BLACK (Xbox)
08 March 2006
Black is the latest production from Criterion Games, famed developers of the Burnout series and underlings of semi-controversial software publishing giant Electronic Arts. Ever since Criterion announced its foray into the First-Person-Shooter realm, there has been no shortage of buzz (bzzzbzzz) or hype throughout its development process. Since mid-2004, previews, detailed articles, interviews and generous media clips of Black have circulated across big sites such as Gamespot, Gamespy and TeamXbox in a bid to cause gamers to froth at the mouth at the mention of the game's name.
Honestly, when the game's Lead Designer Craig Sullivan can be quoted as aspiring to achieve "gun porn", it becomes difficult not to get excited in pants, especially when constantly being inundated by teasing clips of gunplay, explosions and the wet, hot, oily guns themselves. All of this is done using Burnout-a-licious Renderware which makes everything look sexy when destroyed and shattered into dust and rubble. At no point during this game's development and release cycle was I ever concerned with story or any creative premise; I just wanted to blow shit up.
So does Black deliver on its seductively destructive premise? Yes, it does; I did not regret paying full-price for this game. The press surrounding Black's release has been somewhat mixed (79% on Gamerankings.com) and far from being unilaterally described as "good" or "bad". So I feel the need to air out Black's dirty undies before I elaborate as to why I, as a(n eXtreeeme) gamer, feel the game is a worthwhile purchase.
The Bad:
As many have most likely read, the game is short. Not to shit in anyone's cereal with a spoiler, but the game's ending leaves the player with a cliffhanger ending that renders the sincerity of Black's narrative elements somewhat suspect. The enemies, though masterfully rendered, animated and implemented, don't provide the most varied rogue gallery to face off against. Expect to put a lot of different bullets through a lot of same balaclavas over and over and over again.
Also, the AI is spotty at best; expect to face off against trained, highly-armed terrorists who like to gaze into la-la land while you cap their buddies within earshot. Expect to literally walk backwards into fortuitous, enfiladed enemy positions on open ground throughout the game. Granted, the baddies aren't choking on their own tongues, but their stupidity becomes evident on the game’s first run. An argument can be made that the stupidity of the enemies is a post-modern statement by Criterion regarding clichés of action movies, but eh, people who admin/visit this forum are too crass/stoned/retarded to really care about such a discussion.
The Ugly:
There is nothing uglier for a FPS than the following public service announcement: No Co-op, No DM, No CTF, No Multiplayer Capabilities Whatsoever. It's a deflating reality that has been prominently established by Criterion since Black's announcement nearly two years ago, but it still hurts. Please keep reading to find out about Black's positive contributions to gaming to truly understand why this hurts so much. I would have settled for something: online score-keeping, downloadable extras from Xbox Live, a heartfelt written apology from Criterion that says, "Dearest Gamer: Sorry we didn't have the time to implement MP -- Sincerely, the chaps at Criterion" just to let us gamers know that they too know the hurt.
But now that main gripe is out of my system, I must mention the game still has other minor flaws, but the three aforementioned weaknesses tend to stand out most while playing. This wish-list that Black will generate from aspiring game designers and demanding gamers will probably be longer than Arsenio Hall's face. But the main motivation for emphasizing the aforementioned negative assertions stems from the fact that Black does everything else spectacularly well. I presented the bad points first, because I want to leave an intensely positive note to everyone who has played Black or is still debating on whether or not to bother.
The Good:
From your blood-soaked hands (actually, there is no blood in this game, but there is a ton of cussin’), to the slicked guns, to the cars and buildings you sublimate into flame and gaseous dust particles, everything is part of a grand symphony of destruction and kicking ass. For gamers looking for a cathartic narrative, a game to convince your girlfriend that there are games girls can like too or to keep your kids happy, please read the next statement. Black asserts the following: Feelings and emotions are dumb. Blowing shit up is cool.
