A Legendary FPS - Black (2006)
Black is an explosion filled, action jammed rollercoaster of a shooter.
Released in 2006 by Criterion Games for the PS2 and for the Xbox, the game was one of the last great games of the era – the Xbox 360 had already been out for a couple of months, and the PS3 was to follow at the end of the year.
The guns and destruction in this game are just awesome, as a kid I’d never played a game with such wicked shotguns, or awesome RPG effects, the environment reacting to every bullet and grenade with a hail of glass or crumbling of a wall.
The graphics are just awesome too – the post processing in this game was next level for games from the era, which largely avoided it entirely. The environments are pretty awesome but I’ve always found the level design and story to be a bit clunky and strange. The first mission just… ends at this doorway with a cutscene then explaining what happened next. It’s a bit odd, for sure.
The game is very difficult too – the enemies are the highest grade of bullet sponge there is, some of them taking whole clips to die, even on Normal difficulty. Fortunately there are explosives everywhere – your only relief sometimes, and seemingly a homage to Goldeneye, which strikes as the games primary influence in many aspects.
Overall I think this game shines as one of of the most awesome FPS releases on the PS2 and Xbox - however it was to be Criterion’s only FPS. Black 2 was apparently in the works for the 360 but cancelled early in development, and there is footage of what is apparently a prototype of the game with very early development graphics, amongst discussion from former developers, and that is all.
Criterion has never returned to the genre, and they’ve stuck to racing games like Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed for the most part.
Black is however well remembered by those who have played it, and is one you should definitely give a shot if you haven’t.
Sources:
Obscure Gamers
Comments
Post a Comment