With the recent release of Black on the Xbox originals section of the marketplace it seems like the perfect time for a look back on what made the rather overlooked Criterion title unique in a genre famed for its uniformity.
Upon loading up Black the player is left in little doubt as to what the game is all about. Beautifully rendered guns adorn the menu screen and fire off in slow motion, innuendo definitely intended, this is about as close to gun porn as you can get. Even in game the weapons are still impressive to this day - pixel for pixel they might not have modern games beat but the lighting and detail on each is astonishing.
Without satisfying game play the fancy hardware on display would be worth nought. So it delights me to say that Black delivers, well for the most part. Much was made of the destructible environments before the games release but the enthusiasm surrounding this particular aspect of the game seems laughable now in the face of upcoming shooters like Bad Company.
There’s no real physics in play as you tear the scenery to pieces with walls breaking apart along predetermined weak points and huge explosions damaging objects the same way and style pretty much every time. The debris and dust particles that fly through the air as you spew bullets are enough to fill the screen at times.
Peering through the smoke to pick out enemies visible only by the flash of their guns, it’s clear that the destructibility of real world objects was simply an aid to atmosphere. Only in one level did I notice the destruction seriously adding to tactical options as I blasted through plasterboard walls to advance instead of using the enemy filled corridor.
199 days ago
A classic shooter - got this on the PS2 and XBOX. Still hard to go back to after playing and getting used to Call of Duty 4 though...