Just about everything blows up in Black. I initially never shot at the cars, because I am a nerd and know that cars don't blow up in real life. But once I saw the miniature mushroom clouds of death, I began to shoot at everything which could possibly contain combustible fuel or moving parts. Chances are, it will explode in a violent gush of black smoke and fuego. I'm not sure if there's anything else in the virtual world that is more satisfying than inadvertently leveling buildings just because you were returning fire at enemies perched upon them. Imagine Pandemic Studio's Mercenaries, but not boring.
The action within the game is paced intelligently; gamers will always be able to choose to approach a level with assassin-like finesse or as the thunderous lumber of a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a flame-throwing battering ram for a penis. The intensity of firefights ramp up as one advances from hot-zone to hot-zone so skill and improvisation become useful though not necessarily required. The best part of the action is that it never feels overly scripted nor does the game come off as a trial and error affair.
The varied environments, ranging from bombed-out cities, to woodland border patrols, to fortified bunkers, keep you immersed within Black's rich world of mayhem while keeping things fresh from locale to locale. Whether you're stalking out a terrorist bunker, Serbian minefields or the local Puppies-n-Kittens-R-US, you will be ready to shed your remorse, hesitation and mercy for anything that breathes in Black.
A big factor in making all of the chaos and warfare feel iconic and fun are the guns and tight responsive controls that allow a player to precisely and accurately instruct said guns to attack. The guns themselves are big, beautiful, loud and sexy. Expect to see guns that have achieved ubiquity in movies and games such as the AK-47, M4A1, M249, HKG36, MP5, etc. Each is rendered stylistically and faithfully to their real-world counterparts each with animated details that bring life to their onscreen presence. Switching firing modes, deploying extendable stocks, threading suppressors and reloading are all richly animated and add to the prevalent aura of "gun pr0n". No other game has given this much life and richness toward illustrating a player's tools.
As for controls, Black's look controls are on par with the likes of the Halo series, with precise and responsive look-sensitivity and a wide field of view. The player's capabilities are just as thorough, providing zoom and melee functions that seamlessly blend with the running and gunning. Couple fine shooting and movement controls with an intelligent use of the D-pad, and the management of weapon-switching, firing modes, reloading, crouching, zooming and beating people in the face with your guns becomes a joy in its own right. A lingering complaint is that the player can't jump, but by no-means does this feel like a deficiency in game design nor was it used as a cop-out from designing rich, complex environments to interact within. Also, the player cannot open doors, but doors can be blown off their hinges with shotguns and explosives. Expect a door to literally come flying at your face if an explosion goes off behind one.
In regards to presentation and implementation, there is simply tons of crap that Black has done so well that the game should be used as a standard in terms of "the little stuff" in terms of menu design, music and gaming bric-a-brac that typically gets overlooked. The moment you load and charge Black into your console, Criterion makes a distinct effort to make you feel like a bad, bad man with a gun. Spent casings fly fitfully across the screen to indicate loading progress, the idle screen features guns of the game in a hypnotic display of loading, priming and muzzle flashing, and Criterion lays a black carpet of doom with a grand and dark original score. By the time the first level's (well-directed and framed) introduction sequence is over, a gamer should be ready to crush a Teletubby's windpipe with one bare hand while eating raw steak with the other.
Bottom Line:
I highly doubt Black is going to win any game awards for 2006; in fact, I am almost certain that Black will be considered a huge letdown in the face of the overwhelming hype that is still pulsing on the internet and television. With that in mind, please note that Black takes havoc, action and destruction to a naturalistic and free-roaming standard which most games fail to encapsulate let alone manipulate into a distinct, unique and enjoyable experience.
Despite the game's brevity (I beat it within four nights), I'm looking forward towards playing it again to unlock little secrets, doodads and the "Black Ops" difficulty level. At the very least, Black is a piece of reference material for excellence in presentation. So do yourself a favor and take a bite out of my compliment sandwich for Black and try it out. I'm pretty sure you will be too busy trembling with excess testosterone to complain if I'm wrong.
By tehDog