Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Ice Nine

Written by Matt Partington on January 06, 2003

First Impressions: Based off the Al Pacino movie, but Al's not in it. What's up with that?!

They may be a newer company, but BAM! Entertainment has already made its mark in the gaming industry thus far. Most popular for their action games, BAM! will be collaborating with Torus Games, a predominantly handheld game creator, to bring us Ice Nine in June 2003. The details may be scarce, but here's what's been revealed so far.

Ice Nine might be a shooter, but it's also primarily stealth-based and played in the first-person perspective. Surprising, since this makes it the first stealth-based FPS ever to appear on console. You play as rookie CIA operative James Clayton, who's put in charge of tracking down and gaining hold of the Ice Nine virus. Problem is, the Chinese terrorist group Xu now has it in their hands. This isn't just a typical computer virus, no no no. This virus has the ability to cripple and immobilize entire cities via power lines. Ice Nine was initially going to be the videogame to correspond with Al Pacino's upcoming movie The Recruit. After consulting and such, Torus decided it was best to keep the game and movie separate but still use ideas from the plot and integrate them in with Ice Nine.

Since Ice Nine's gameplay is mainly stealth-based, certain parts of the game may be reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid 2. The main idea of both games is foiling enemies and infiltrating compounds. And just like MGS2, the story has many unique twists to it. Through being James Clayton, the game will have many branching plot points, which ultimately end up with two different endings. You'll have the option of playing by the rules of the CIA, or veering off course and taking things into your own personal hands. Later on you'll be introduced to Agent Layla, somewhat of a sidekick to help guide you to victory.

If you're going to be a secret agent, your arsenal is your best friend. Of course, it's hard to be stealthy with an assault rifle all the time. This is why you will first be placed with a simple silenced pistol and PDA, of which you can download crucial information from enemies and such (it also doubles as a taser). Through playing and taking out enemies, you'll be able to pick up their guns as well as clothes similar to Hitman 2. If all goes to hell, you have an assorted arsenal of 20 plus guns and contraptions.

With games like Rygar and Red Faction released on the PS2, fans seem to be getting more and more obsessed with environment realism. Nearly all walls and such in both games are destructible, leading to new paths or entries. Ice Nine might not have that feature, but it does have something equally as cool. Torus Games has created an engine that makes virtually everything in the surrounding area movable and physically alterable. What this means is that if you bump a table, the table will move or crash. If you rub against a wall and run into a hanging picture, the picture will become crooked or wobble back and forth. It also means that if you shoot something in the environment, it'll either break into pieces or move in the proper way. It's always great when games allow you to destruct random objects on tables and shelves, now just imagine what it'll be like when everything can be varied in some way or another.

Despite having very few screens of Ice Nine, it's looking like a promising visual experience. We can already see that, like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, shadows play a large roll in elaborating the environments. The character models are as authentic as they come, seeming to be equipped with all the necessary attire and equipment. So far, the game could use a better aliasing since certain things like walls and desks are somewhat jaggy. Regardless, the screenshots are at a minimum and we have yet to see the game truly in action.