Black for PlayStation 2

Black Review

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Key:

Italicized: My opinion

Non-italicized: Facts (for the most part)

Intro

With all of the different First person shooters out there it is always hard to find one that is really what we wanted in a game and that we might enjoy over and over again *cough* Halo* *cough* because of the fact that they put enough effort into it to really make it great. With Black you certainly get an interesting and unique experience and it seems utterly obvious that they put a lot of effort into making.

Interface

The interface is well done. There are no menus in the game that seem overdone or less than what you need.

In-game Interface

This interface is done very well. There isn't much that is taking up the main screen that would get in your way. It has the health bar at the top left with a small place for med kits under it. It also has an indication that sometimes appears (mostly when switching between the two) when you switch to standing/crouching mode. This appears on the bottom left.

On the top right there is a good indication of the amount of bullets that are in the magazine with the gun you're using. Directly under it is a display of the grenades that you have, as well as the total bullets that are in the gun you have.

There is also the ever so handy targeting reticule that appears on screen to show you where directly you are shooting. The reticule does a good job in being accurate to where the bullets end up going once shot.

There is also the ability to zoom in a little more to really see the enemy with nearly all guns (that I've run into) which is nice.

Saving

This can be done during game play as well as an option to save after you are done with the level. The times you are able to save during Black (at least on the default mode) is when you have reached a point in the game where it says that you have reached a checkpoint. These checkpoints tend to be placed in good places throughout the level so that you aren't playing so long that you know you have to redo long portions of the level.

Game play

The game play is done relatively well. I say this after going through the whole 8 levels and experimenting with the game. For one thing 8 levels in a game doesn't sound like a lot and it ends up not being much, although the levels are sometimes fairly large.

During the game you can pick up two guns at the most with a suppressor along with them if you find the suppressor for them; this is realistic and done well.

For each of the missions that you are sent on there are the primary objectives which are displayed on screen to you. There are also secondary objectives too which must be discovered whilst playing the game. These can include things such as Blackmail, Intel Recon, Armament, and Destruction. With blackmail you go through the game and find any evidence (little pads on the walls most of the time) incriminating the U.S. and destroy it (God Bless the U.S.A.). With Intel it's about the same, only you are collecting info. about the other guys. Recon is also about the same too...find information that will help you with upcoming missions. Armament is fairly simple too, find a hidden gun and you can use it. Destruction is the one that most people will find the most appealing, just smash enemy resources for points; what's better than that?

Health dynamic

This is one part of the game that I think is dynamic and sometimes is, but at other times it plain isn't. Basically you pick up these med kits that you find on the field and they don't immediately heal you. You carry these med kits on the battlefield and use them when you deem you want to use them. You are able to carry three in all (at least in normal mode). The only problem is that there can be a lot of fire during the game with several people shooting you and it's hard to keep an eye on the health gauge while doing all of this and use these med kits at the right time before you die. In fact you might die several times because of this and there's not much of a way to avoid it. So while it's 'neat' in can become cumbersome at times.

Explosives, Enemy, Enemies Explosives. Now shake hands

Yeah yeah, with a lot of FPSs that you run into there are usually explosives that are nearby enemies or in some way used in unique ways to take them down. Well with Black this is no exception, in fact one could argue that they have taken it above and beyond where they should have. One gets tired of looking for these stationary targets rather than the moving enemies on the screen and watching the same explosions time after time.

Plot?

The game does have a plot, a lack of a plot, but a plot. Throughout the game there are cut scenes showing a Black Ops soldier that is forced into helping the shady character on the other side of the table. The thing is that the cut scenes NEVER leave that damn table and it gets boring, no matter how many cigarettes you light or how much trash you talk it just leaves something to be desired. Basically you're an elite Black Ops guy, so was another guy who joined the dark side (a terrorist cell) and you go get him; GO! Well thanks for the prep talk and everything, but it's not something you'll probably remember the next day. There's also no way to skip these darn sequences either which is a pain.

AI

The AI is not very good at all. The enemies do move around, but not much unless you 'force' them to. Such an example would be a grenade that the enemies slowly run away from before being thrown in the air. There is also no reaction if you kill one of the AIs with another right next to them and many other examples of bad AI that you can find in many other games.

Graphics

One of the main reasons that I bought this game is the fact that the graphics in it people claimed were so good. Many people have argued that for FPS (First Person Shooters) there is none that can match Black in the way that it was made. Now that I have actually played the game I DO agree with them as it has lived up to the hype.

Physics engine

This is 'the' most impressive thing in the game along with the graphics. This is because all of the bullets that you shoot have an effect on the environment around them. They can kick up dirt, they can cause the walls to come down (not done as well as Red Faction though), they can throw people around like ragdolls, especially with the more powerful weapons. You can do a lot of interesting things with the bullets that you can't do with other games and they should be commended for doing that with this game.

Complaints

There's nothing that stands out...all of it feels like one continuous level with not much variety.

The other thing that I don't like is that even with the primary objectives sometimes it's hard to tell what you are supposed to be doing during times of the game. Such as the objective at one point might be to get to a certain place, but to do that you need to blow up different things in the game which aren't described to you in detail such as a machine gunner's nest or some equipment and so forth. Also, since the enemies respawn frequently you do have to know what you are doing if you don't want to die in frustration. The producers of the game should have realized this.

I also didn't like the minefield part of Black. There seemed to be no indication of where the mines were so it seemed like complete guesswork unless you used a heck of a lot of bullets and grenades.

Compliments

There was obviously a lot of effort put into making this game in the way of graphics, cut-scenes, bullet effects, and the guns themselves. That, as well as the physics engine.

Overall Impressions (AKA short review)

Interface

The interface was one of the more impressive things with black, it's nice and simple and not very obtrusive at all.

Presentation

The presentation was done very well in some parts when it comes to graphics it's second to none (that I've found). Although, like I said before the cut-scenes do leave something to be desired.

Sound

There isn't too much in the way of tracks that you'll be listening to, it's mostly explosions and updates and orders from other officers. The explosion sounds are pretty damn good and you can hear the orders/updates well throughout.

Game play

The game play has some rough spots, nearly nobody that plays FPSs likes a lot of repetition during game play, but this is what Black delivers. Also, the AI isn't very good just as you'd find in many FPS shooters. The physics engine is fantastic though with the way that the bullets affect not only the environment, but also the people that you shoot as well. I've yet to see any other PS2 that has such a system like this and it is something to be enjoyed.

Lasting Appeal

There isn't much to really go back and do. You can do some of the stuff mentioned when you begin missions such as collect Intel and so forth, but there's no real incentive to do this if you've already been through once. If you do insist on going through again there are different modes including Easy/Normal/Hard/Black Ops. These are done well. There is also a lack of multiplayer, both online and off. It basically seems like it wants you to play it and then set it on the shelf.

Score: 8/10