same. In fact, action fans will probably enjoy Cold Fear more than other survival horror games due to the wealth of weaponry and the combat-heavy gameplay.

While you will view much of the game through a third-person static camera view that stresses the cinematic rather than aiding you during the action sequences, Cold Fear does two things that set it apart from its peers. The first is mostly cosmetic, but goes a ways to help immerse the player in the game despite the third-person view ' I call it the 'camera splatter'. In the outdoor sequences, heavy rain will constantly run down the screen as it would if an actual camera person is following our hero around. And during combat it isn't uncommon to find blood splattered all over the screen. It's strangely satisfying to see these crimson drops run down your screen after an intense battle with the undead.

Cold Fear will take the average gamer (ie. Me) around 10 hours to complete on the normal difficulty level, that is, provided you don't fall victim to 'dying-before-reaching-save-point-itis' too much.

Saving your progress in Cold Fear is somewhat automatic, as you are asked whether you'd like to do so at pre-defined moments ' usually during a room-to-room transition. That is the only way to save the game. You won't come across save points, or be allowed to save at all between these set points. The system works the same way as, say, Halo, where the game automatically saves your progress - except for the fact that it asks you every friggin' time, which I find rather pointless since these are the ONLY opportunities you will have.

Visually, the game is a treat to watch - that is, if you enjoy watching heads explode and parasites orally invading corpses. But the visceral gore effects aside, the game has believably rendered environments and the weather effects are utterly realistic and I like to imagine that most of the game's development took place in some metallic vessel constantly being shaken like a gigantic drink shaker. The characters aren't the most detailed but sport convincing animations, especially the parasitic blobs that crawl around shooting tendrils on ceilings and walls and pulling themselves forward ' it's creepy and fascinating to watch their somewhat deliberated movements as they advance toward you.

The sounds of Cold Fear nicely complements the action on-screen, with a very buoyant and uplifting musical score kicking in whenever Hansen has to brave the storm outdoors or fight through a horde of enemies. While you are exploring the depths of the ship/oil rig, the score gives way to some excellent ambient noises such as the sound your boots make on the damp metal staircase and the strange creaks and groans of the swaying ship. The voice acting in the game is also competent if not exactly memorable ' but this is action/horror so the voice-talents aren't exactly given a lot to do.