I don’t
care what anyone else says, the eighties were a great period for films. During
the eighties, Arnie (the Governator) was at the top of his game, Die Hard made
Bruce Willis a force to be reckoned with, and even Stallone was making
semi-decent films. In many ways, the eighties were the apex of the action movie.
Don’t get me wrong, there were some real awesome action flicks from the nineties
on, like True Lies and The Matrix, but since Terminator 2: Judgment Day came out
in 1991 and basically p0wn’d the genre, the steady flow of big-budget action
flicks out of Hollywood has slowed down to a trickle.
Which
brings me to the game BLACK, developed by Criterion and published by EA.
Criterion, known primarily for their equally cathartic Burnout racing series,
created BLACK with a very focused goal, to make the guns the stars. For this
reason, BLACK plays out as a homage to every action movie you’ve ever seen,
having you shoot your way from one hairy situation to the next, with huge
explosions, high body counts, and destructible environments. Make no mistake,
BLACK is one of those visceral games that drags you in from start to finish,
seldom letting up on the intense action. While there are a few things that sour
the experience, like a fairly short length and some AI issues, BLACK is still a
very engaging action game that dares to do things a little bit differently.
BLACK
has a story, involving a war in Eastern Europe, a terrorist cell, weapons
running, blah, blah, blah. The story of the game is moot, just remember that
your character is thrust into a hostile situation with a whole lotta guns and
more double-crosses and plot twists than a season of 24. BLACK is all-out action
from start to finish.
As I
said earlier, the developers wanted to make BLACK all about the guns, and they
succeeded in that sense. Even the most mundane weapon in BLACK is a rockstar,
and the ones that shine have a blinding luster. The AK-47 is a personal
favorite, as workhorse of an automatic rifle as you can get, pumping out rounds
with accuracy and range. The shotgun is another highlight, dispensing foes in
one blistering shot and opening doors.
That’s
right, I said you could blow open doors with the shotgun, and once you’ve done
this, there really is no going back. In fact, most objects in the environment
have some degree of destructibility. In one particular area, a sniper has some
ground on you in a cemetery requiring you to employ the use of headstones for
cover. However, the sniper will blast away at pieces of the headstones until he
can get to you, meaning you’ve got to book it to better cover. Walls on
structures will get holes blown in them, even sections completely decimated.
Another area has enemies in derelict buildings shoot RPG’s at you, blowing up
things left and right. Once you get a launcher of your own, you can take these
fools out, often producing a huge explosion ringing throughout the entire
structure, nearly toppling it over.
While as
cool as it is, BLACK does have a few glaring issues that prevent it from being
as good as it could’ve been. First is the AI, which is certifiably lame. Baddies
don’t use squad tactics, employ the use of cover, hell, they won’t even shoot at
you sometimes. Secondly, the game is extremely short, around five and a half
hours, first go through. While this does make the game more accessible for
mainstream audiences, allowing them to have a chance to finish the game without
getting too worn out or frustrated, given that the game doesn’t have a
multiplayer element, replay value is quite low.
Graphically, BLACK is amazing, pushing the Xbox hardware to its absolute limit.
The lighting effects look phenomenal, and the smoke trail effect when you shoot
off an RPG is awesome. The guns are meticulously detailed, with all kinds of
nice little touches, and the destructible environments look and feel downright
nasty (a good thing). BLACK is as good as it gets for this generation’s
hardware, and stands as a great swan song for the Xbox’s technical capabilities.
BLACK’s
sound is even more amazing than its graphics. The game makes full use of Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and the explosions, screaming enemies and whizzing
bullets will give you ulcers. The music also does a fantastic job of putting you
into “action movie” experience, as it could fit into any number of films in the
genre. All right, probably all of them.
BLACK is
a great FPS that does things a little differently by giving us all that really
matters (gunfire, explosions, carnage) and nothing else that doesn’t, even if it
can be a bit of a double-edged sword. The game is quite short, the AI is
downright dumb and the action is straightforward (intense though it may be).
However, shooter fans will find a lot to love in BLACK, as will casual gamers.
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Gameplay: 8.5
BLACK is all
about the basics. It’s a straightforward shooter that makes no attempt to create
puzzle solving elements or anything of the Half-Life 2 variety, but rather takes
on the barebones and does them right. However, this is a double-edged sword, as
the game may come across as being a little bit on the simplistic side, and other
shortcomings, like the short length and dumb AI, may sour some gamers looking
for something more.
Graphics: 9.5
This is one of
the best looking games you’ve seen (and probably will see) on the Xbox, folks.
Sound: 9.7
BLACK sounds
amazing, with great music and some great use of 5.1 surround sound. This is one
of those games that you show to your friends when you tout your audio system to
make them feel poor.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 8.5
BLACK keeps away
from all of the complicated gobbledygook in most FPS’s and instead give us all
that matters, guns, bombs and bodies.
Overall: 8.7
BLACK is
a great game, an accessible shooter with mainstream appeal, just what the Xbox
needs in its twilight hour.
