BLACK is a
refreshing FPS that stood apart from the rest the day it was announced. It
wasn’t because of the name, the visuals, or the promise of all guns blazing,
BLACK stood out because it came from Criterion. When Criterion’s name is
attached to a game it isn’t just an announcement – it actually means
something.
Joining the
list of jovial anticipators, I waited for BLACK’s release with hopes of
something different. The finished product meets a portion of that dream,
defying the genre by taking risks that other shooters wouldn’t have attempted.
For that I applaud Criterion. I applaud their efforts in creating an intense,
in-your-face FPS experience. It truly has no rival. Though Halo is still the
king of console multiplayer, BLACK is – at times – a tad more forceful,
bombarding the player with gunplay typically saved for movies and TV.
I also
applaud Criterion’s sound development. The little things (footsteps, standard
gunfire, explosions, etc.) have become so common since Medal of Honor:
Frontline launched that you probably won’t notice most of them. Don’t let
familiarity blind you: there’s a lot more to BLACK than meets the ear. It has
the perfect mixture of realistic sounds that adapt to the location and
situation of the mission. Fire your weapon inside a tunnel and you’ll notice a
distinctly different sound than when fired out in the open. Walls, many of
which are destructible, receive damage differently depending on the way they
were built (we’re supposed to believe that they’re real, not polygons), and
thus the sound that follows varies greatly from shot to shot. Explosions are
also quite intense, packing a wide number of blasts that are both visually and
aurally satisfying.
BLACK is a
wonderful achievement for Criterion, no question. The gameplay comes just as
promised – all guns blazing – and the technical accomplishments really speak
for themselves.
Much to my
dismay, however, there are a few things that just don’t add up.
BLACK begins
in CG form, showing a video that’s supposed to intrigue players and lead us
into the story. The style seems to be a rip-off of Domino, though I assume
there are other movies it could have been "inspired" by. Frankly I didn’t much
care, until I started to press buttons and couldn’t skip the movie sequence.
Now I’m forced to know what’s going on.
This
non-interactive, unavoidable beginning didn’t deter me from getting to the
game. Shove the story down my throat – I was going to play it regardless.
(That attitude we gamers have, unfortunately, is what keeps some developers
from adding a much-needed "skip sequence" feature.)
Upon
entering the battlefield I was treated to a series of wonderful treats:
breathtaking lighting, lots of gunfire, and top-notch sound – and that was
just in the first five seconds! Before I could grab the pick-ups (ammo,
grenades, etc.) and find a way out of the room, enemies began unloading their
artillery. It was extremely exciting to blast the door open and walk up to
that ledge for the first time, only to be flooded with a stream of bullets
that were next to impossible to dodge. Should I have seen it coming? Probably.
But I guess the pretty colors (and inherent desire to explore) were too great
of a distraction.
From this
moment till the end of the mission I was in awe. Little cover could be found
in this wide-open, modern-day battlefield, where practically every barricade
is destructible and no wall is too thick to shield you from a sniper that
can’t be seen. Cars, trucks, boxes, crates, rails, shields, lights – even some
walls and ceilings can be destroyed with the right weapon. It’s crazy, but
incredibly cool. You’re never safe, not when the box you’re hiding behind
could contain flammable contents that’ll takes your head off if ignited. Your
enemies are in just as much danger, but they have one unexpected advantage:
armor.
As
interesting and challenging as armored soldiers are, BLACK has a couple
technical issues that really LACK the quality of the rest of the game. First
off, armor quality is not clearly defined. Is it random? Is it based on the
level? Does the color of their uniform have anything to do with it? I dreaded
the thought of cracking the manual, and guess what? It didn’t offer any
answers. Since we can’t determine the lifespan of each enemy, it might not be
fair to judge all of them equally.
