Black (PS2)
- Publisher:
- EA Games
- Developer:
- Criterion Games
- Release Date:
- 14.11.2005
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Action
- Perspective:
- First-Person
- Age:
- Modern Times
5 movies
We play Black...
Black is yet another FPS dropped into an already saturated, yet money munching genre. However, what we find is a game filled with the opportunity for endless fun; though, the need to disengage brain is a must.
I don't really know what I approached this game expecting. As an avid player of the Halo franchise, no other FPS has really got me too excited; wielding an AK-47 just doesn't work as well for me as whipping out a battle rifle and hunting Grunts about the pristine hallways of some Covenant construct. However, when the arty video kicked in - all layered images of war and violence, complete with atmospheric music - I knew that there may be something more to this game than all those others.
The first cut scene really gave me a bit of a surprise; it isn't some delicately rendered graphical piece of genius, it's a real life, acted out scene. I haven't seen a piece of actual footage used as a video since Realms of the Haunting, way back when MS-DOS was something you had to restart for; though that may be because I haven't looked overly hard to find one. However, this does lead way to the first major gripe; the script. When it comes to it, you can forgive something that looks like it's being acted out by a bunch of computer artists and renderers, there's a bit of credit to be given if they can make the lip sync spot on, regardless of what's being said. However, when there's two fully grown men talking in possibly the most cliché interrogation language this side of a James Bond film, well... it gets more difficult to let it go.
However, once it gets going, Black really starts to shine. You find yourself in a ruined building, which the mission briefing tells you is in some town you can't even begin to pronounce. Your first objective? Find a SPAS. Now, images of death and glory automatically start shooting left, right and centre as soon as you mention the word 'combat shotgun' anywhere near an FPS; and Black is no different. Finding that lovely French little beauty is equivalent to finding your long lost soulmate; you suddenly feel a whole lot safer when you see your virtual hands lugging around a gun the size of a toddler.
Getting onto the street, you really realise how stunning this game truly is; random AK fire pings off the floor to your right, and bullet holes appear in the brick wall besides you. Dust clouds shoot up as your enemy - possibly terrorists, possibly the army of some warlord, who really cares? - unload clips in your general direction, with all of the accuracy you can expect from a rushed soldier wielding the simplest gun this side of a Lego set.
To be perfectly honest, no matter how good the ragdoll is, it never seems as good as it could be; the bodies never really fly as far as seems likely, considering the absolutely offensive recoil that hits you as you loose off a shell or two into the back of some soldier at point blank. However, what the physics engine lacks for in realism, the mechanics make for in terrain destruction. Almost everything seems to be able to be blown up, knocked over, shattered, broken, set fire to, or collapsed. Sure, the shaky camera work might mean that you can't actually see where you're pointing the barrel of your brand spanking new AK, but you can see the masonry around your target suffer, and that's the fun bit, right?
But it isn't the offensive level of destruction that makes Black feel like a real combat situation; its your gameplays reaction to the actions of your enemy. Most FPSs allow you to stand relatively still in open ground, holding a sniper rifle whilst removing the hats from enemy's heads who are no more than ten metres away, while under heavy fire. However, standing anywhere near the open in Black means that you don't have a clue what's going on; dust clouds obscure your vision, tracer bullets distract you and make you jump, and explosions send you into shock - your vision blurs, the sound becomes muffled and your reactions slow. A firefight in Black isn't just an excuse to really show how shockingly ‘leet’ you are when it comes to pointing a crosshair in the right direction - you have to keep a level head in the most disorientating experience this side of actually being jumped by armed militia.
The gameplay of Black is superb stuff; visually exciting and with a simple control structure, there's little I could fault the game on when it comes to playability. However, one major problem is actually the backbone; the storyline seems thrown together, and even the first to levels are barely linked. You go from a cityfight scenario to a jungle fighting, solo escapade with only the shortest cut scene to explain why. Exactly why, and how, you jumped from one hot spot to a border crossing is sort of hazy details, and it almost seems as if the designers threw in the tenuous link at the last minute, when they realised they'd made a bunch of glorious levels without coherency.
Black is a marvellous game, and playing it really does give you a thrill if you at all like FPS; however, if a storyline is a must for you, then you might consider looking elsewhere. It isn't exactly disengage brain, but it's damn close. Just turn off the light, grab a beer and get immersed into one of the most realistic combat zones ever seen on any console, ever.
