 | Fun for five minutes, but
ultimately empty and tiresome,
this is Black |
|
Admittedly, I'm only a quarter of my way through Black as I write this, so whether you take it as a full-blown review or not is entirely up to you. I will say this though...it's one big arse disappointment of a game.
Due out next week on the PS2 and Xbox, Black promised us mass carnage, crazy physics, destroyable scenery, and the most over the top FPS experience yet.
Sadly, while it demonstrates ambition for such things, it never follows through, and to make matters worse, is let down by numerous annoyances and a general sense of, well, boredom, that ultimately results in an exercise in mediocrity that I have little passion for. Think more Killzone than Halo.
The Good
Indeed, destroyable scenery runs rampant throughout Black. Whether it be every crate on screen, the massive statue in the middle of that square, or every window of that building, ploughing enough bullets into it - or a swift 'nade - will sure enough blow the fuck out of it.
 | | Although not pictured in this build, Black features a bizarre blur feature while reloading, where your eye-sight drifts to your weapon and the background goes momentarily out of focus. It's a little odd, but I guess kinda works |
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It's actually rather refreshing to see enemies cover behind a car, but instead of having to line up careful headshots, simply being able to shoot the shit outta the car itself 'til it explodes and burns 'em all alive. Similarly, spotting a small building full of soldiers, then lobbing a grenade through one of the windows and blowing out half the wall along with everyone inside provides some pleasing enjoyment too. There's a feeling of connection and interaction with the game world as a result of this stuff, and Black can perhaps boast the most destroyable environments around thanks to this.
The feel of the guns also deserve a mention. As self-proclaimed gun nuts, developers Criterion do their best to convey the sheer brutality of firing off a lead spewer. They feel oh so meaty and there's real weight and oomph behind every squeeze of the trigger as a result, and this too deserves some applause.
This extends to the sound in fact, which I'd consider the true high point of the game. Every guns proves loud and angry, blaring through your speakers like a rabid beast, while Michael Giacchino - of Medal of Honour and Lost fame - provides another beautiful score to add to his belt which undercuts the violence nicely.
Sadly, it's all down hill from here however.
The Bad
As Criterion's first FPS, it most definitely shows. The story and cut-scenes are embarrassingly bad, and the design is about as clichéd as you can get. You'll find health packs, bad guys wearing ski masks, non-existent AI, and while the handling of the guns is pleasing, it still features the same selection of boring old weaponry we've fired in a million other (far superior) FPS games. You've got your pistol, your shotty...your AK-47...zzzZZzzz...
 | | Enemy character models fail to impress, and killing them over and over (and over...) grows monotonous |
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Visually, the animation is poor, character models appear blocky, and the whole thing actually has a faint whiff of the budget-ware about it. Black is one of those titles boasting average looks, that tries to disguise it by hiding behind a whole heck load of special effects, namely blooming and blurring. That may work for some, but not here...Black is startlingly dull to look at. There's just no flair to it.
Somewhat worryingly, the physics are surprisingly cack too. For a game so hell-bent on carnage, I was expecting Half-Life 2 style dynamics in abundance, with crates, objects and bodies colliding and bouncing around with beautiful hilarity. Nowhere to be seen.
And this leads me onto really my biggest gripe with Black as a whole; this game just isn't as ridiculously over the top as we were led to expect. Early footage, cut together to form crazy collages, showcased amazing explosions and endless barrages of machine gun fire going off in all directions, creating the most chaotic FPS action the world had ever seen. Dig should know better than to trust strange trailers though, in practice Black really isn't any more high octane than any of its peers. Despite an emphasis on exploding scenery, it's hardly the "Burnout of the FPS genre" as promised, and I'd say even the average online game of Battlefield 2 offers more chaotic bang for your buck than this. Christ, there are even levels that - gasp - border on stealth. And don't get me started on that fucking sniper level.
These missions also have a tendency to go on waaaaay too long. For such a repetitive game, the levels don't half drag, unfortunately making this one of the few FPS titles I've played in which I came dangerously close to - literally - nodding off mid game.
This is all compounded by the lack of any sort of multiplayer functionality at all. A shame, as tearing up shit with a mate could have adding some much needed fun that - trust me - the game is in desperate need of.
Conclusion
 | | Black does a decent job with the environments, but in the day and age of FEAR, Battlefield 2 and the 360, it looks startlingly dated |
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As a console FPS, Black handles itself better than many, with tight controls and combat that proves - at least initially - quite satisfying.
That ain't saying a whole lot however, considering the travesties thrust upon some of these consoles in the FPS genre, and to be frank, I'd advise you to whack your February wages on
Shadow of the Colossus instead, a far superior, long-awaited title which just recently hit European store shelves at last.
Black on the other hand, will long be forgotten by this time next month. I expected beautiful insanity, but instead got little more than a noisy version of the same old FPS bollocks we've been playing for years.
It's just not the game I was expecting, and more importantly...was promised.
(Pictures courtesy of
Black)
This review/report was created by the great team at TPSreport.co.uk:
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