Black is the latest title to be released by the up and coming developer Criterion Games. Since its initial announcement Black has been hyped to the fullest extent as what was to be an almost revolutionary FPS that focuses on 100% action 100% of the time. The compromise, however, is extremely destructible environments and intense firefights in a single player arena in exchange for good story and any sort of multiplayer options. That is exactly what you get with Black; whether or not that is a good thing I'm still not sure.

Black is visually stunning. Everything from the textures, to the lighting, to the dust and smoke effects are absolutely top notch. The environments in Black are big and full with a good amount of attention to detail everywhere you look. That being said, they look even better when you blow them to pieces. Perhaps the most impressive graphical aspect is that every bullet leaves a mark. When you shoot a wall, you leave a mark in it and that mark actually stays there. When in a firefight your shots will kick up dust and spit debris into the air when they hit dirt or walls which really helps to make things even more hectic.

On par with the visuals of Black is the audio. The music is very well done by an orchestra that definitely knows what they are doing. If you have a decent surround sound setup you'll be able to wake up the neighborhood with the explosions throughout this title. The weapons also sound very real and powerful. When you are crouched behind a concrete wall, or what's left of one, you will actually hear the enemy bullets chipping away at your sides. Of course the baddies will be yelling "grenada" every time you chuck a 'nade at them and will be shouting out the same handful of phrases at you throughout the game, although I suppose that is to be expected by now.

The gameplay in Black is precisely what Criterion has promised us all along. The game is all about big explosions, lots of ammo, and blasting wave after wave of enemies. The controls are easy to pick up and play and despite the absolute lack of story Black has a Hollywood quality presentation. The weapons in Black are, more than any game I've played, very fun to shoot. It's a feeling somewhat similar to shooting an actual gun; the weapons in Black feel that powerful. This is a great thing since you will be gunning your way through hundreds of brain dead baddies in every level. The game gets repetitive very quickly which actually makes Black feel a little bit longer than it really is. A veteran FPS'er will polish this one off in 6-8 hours and probably no more than 10 hours for the less experienced.

While I understand that Criterion was very focused on delivering the single player experience they wanted I can't help but to wonder why we can't have the pretty sights and sounds of Black and have a coherent story and a little more depth in gameplay. As I said the game is short and you won't be coming back a second time due to the repetitive gameplay and the fact that there are no extras or unlockables save for the harder difficulty. This game is the epitome of a "rent but don't buy" title. Black comes out gunning but gets boring real quickly. Beauty is only skin deep and Black is a busty blonde with no personality.

Mar 5, 2006 | 4 comments
Kris VanHaaren