Top game moment: finding myself in a room crowded with paramilitaries, and armed with a fully loaded SPAS. Oh, the carnage.
I don't really know what I approached this game expecting. As an avid player of the Halo franchise, no other FPS has really got me too excited; wielding an AK-47 just doesn't work as well for me as whipping out a battle rifle and hunting Grunts about the pristine hallways of some Covenant construct. However, when the arty video kicked in - all layered images of war and violence, complete with atmospheric music - I knew that there may be something more to this game than all those others.
The first cut scene really gave me a bit of a surprise; it isn't some delicately rendered graphical piece of genius, it's a real life, acted out scene. I haven't seen a piece of actual footage used as a video since Realms of the Haunting, way back when MS-DOS was something you had to restart for; though that may be because I haven't looked overly hard to find one. However, this does lead way to the first major gripe; the script. When it comes to it, you can forgive something that looks like it's being acted out by a bunch of computer artists and renderers, there's a bit of credit to be given if they can make the lip sync spot on, regardless of what's being said. However, when there's two fully grown men talking in possibly the most cliché interrogation language this side of a James Bond film, well... it gets more difficult to let it go.
However, once it gets going, Black really starts to shine. You find yourself in a ruined building, which the mission briefing tells you is in some town you can't even begin to pronounce. Your first objective? Find a SPAS. Now, images of death and glory automatically start shooting left, right and centre as soon as you mention the word 'combat shotgun' anywhere near an FPS; and Black is no different. Finding that lovely French little beauty is equivalent to finding your long lost soulmate; you suddenly feel a whole lot safer when you see your virtual hands lugging around a gun the size of a toddler.
Getting onto the street, you really realise how stunning this game truly is; random AK fire pings off the floor to your right, and bullet holes appear in the brick wall besides you. Dust clouds shoot up as your enemy - possibly terrorists, possibly the army of some warlord, who really cares? - unload clips in your general direction, with all of the accuracy you can expect from a rushed soldier wielding the simplest gun this side of a Lego set.
To be perfectly honest, no matter how good the ragdoll is, it never seems as good as it could be; the bodies never really fly as far as seems likely, considering the absolutely offensive recoil that hits you as you loose off a shell or two into the back of some soldier at point blank. However, what the physics engine lacks for in realism, the mechanics make for in terrain destruction. Almost everything seems to be able to be blown up, knocked over, shattered, broken, set fire to, or collapsed. Sure, the shaky camera work might mean that you can't actually see where you're pointing the barrel of your brand spanking new AK, but you can see the masonry around your target suffer, and that's the fun bit, right?
But it isn't the offensive level of destruction that makes Black feel like a real combat situation; its your gameplays reaction to the actions of your enemy. Most FPSs allow you to stand relatively still in open ground, holding a sniper rifle whilst removing the hats from enemy's heads who are no more than ten metres away, while under heavy fire. However, standing anywhere near the open in Black means that you don't have a clue what's going on; dust clouds obscure your vision, tracer bullets distract you and make you jump, and explosions send you into shock - your vision blurs, the sound becomes muffled and your reactions slow. A firefight in Black isn't just an excuse to really show how shockingly ‘leet’ you are when it comes to pointing a crosshair in the right direction - you have to keep a level head in the most disorientating experience this side of actually being jumped by armed militia.
The gameplay of Black is superb stuff; visually exciting and with a simple control structure, there's little I could fault the game on when it comes to playability. However, one major problem is actually the backbone; the storyline seems thrown together, and even the first to levels are barely linked. You go from a cityfight scenario to a jungle fighting, solo escapade with only the shortest cut scene to explain why. Exactly why, and how, you jumped from one hot spot to a border crossing is sort of hazy details, and it almost seems as if the designers threw in the tenuous link at the last minute, when they realised they'd made a bunch of glorious levels without coherency.
Black is a marvellous game, and playing it really does give you a thrill if you at all like FPS; however, if a storyline is a must for you, then you might consider looking elsewhere. It isn't exactly disengage brain, but it's damn close. Just turn off the light, grab a beer and get immersed into one of the most realistic combat zones ever seen on any console, ever.
Top game moment: finding myself in a room crowded with paramilitaries, and armed with a fully loaded SPAS. Oh, the carnage.
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