BLACK Xbox Review

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April 3rd, 2006 Jason Rybka Leave a comment Go to comments

The word Black is in reference to the Special Operations Groups and at times simply called Black. It is a real group of unknown specialists who go into third world countries and clean up a mess the government can’t â€œtechnicallyâ€ be involved in. Now the difference between a Black Op and say a Ghost is really the mentality of the recruits.

Both are extremely skilled but a Black Op has a bit more freedom and can be dispensable. EA and Criterion worked hard to bring the dark world of the Black Ops to life in this gun fest. Is it the best shooter out for the Xbox? Or is Black just cashing in on the genre? Read our full review of Black and find out.

Gameplay

As the story starts out, it looks more like a major blockbuster Hollywood movie than a game. You see an impressive intro screen followed up by two real life actors. Gamers take on the role of SGT. Keller who just happens to be in jail when the story starts. A sleazy government agent is offering him the chance to clear his record for a price. The charges against Keller are from his last mission. Here is where the word dispensable really does come into play. If he would have successfully completed his last objective, no word of his action would have been recorded. They would have been destroyed and our government would have just released a statement or a story would have shown up on CNN stating another incident happened and no details or no one taking responsibility. Of course, the government wants to use Keller again and here is where the game both works and at times works against itself. You see a flashback as the two go back and fourth and see loads of scenes and headlines. You soon learn SGT. Keller is not the criminal at all. In fact, he wanted to get the last mission done but others screwed up and he is taking the fall.

The opening and first few missions work great with this switch between story and live action. You will continue to go back 4 days before this exchange between the government operative and SGT. Keller. You play the missions and look for the main objective and other Intel while finding new weapons and health kits. Black lives up to what some have dubbed as Gun Porn. The amount of weapons is impressive and there are plenty of areas to shoot out glass and blow crap up. The only problem is that most weapons feel the same. After each mission, you are greeted again to the conversation of the two live actors and while the presentation is top-notch and really well acted, it just seems to wear a little thin. The A.I. at times can be very easy to predict and outsmart at times. Then other times they are one step ahead of you. While ammo is plentiful, health packs come into play and this makes the overall gameplay seem a bit off balanced. The levels are long enough and gamers are greeted to opportunities for headshots, stealth and when to use a suppressed weapon. It is fun and on the harder difficult levels it is a real challenge.

Black is impressive and certainly throws players into the action and that is great. However, the only real issue is that the grenades are pretty useless unless you learn how to use them a little differently. If you throw one, the A.I. scatters right away, but if you can throw when they are not looking, then shoot it with a weapon, the results are pretty cool. I won’t ruin the story but it is broken up into eight missions and the ending is never fully told. Perhaps this is by design or maybe not. It is the type of game that will be fun until you beat it then go back to it later. I tried the game on the Xbox 360 and will admit the game plays better and the load times are faster on the Xbox 360. Also the controls seem a bit easier to use than when played on the regular Xbox system. This is mainly getting the perfect headshot and the more touchy controls. Overall, the title has a nice angle but they seemed to focus a bit too much on it and left out what fans of shooters really care about. Fans of shooters like realistic feeling weapons. The ones in Black look great but they react and feel like each other. The action is fast and intense but is over a bit too fast.

Control / Playability

The controls are set-up perfect and most gamers who are fans of shooters will find it easy to learn. It is the standard shooter set-up with a few changes. You will use the D-Pad for health and a few other options. Learning the controls are easier thanks to the on screen prompts during the first mission. Overall the learning curve is about 15 minutes for those used to shooters while first time players or those fairly new to the genre may need about 30-45 minutes to master the controls. Switching guns and zoom controls are very good but seem a little better when played on the Xbox 360 as I already mentioned. No complaints and the controls are perfect for this type of game.

Graphics / Presentation

While it wears at times, the graphics are impressive and the whole Hollywood Movie look is great. When it switches to the real missions, the graphics look great as well. You may need to go into the options and adjust the brightness for a few missions depending on your TV or preferences. The enemies look realistic but in the fast-paced missions things move too quickly to stop and look at the details on each one. The games camera is good and you normally have a decent view. There are times when the environments around you will hinder your view but that added a realistic feel. Overall, Black makes a great impression and takes full advantage of the power of the Xbox. The animations showing adding suppressors make changing weapons and the explosions great. Overall Black is a feast for the eyes and will have friends who do not own an Xbox saying wow!

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Black Xbox Screenshot

BLACK Xbox Screenshots

Audio

The two main characters are well acted and they seemed into the dialogue and script. At times the information or comments can get very technical and for fans that did not grow up with a military background may get confused. In all fairness, the dialogue fits the story but they could have toned it down. Faces, names, dates and other details are great for a game like this but they can over do it. For the most part they stayed on the other side making it fit without feeling overwhelmed by terms you may not know. The supporting actors also are done well and each one fits their role perfectly. The radio sounds realistic but the sound of dead air may get a little old. Overall, it is a great job in both departments and certainly shows that a lot of time was spent on this game.

Replay Value

Black is a hard title to talk about replay since gamers’ skill comes into play. Will you find everything in the game playing it once through? No I don’t think so. Will it make players want to go back and find everything and replay the missions? Yes but they will probably need a break first. Black is a great stress reliever and a great game to destroy and blow things up. It takes thinking and skill to get through certain points. It just has so much action that it actually may be too intense to go right back to and I can’t say that’s a bad thing to say about any game. Overall well design levels and interesting situations but some may find it a little short.

Overall Score

Overall Score: 8.4/10 [not an average]

Additional Comments

Black is a feast of great graphics and fast gunplay. At $39.99 and the fact it can be played on the Xbox 360, it certainly is worth the money to own it. Hands down the game offers some great graphics and some of the best voice acting I have seen or heard in any Xbox title in a long time. Some may say it is a little short but overall it is worth owning. The ending or lack of one has me a bit confused but this may have been done intentionally for another? Black is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but for fans of shooters it’s hard to beat right now on the Xbox titles to choose from.

XBox Solution