Where to get it

Steam

2005 · Mindware Studios · Shooter · Stealth

Cold War

Xbox console exclusive

Steal weapons. Improvise gadgets. Evade capture. The Story:On the run and fighting for your life, you are freelance journalist Matt Carter.

Also known as: coldwar.exe
Released: 27 September 2005
Platforms: Windows Xbox Linux macOS
Genres: Shooter Stealth Tactical
Developers: Mindware Studios
Publishers: DreamCatcher Interactive
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Stealth
Country: Czech Republic
Age ratings: ESRB T PEGI 16
Languages: English French German Russian Spanish (Spain)Spanish Italian
Time to beat: 8hmain story11hcompletionist

About

Cold War is a 2005 stealth video game developed by the Czech developer Mindware Studios, and published by DreamCatcher Games (Runesoft for Mac OS X and Linux Game Publishing for Linux). The game is similar to the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series of games in that it uses a stealth-action system of gameplay. The game distinguishes itself by adding an item invention system where the player can use seemingly useless objects to create new tools and weapons. Also, the story of the game centers on a civilian reporter, so no extremely acrobatic moves are available to the player. Another aspect of the game is that the player can take many different approaches to winning the game.

›Story

It's 1986, and the United States and the Soviet Union are taking the first tentative steps toward perestroika - a sense of friendship and cooperation that has not existed between the two world superpowers for decades. It appears that the Cold War might actually be over.

Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that glasnost is a good thing. A fundamentalist faction within the Soviet government doesn't want the Cold War to thaw - they want it to heat up. Led by Barinsky, the radical head of the KGB, a group of separatists is making a last, desperate attempt to return the USSR to the control of the hard-line Communist regime by framing an American in a plot to assassinate the Soviet president and set off a chain of events that could very well lead to World War III.

Matthew Carter, a hard-nosed American journalist following a tip from an informant, has just arrived in Moscow to cover a story. He is hoping that this assignment will lead to the story of a lifetime. Instead, it leads him into the thick of Barinsky's plot. Now, instead of vying for a Pulitzer Prize, Carter is fighting to clear his name, get to the bottom of Barinsky's sinister plan, and - hopefully - get out of the Soviet Union alive.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Story

Cold War takes place in 1986 and follows the story of a freelance journalist named Matthew Carter who finds himself in the midst of an international conspiracy that aims to control the Soviet Union. Twelve hours after arriving in Moscow in hopes of gathering material for a Pulitzer Prize winning story, he finds himself thrown into the KGB's political prison and framed for an attempted murder of the president. The reason for this was unknown, however, an unidentified female agent replaced his original camera with a prototype X-ray camera. Carter noticed this unknown device and decided to capture a fire extinguisher for testing, but the chemicals in the flash powder caused the object to explode, making him visible to the guards.

Inside the prison, he met a former Soviet agent whom he agreed to accompany. The two escaped by using a shaft to go to the outer areas of the prison.

Development

The Xbox version of the game went gold on September 15, 2005.

Cold War is now supported on Insignia, a revival server for original Xbox Games.

Reception

The PC and Xbox versions received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

The Linux version received more positive reviews, with Phoronix stating the game was "truly phenomenal" and that it's "one of the best single-player shooters we have ever played on Linux." LinuxGames awarded it 8.5 out of 10, commenting that the game was "the most enjoyable Linux gaming experience of 2006 so far."

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Releases by platform
Platform	Released	Regions
Xbox	27 September 2005	North America · Europe 21 October 2005
Windows	27 September 2005	North America · Europe 11 November 2005
Linux	12 October 2012	North America