I've been a fan of BLACK's technology from the first moment I saw it nearly two years ago. Invited "behind closed doors" to check it out at E3 2004, I was absolutely blown away with what Criterion had done with the PlayStation 2 hardware. In fact, all who saw the game in IGN's E3 war room shared the same sentiment and jokingly referred to it as "the everything killer" as a play on the overused "Halo Killer" term which had been thrown around for a couple of years (we even worked the phrase into the first preview's teaser for that extra "oomph"). Needless to say, the demo was very impressive and we were all extremely anxious to see where the project was going.
Twenty months, a corporate buyout, and dozens of builds later, BLACK is almost done. Scheduled for release in just a couple of weeks, the first-person "Gun Porn" has only a few small technical fixes left before it's ready for retail. Luckily, the folks at Electronic Arts gave us a special sneak peek at two never-before-seen levels as a reminder of what's coming... and much to my surprise it's a lot different from what I was expecting.
And no, "different" doesn't mean that BLACK has suddenly shifted gears and added something extra at the last moment. Nor does "different" mean that the game has suddenly tanked and become a terrible disaster overnight. What "different" really translates to is that BLACK is whole lot deeper than what was first hinted at... because up until now, Criterion had presented it as a balls-out shooter with plenty of deformation and Hollywood effects. Think DOOM with extra coats of paint. But the truth is, BLACK isn't that kind of game at all.
In reality, EA's shooter is more like a post-modern Call of Duty with better physics. Truth be told, the similarities between the two games are pretty amazing. Just as in Infinity Ward's excellent World War II experience, for example, BLACK challenges you to take cover almost as frequently as it makes you rush. Blasting headfirst into a group of enemies armed with machineguns almost never ends with your character Jack still alive -- regardless if you have CPU-controlled squad mates or not.
Another similarity that BLACK has with Call of Duty is that it's scripted but doesn't feel overly confined. Over the course of the two new stages we played in our lengthy two-hour demo, we were directed towards one uniform goal with a series of smaller objectives to complete along the way. As it turns out, the higher the difficulty slider is set, the more mini-objectives you'll have to complete -- but don't worry, not all objectives will be required and some are entirely optional (usually of the "find the secret document" variety). Regardless of their purpose, though, all the objectives are surprisingly (and thankfully) challenging.
Of course, one of the prevailing reasons that BLACK's mission objectives are so challenging in the first place is because of Call of Duty similarity number three -- multiple paths on the way to completing the same goal. In the Naszran Foundry area that I played through, for instance, my original aspiration was to cross a massive minefield guarded by an enormous cadre of enemy gunners. Right from the start, I already had a couple of options available to me: I could opt to try and take out initial guards from my up-high position via distance fire, or run down and try to take them out systematically with a duck and cover strategy. Eventually I discovered that there were a couple of other ways I could do it too (think exploding canisters and lots of grenades), and being able to personalize what's an otherwise linear gameplay experience to my own style was a welcome bonus.
But just because I could make it past the initial string of guards, it didn't mean that I was out of the woods (or canyon, in this case) just yet. After disposing of my enemies, there were two terrifying forks in the road I had to deal with eventually. On the left, we had several dilapidated buildings with multiple cover points that served as a veritable nest of hostiles. To the right, an uphill battle (literally) of tactically-placed riflemen and one fully-armored shotgun bastard that were intent on cutting me down before I could make it up the mound. I tried both ways, but preferred the right path most because I discovered that I could shoot a large stack of iron tubes to serve as impromptu steam rollers... and that opened up a whole new can of worms.
That can is probably one of my favorite aspects of BLACK so far, and it's the straightforward ability to blow up just about anything. Apparently the rule at Criterion when making the game was, "if players saw an object or structure they thought they should be able to destroy then they could." If you see a gas station with a couple of pumps in front of it, for example, you can kiss that sucker goodbye and engulf it in a massive ball of flame. If you see a mine on the ground next to an enemy target that is blocking the next spot on your objective list, you can shoot it to set it off (and others around it) for huge chain reaction results. And if your enemies are taking cover behind wooden crates or buildings, you can be sure that it will chip away while you shoot it.
Proof of the available destruction in BLACK can be found in the factory area I was already exploring. After crossing the mined section (that took quite a few tries, I might add), my new objective was to infiltrate the various buildings to weed out opponents. The structures here were immense and in addition to finding various bits of machinery and objects that could be blown to smithereens, I could also just point my gun upwards and take out the glass ceiling for gratifying "death from above" action.
After the fireworks it was back into more factory structures, constantly under attack from enemies along the way, and it was obvious that danger could be found at just about every turn. In total length, the entire stage takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour to complete and based on what we've seen before in other areas, is indicative of the length of all of BLACK's nine stages. Expect to spend a lot of time with this one when it comes out.
Aside from the play mechanics, there were a few other bits and pieces of the game that I didn't know were in there before. Players can assign individual profiles on the same memory card, for example, and it keeps track of game completion percentages, accuracy percentages, kill counts, and a bunch of other statistics that are compiled over the life of your experience. It was also good to see the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions finally running side by side (the Graveyard level from last week's preview was played on an Xbox, the factory on a PS2), and there's honestly no major visuals differences between them. Even more impressive is the sound, which on a properly-configured surround sound setup kicks the *** of every other current-gen game we've played. No joke.
So with only a few weeks left to go what are the problems? Sadly, there are some worth mentioning. The most noticeable issue was with the CPU-controlled teammates that accompanied us on our missions -- in short, they were pretty gorked. More often than not, our AI buddies would just stand there in the middle of a firefight, turn their backs to attacking opponents, or shoot at an area where there were no targets to hit at all. We've been told that they'll be less dim-witted in the final version (and I hope they're right), but at least the enemy AI was better and didn't do nearly as many silly things.
