D2 offers gamers a curious combination of adventurous exploration and first-person shooting. Gamers assume the role of airplane crash survivor Laura (not to be confused with game icon Lara Croft of Tomb Raider infamy). The game begins with Laura embarking on an airplane flight that soon goes horribly wrong. The plane is hijacked by a handful of terrorists--but that effort is foiled when a meteor crashes into the plane. Laura emerges as one of the few survivors of the plane wreck, which has occurred somewhere in the mountains of Canada. Laura must try to survive the icy elements by routinely killing and cooking cute bunnies for food as she travels through the snowy terrain. Animal activists might object to the casual nature of these deaths, which are essential to winning the game.

Several tentacle-wielding creatures attack Laura frequently during her travels. When this occurs, the game immediately shifts from third-person to first-person perspective. While these point-and-shoot segments are challenging at first, they soon become tedious. It is impossible to travel more than a few feet without being attacked--and Laura must travel quite a bit to advance the game. Despite the presence of impressive graphics, these action segments amount to little more than a glorified version of the mass-market PC game Deer Hunter.

Still, the ambitious world of D2 is worth a look and a listen. This game is highly stylized in design, including several artistic cinema sequences that will keep you riveted. A stunning new age-meets-opera soundtrack accompanies the title screen, while creepy instrumental music adds tension in all the right places.

With an awkward balance of both adventure and action elements, D2 ultimately succeeds more as a curiosity than a remarkable gaming coup. --Brett Atwood

Pros:

• Art-house appeal for eclectic gamers
• High-quality animation

• Awkward gameplay
• Tedious and repetitious action sequences