Sleep Of Reason
Whether or not you'll enjoy Cryostasis will depend on what exactly you're looking for from your first person shooters. If you're looking to play a nameless superhero in a plotless game who can shrug off bullets and shoot with perfect accuracy while sprinting then this is perhaps not the game for you.
Cryostasis is essentially more of a survival horror. Your abilities within the game aren't those of a super soldier. You're vulnerable and you actually have to try and aim to hit your target. This is something that makes a great deal of difference to the combat as it requires much more effort to take down enemies than in a game were you barely have to reload.
The storyline, which unfolds as you progress is very well told and very... human. Through your character's psychic abilities you get to see the story pan out from multiple perspectives and slowly but surely you manage to change the tragic outcome.
The graphics are also worth mentioning. As the environmental effects not only look very pretty, as ice patterns on slowly melt and dribble down walls, but they also depict your chances of survival. In this game warmth is life. It's that simple. You need to keep warm to keep alive. And on board a wrecked ship encased in ice and death there is precious little heat.
Water is also, naturally, fairly abundant and very impressively presented in the game. If you've got an Nvidia card then you can see water splash, pour and drip in full 3D, thanks to PhysX. There's even a water cannon so you can collect icicles and take your enemies down in style.
Sadly though, the game is not free of technical issues and especially those with ATI graphics cards are likely to be left with a more cut down experience. That said, I played right through the game with only one crash to desktop and no graphical issues.
Ultimately, Cryostasis is a highly atmospheric, well written and produced game that shows a lot of other modern FPS up as being too simplistic, backwards and immature.
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