Black
If you're anything like me then you really like to blow things up. You're the type of gamer that can't get enough of first person shooters and at some point in your experience you have probably tried to write something with bullet holes on the wall. I particularly love to see the type of damage that my rampage causes and nothing makes me happier than interacting with my environment. As you'd expect when I first heard about Black being developed by the explosion crazy guys over at Criterion Games, I had a gamer-gasm.
The hype machine had started rolling and reading up on the game only increased my anticipation for it. The promise of massive environments with high levels of destructibility really caught my attention. What I found when I actually had the chance to play Black was an experience that was somewhat disappointing compared to the hype that the game had received. Yes you can destroy many items and portions of buildings in the game, but only to an extent and only in certain parts. It's not that I was expecting to be able to blow up the world, but I honestly was hoping for more interactivity.
In retrospect my enthusiasm for the game probably would have been greater if the AI was better and the experience more immersive. As it stands Black is a finely crafted and polished first person shooter, but unfortunately is one that is merely above average. It would appear that most of the focus for the development of the project was directed towards the destructive nature and fine collection of weaponry. Everything else feels like an afterthought.
The story focuses on a special agent who is behind bars after a mission didn't go as planned. As the agent is being forced to talk through the plot, his one on one interrogation lays out all of the key players and the scenarios. After he recounts his history it is you that gets thrust into the particular moment and you see the world through his eyes. The tale is interesting enough to keep the game moving forward, but I honestly didn't see how it tied into the gameplay. It almost felt like they were two separate entities at some points, but as I said before the premise for Black is all about action.
Gameplay:
Right from the get-go Black will suck you in with its familiar and intuitive control scheme. If you have ever played a FPS on the PS2 then you'll feel instantly comfortable with the set up here. That's a good thing because the game gives you only a moment to orient yourself. Before long a barrage of enemy combatants will be coming your way and all that stands between you and certain death is your ability to use a gun. This breakneck pace lasts for just about the entire game and you are never really given a breather. Needless to say you better get used to it quickly or else you won't be getting very far.
You aren't necessarily put on rails in Black, but you will constantly have the feeling that you're being pushed forward. The various objectives come at you relentlessly and as you progress you'll always see an enemy in the distance. This is one of Black's strengths and is unfortunately also one of its weak points. There is so much action that comes at you so quickly that you'll feel worn out after a mission or two. You are never given a moment to rest or soak in the atmosphere and instead everything is done on the fly.
It's because of this that the game will make an immediate "wow" impression on you. The first time you realize that the obstacle you're ducking behind is slowly getting chipped away by sniper fire you'll feel the urge to keep moving. It certainly makes getting that kill feel more rewarding as you emerge victorious from a game of cat and mouse. Of course our hero speaks softly and carries a loud explosion, so as you're going along if you see anything with a flammable sticker on it go ahead and shoot.
The explosions in Black actually impact the gameplay a great deal. Sure the enemies are stupid enough to stand next to explosive barrels in a gun fight, but are they expecting that you'll blow up their truck? How about if you bring that building down on top of them by destroying the oil tank? It's predictable and convenient to no end, but the usefulness and cool factor outweigh the lack of creativity. I found that it actually added a lot of strategy to gunfights as well. I often waited for the right moment to shoot the thing that would cause the most damage to a group of enemies instead of trying to line up a single headshot.
Sadly there really isn't a lot of diversity to the opposing force. There are literally a handful of enemy classes that you'll face and ultimately that adds a bit of generic atmosphere to the Black. Whether you're squaring off against the guy with a machine gun or the one with the shotgun it really doesn't matter because there is no individuality. By the time I killed my 300th bad guy I couldn't help but start to feel bored and ironically that was only after a couple hours of play time.
As far as the objectives are concerned there really wasn't much here to push the boundaries for the genre. There were several get from point A to point B scenarios as well as the need to find documents and special items. The nice part is that as you play the game you can experience several different things on the numerous difficulty settings. On Easy you'll just be doing primary objectives, while on Normal and Hard things obviously get more complex. For the part though the game boils down to killing people and making things go boom no matter what difficulty selection you have it on.
The selection of weaponry is pretty vast as well and many of them have secondary features to play around with. Some weapons come with suppressors while others can have the way they shoot manipulated. The armaments in the game are diverse, yes, but ultimately I have to admit that they are fairly standard in terms of selection compared to other titles. The biggest difference here is the sense of power that they imbue you with.
Now that I've had the chance to play through Black I have to say that I'm very underwhelmed. I loved the premise and the execution of the action, but everything else in the game feels like a second thought. The objectives get old after a while, the enemies are generic, and the AI loves to hump explosive bowels and spawn from tool sheds. If the pacing of the game had been broken up a little bit and more attention paid to level design, Black could have been all that it was hyped to be. Oh, and while you're at it a little multiplayer could have gone a very long way.
Graphics:
There are moments when you are playing Black that you will have to pause for a second to take in what just happened. The effects for explosions and gunfire are absolutely amazing but seeing the result of your destruction is just as impressive. Buildings crumble, wood shreds, glass shatters, and stones break apart. It's amazing that this much detail went into environments that otherwise are poorly designed and dull.
As I mentioned the enemies are wholly generic and lack any real thought. Of course once you shoot them some nifty ragdoll physics take hold and some cool death animations await you. Unfortunately as great as the rest of the game looks there are quite a few problems. I noticed when I was close to some textures in the environments that they shook violently. That sounds kind of strange, but there's really no other way to describe it and to say that the effect was disorienting would be an understatement. There is a bit of slowdown when the action really heats up and the live action cut scenes are actually kind of poor looking when you get right down to it. Overall though, Black is fantastic looking despite its few flaws.
Audio:
Here's a sample of what you can expect to hear while playing Black: KABOOM!
There is a never ending barrage of gunfire and explosions from the moment you start the game. Once you add the spray of bullets against the wall behind you, the scream of guards in front of you, and the ceiling crumbling above you, the sense of immersion becomes extreme. The music direction is great as well with some epic tunes that I found myself humming long after I fired my last clip. The voiceovers however, weren't as good and at times the quality sounded like it was coming from a tin can.
Conclusion:
For fans of first person shooters that are just looking to blow something up Black is a godsend. The action is so over-the-top you'll get a nosebleed and the sense of immersion is amazing if you let yourself get swept away. Unfortunately the lack of multiplayer, proper pacing, creative gameplay, and mind-numbingly stupid AI leave something to be desired. For what it's worth Black does make an immediate and positive impact that lasts for at least a few hours. After that it starts to get a little dull.