In Project Eden you actually control four members of the Urban Protection Agency, switching between them as needed. Amber is a fully armoured cyborg able to withstand all sorts of hazardous environments such as lethal gas, hot steam and electrically charged water. Minoko is able to hack certain control points to remotely control cranes, turrets, lifts and, strangely, even the most insignificant seeming doors (clearly future society felt the need to progress beyond the outdated door handle). Andre can repair damaged electrical devices and Carter well, Carter talks to people and presses buttons. I guess they had to make him squad leader so he didn't feel totally inadequate.

Gameplay feels like an evolved 3D variation on The Lost Vikings, that 16-bit classic from Blizzard (known as Silicon and Synapse at the time). You have to control each character individually, making them work together, using their respective abilities to make their way through each level. It sounds like a concept that could get tired easily, but Core have employed some excellent and varied level/puzzle design to ensure it doesn't. Every level is basically a series of puzzles that you'll have to solve to open up a route to the UPA lift (a.k.a. the exit). You'll often have to split the party up (and indeed sometimes start the level separated) and get them to co-operate. For example Andre might have to repair a control panel, which Minoko then hacks in order to activate a lift, which Amber then rides down past a gas leak, and Amber then presses a button at the bottom of the lift, which moves a crane downwards so Carter can walk across and you get the picture. It's not as dull and formulaic as that might sound though. Despite the few abilities of each character there is great variety to the challenges and the puzzles are always logical. Things are made more interesting by two small remote control vehicles, a small tracked rover and a flyer. Both can reach new areas and open them up to you by activating a lift or door, and the rover even lets you zap any rats you find in air vents which is far more fun than it has any right to be.

The story behind the game is that the UPA unit you control has been sent to investigate an incident at the Real Meat factory. All machinery there has failed simultaneously and the last unit sent down there to check things out never came back. From there, you follow a trail of enquiry that brings you deeper down into the old city. The idea is that when it became hard to build outwards, people instead built the city upwards until the buildings below were abandoned. The textures could have been sharper, but the designers have still done a great job of creating these neglected, decaying old buildings like a hospital, church, apartment block and even an old zoo.