I can,
however, judge a couple of mistakes that appeared throughout almost every
mission. (1) Not every dead-on shot seemed to affect enemies negatively. They
should have, regardless of the armor they were wearing. (2) If an enemy is
down and I shoot him, he’s down and he’s been shot! He does not have the power
to block bullets and get up unscathed, yet the game believes otherwise. This
isn’t a cheesy arcade fighter where injured characters turn transparent and
become temporarily invulnerable to attacks – it’s a realistic FPS where
anything that moves should be perishable regardless of the position it’s in.
BLACK’s
realism (and cinematic appeal) is boosted by its immaculate use of sound,
color, and control effects when near death. First the music cuts to a
suspenseful beat. It drums in the background, letting you know that
something’s not right. If more health is lost, the sound will intensify until
you die. Just before that point the game switches to a slow-motion, grayscale
effect that seems more appropriate for a flashback then a near-death
experience. Nonetheless it’s awesome and works very well in this situation.
There is,
believe it or not, such a thing as going too far. I love motion blur effects
as much as anyone. Hideo Kojima made them cool. BLACK does the opposite.
Before I elaborate on that, let me remind you that BLACK is a game of non-stop
shooting. Primary missions are primarily about destruction; secondary missions
don’t get much deeper, and always lead to more destruction. On average you’ll
reload your weapon three times per minute. No problems, right?
There
wouldn’t be any at all, but BLACK has the crazy notion that it’d be cool and
cinematic to blur the screen every time you reload. Aside from being the most
annoying feature I have ever encountered in a top-tier game, the reload blur
is somewhat of an eyesore. I had to fight myself from looking away from the
screen to avoid seeing it. Even if this were based on a real soldier whose
eyes welled up every time he ran out of ammo, I still wouldn’t have wanted
them to include it in this game. BLACK’s realism doesn’t come from its
weaponry, which seems to have a hard time penetrating human flesh. Why focus
on a feature that’s so out of focus?
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Gameplay: 8.4
Like Criterion’s
masterpiece series (Burnout), BLACK is on-the-edge-of-your-seat entertainment.
The excitement level is shot through the roof once enemies start falling
through it. There are walls, ceilings, and countless other structural elements
that can be destroyed with one of your many powerful weapons (handguns,
shotguns, machineguns, etc.). BLACK is a wonderful experience. It has its
flaws, many of which will be remembered until a sequel comes along and erases
them from our memory. Regardless, the excitement shines through, and if
Criterion-quality excitement is what you want, that is exactly what you’ll
get.
Graphics: 8.9
Aside from a few
clunky animations, BLACK is arguably the best-looking PS2 shooter on the
market. The structures have no equal – from the way they look when standing
tall, to the way they demolish after receiving a powerful hit, BLACK’s
structures and environments are incredible.
Sound: 9.0
Mighty
impressive. BLACK’s sound is unlike any before it. You know you’re playing a
game that’s leading into the next generation when the sound changes based on
your location. I don’t mean different music for different levels – I’m talking
about guns that sound different depending on where they’re shot. I’m talking
about the dynamic explosions, as well as the little things that round out the
aural experience.
The fact
that music is used in more subtle ways turned me off at first, but after
getting through the first few levels I began to see that the direction they
took was the right one. They use the music where it’s appropriate and take it
away when it’s not. They also use it to intensify the mood, which would’ve
been harder to do if music was playing constantly throughout the entire
experience.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
A challenging
game with a nice range of difficulties and additional objectives (and bonus
weapons) so that gamers of all skill levels can get in on the action.
Concept: 8.0
Take every FPS
you know, refine the controls, increase the graphics, add more destructible
environments than you can shake a cube of C4 at and you’ve got one of
PlayStation 2’s most groundbreaking shooters: BLACK.
The idea of
a blurry reload screen, however, just plain sucks.
Overall: 8.4
As much as I hate
for these flaws to impact my overall rating, they did impact my experience
playing the game and cannot be ignored. BLACK is a great game that has a lot
going for it. It’s thrilling in a way that gets your juices flowing. It makes
you want more of BLACK, and superior gameplay in other shooters. It’s fast.
The frame rate is almost always consistent. The battles won’t have you on the
edge of your seat – they’ll push you off.
