First person shooters seem to be synonymous with the Xbox console what with Halo being released at the launch of Xbox and then subsequent games appearing such as Wolfenstein, Ghost Recon, Unreal etc. The list is pretty huge when looking back through the games since launch and perhaps points to the fact that us European and American gamers do like to view our surroundings from the perspective of the character we control on screen whilst we kick serious butt. Well it comes as no surprise that once again the Xbox is graced with yet another first person shooter outing in the form of Criteron’s Black. Black’s main objective seems to be to simplify the core mechanic of the genre and strip the game play back to its roots. What this translates to is what can be described as a game which requires you to go from A to B and simply kill anything that gets in the way without the need for things like searching for switches or key cards and such like. Well in a nutshell this is Black, so why should you buy it and does its simplified approach make for a compelling experience?

Gameplay

Black features a plot which is told during an interrogation taking place in a darkened room with a suited man confronting a soldier across a table. In chasing a US terrorist that has struck from within the heart of the country several missions have caused compromising situations for the government resulting in your character being grilled before each mission. As your character takes the flak he also tells his version of events and it is here where the player lives out the mission as it is told. This approach works well and whilst I’m sure the budget wasn’t exactly tested when producing the scenes the actors do a convincing job of conveying the tension of the moment.

Playing Black feels pretty generic at first as you are thrust into a ranging battle on the city streets. That is until you find your first weapon which is approximately 30 seconds into the game! The first thing you will notice as you fire off bullets are the physics for the bullets themselves where it actually feels like you are firing a weapon and causing damage. So for example if you point a newly acquired Ak-47 at a wall and empty the clip you will see an impressive array of bullet holes, debris, smoke and dust appear. This may be nothing new but in Black it simply looks and feels natural. The same effect is present when things like boxes which you might use for cover, suddenly disintegrate due to taking too many bullets. It all adds to a sense of realism to the game despite the actual game being firmly fixed in the arcade category of game (at least on the default difficulty).

The enemies in black are a mixed bag and whilst playing through the 8 levels I noticed the enemies I faced were perhaps the most well equipped terrorists ever to feature in a game. Most enemies are not only armed with reasonable firepower but also are kitted out with impressive body armour. Some enemies actually have full body armour and shields which makes your job a lot tougher. One problem that arose from the fact that in my opinion the body armour was either too powerful or the weapons power too weak which would translate into firing round after round into an enemy and watch them shrug off every bullet until eventually they dropped. This issue became prevalent when tackling the more distant enemies. What this forces the player to do and I guess this is the mainstay of many first person shooters; is to go for the classic headshot which in turn drops enemies in one shot on most occasions other than the tough guys who wear head armour. After a while and once you get to grips with reasonable AI which takes cover from time to time you begin to get real satisfaction from lining up your shot and firing off to be greeted by a familiar thud sound of a headshot and the death of your victim.

The weapons themselves in Black of which you can only carry two at a time, are the usual suspects that you will have encountered in many other games such as assault rifles, sub machine guns, pistols and RPG’s to name but a few. Some of these weapons can be equipped with a silencer (you’ll have to find these) for those who wish to adopt a more stealthy approach to tackling the missions. What is very noticeable is the fact that each weapon has its own firing characteristics, meaning some control is required when firing weapons so for example an AK-47 is far more accurate if fired in single shots rather than bursts, especially at range where as the mac-11 is great for spraying close quarter targets. With a little experimentation and play time, players will get to grips with getting the most out of whatever weapons are available and become real crack shots. As I said before, it becomes very satisfying to get a headshot from long range with a weapon other than a sniper rifle.

The levels themselves are a little uninspiring at times and are very much geared towards urbanised combat. There is one level which takes place in the big outdoors and is a break from the urban areas although it doesn’t give as much opportunity for the game to show off the game’s impressive impact physics. Most levels are pretty linear and at times the player will be accompanied by team mates with whom you have no direct control over. Players will be able to take different paths to reach the same objective but in general the overall experience is to get from A to B using a predetermined route. Throughout the levels there are many secondary objectives which require the player to search the levels a little more thoroughly. These range from secret files to be taken, weapons to use and laptop computers which need to be destroyed. On lower difficulties only a small number of secondary objectives need to be accomplished for a successful mission complete; however when you crank up the difficulty more of these become a requirement.

Graphics

Black features an impressive physics engine where bullets have a real impact on the environment which adds some realism to the game. The locations look detailed and convincing throughout play although being urban inspired are pretty dull in colour. There are some rather effective light blooming effects used and some realistic looking pre-fixed shadows which creates a more living play area. The gun models are highly detailed and display some impressive reload animations which forces the player to focus on looking at the weapon using an effect which blurs the entire screen other than the weapon itself. It’s obvious a lot of care and attention to detail was administered on getting the weapons to not only fire correctly but look the part as well. The character models are pretty basic and from the get go it appears that it’s you verses a clone army. One thing I did notice on occasion were some slightly off animations for the enemies especially when being shot at or killed.

Sound

The sound is pretty impressive as well because it appears the weapons sound is as authentic as possible. It becomes quiet an easy task to distinguish the different gun sounds and to know what weapons your enemies are using. The RPG sound is one to note because during the most tense fire fights you will learn to dread the sound of an RPG being fired unless its one of your own. The sound of bullets hitting the environment is also very realistic and offers a immersive experience when you are in the thick of an intense gun battle. The enemies are all voiced and speak in their native tongue which often gives you a clear indication as to whether an area is clear or not. The voice acting is of a reasonable standard and there is some adult language used by your team mates throughout the game. Black is definitely a game where cranking up the volume is a must. The actual music is tense and relative to the action although some purists might do well to turn the music off to get a real flavour for the intense gun battles that present themselves throughout.

Longevity

Longevity could perhaps be the thorn in Black’s side? Well there are 8 missions to play through and four levels of difficulty to mess around with. However on a first play through using default settings (the starting point for most gamers) players can expect to complete the game between 4-8 hours. That said, Black does encourage you to play through multiple times as playing on hard and then Black ops offers a different playing experience to that of normal and easy. Enemies seem a little tougher but also players have less access to the arcade inspired health packs which in turn creates a more tactical gaming experience akin to games such as Rainbow Six. As mentioned before gamers are also required to complete more secondary objectives on higher difficulties which offers a little more thorough exploration. Sadly Black is strictly a single player experience and whilst it might have felt natural to have a multiplayer component such as co-op or death match this is something that is perhaps lacking in the game and would have given it a wider appeal especially if it were online enabled.

Overall

There is no doubt that whilst it lasts, Black is a very cinematic, fun and immersive playing experience; however its length and lack of multiplayer might ultimately be its demise because most gamers could probably get the most from the game within a rental period. Black offers brutal, intense gun battles that are satisfying to get in and out of and a story that will keep you hooked until the end. I enjoyed playing the game very much and felt that its simplistic approach actually works very well. The physics and sound are very inspiring and although environments aren’t fully destructible there is a real sense of involvement when playing. Some minor graphical imperfections aside, Black is visually impressive albeit a little dull in places and offers an excellent foray into armed urbanised combat. I recommend playing on hard difficulty from the offset to prolong the first time playing experience. Black is a solid albeit short first person shooter which has tons of personality but is perhaps lacking in true features.