Another disappointment is that there weren't (and there will not be) sensitivity sliders to adjust how your movements react in relation to your manipulation of the analog sticks. Apparently, this all ties into having realistic physics for the guns, but for some it could be a big adjustment. Checkpoints in missions can run pretty long too, with 20-25 minute gaps between save spots. This means that if you keep dying in one spot just prior to the next checkpoint, you could end up spending hours and hours trying to make it through a single sequence.
In all honesty, though, the positives far outweigh the negatives in BLACK thus far. It's definitely an immersive game to say the least, with plenty of enemies to shoot, things to destroy, and some great original music to boot. Check out the latest direct feed movies of the factory level that we've updated onto our media page and check back with us again for a full review in the next couple of weeks.
by Jeremy Dunham
Courtesy of IGN.COM
Twenty months, a corporate buyout, and dozens of builds later, BLACK is almost done. Scheduled for release in just a couple of weeks, the first-person "Gun Porn" has only a few small technical fixes left before it's ready for retail. Luckily, the folks at Electronic Arts gave us a special sneak peek at two never-before-seen levels as a reminder of what's coming... and much to my surprise it's a lot different from what I was expecting.
And no, "different" doesn't mean that BLACK has suddenly shifted gears and added something extra at the last moment. Nor does "different" mean that the game has suddenly tanked and become a terrible disaster overnight. What "different" really translates to is that BLACK is whole lot deeper than what was first hinted at... because up until now, Criterion had presented it as a balls-out shooter with plenty of deformation and Hollywood effects. Think DOOM with extra coats of paint. But the truth is, BLACK isn't that kind of game at all.
In reality, EA's shooter is more like a post-modern Call of Duty with better physics. Truth be told, the similarities between the two games are pretty amazing. Just as in Infinity Ward's excellent World War II experience, for example, BLACK challenges you to take cover almost as frequently as it makes you rush. Blasting headfirst into a group of enemies armed with machineguns almost never ends with your character Jack still alive -- regardless if you have CPU-controlled squad mates or not.
Another similarity that BLACK has with Call of Duty is that it's scripted but doesn't feel overly confined. Over the course of the two new stages we played in our lengthy two-hour demo, we were directed towards one uniform goal with a series of smaller objectives to complete along the way. As it turns out, the higher the difficulty slider is set, the more mini-objectives you'll have to complete -- but don't worry, not all objectives will be required and some are entirely optional (usually of the "find the secret document" variety). Regardless of their purpose, though, all the objectives are surprisingly (and thankfully) challenging.
Of course, one of the prevailing reasons that BLACK's mission objectives are so challenging in the first place is because of Call of Duty similarity number three -- multiple paths on the way to completing the same goal. In the Naszran Foundry area that I played through, for instance, my original aspiration was to cross a massive minefield guarded by an enormous cadre of enemy gunners. Right from the start, I already had a couple of options available to me: I could opt to try and take out initial guards from my up-high position via distance fire, or run down and try to take them out systematically with a duck and cover strategy. Eventually I discovered that there were a couple of other ways I could do it too (think exploding canisters and lots of grenades), and being able to personalize what's an otherwise linear gameplay experience to my own style was a welcome bonus.
But just because I could make it past the initial string of guards, it didn't mean that I was out of the woods (or canyon, in this case) just yet. After disposing of my enemies, there were two terrifying forks in the road I had to deal with eventually. On the left, we had several dilapidated buildings with multiple cover points that served as a veritable nest of hostiles. To the right, an uphill battle (literally) of tactically-placed riflemen and one fully-armored shotgun bastard that were intent on cutting me down before I could make it up the mound. I tried both ways, but preferred the right path most because I discovered that I could shoot a large stack of iron tubes to serve as impromptu steam rollers... and that opened up a whole new can of worms.
That can is probably one of my favorite aspects of BLACK so far, and it's the straightforward ability to blow up just about anything. Apparently the rule at Criterion when making the game was, "if players saw an object or structure they thought they should be able to destroy then they could." If you see a gas station with a couple of pumps in front of it, for example, you can kiss that sucker goodbye and engulf it in a massive ball of flame. If you see a mine on the ground next to an enemy target that is blocking the next spot on your objective list, you can shoot it to set it off (and others around it) for huge chain reaction results. And if your enemies are taking cover behind wooden crates or buildings, you can be sure that it will chip away while you shoot it.
Proof of the available destruction in BLACK can be found in the factory area I was already exploring. After crossing the mined section (that took quite a few tries, I might add), my new objective was to infiltrate the various buildings to weed out opponents. The structures here were immense and in addition to finding various bits of machinery and objects that could be blown to smithereens, I could also just point my gun upwards and take out the glass ceiling for gratifying "death from above" action.
After the fireworks it was back into more factory structures, constantly under attack from enemies along the way, and it was obvious that danger could be found at just about every turn. In total length, the entire stage takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour to complete and based on what we've seen before in other areas, is indicative of the length of all of BLACK's nine stages. Expect to spend a lot of time with this one when it comes out.
Aside from the play mechanics, there were a few other bits and pieces of the game that I didn't know were in there before. Players can assign individual profiles on the same memory card, for example, and it keeps track of game completion percentages, accuracy percentages, kill counts, and a bunch of other statistics that are compiled over the life of your experience. It was also good to see the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions finally running side by side (the Graveyard level from last week's preview was played on an Xbox, the factory on a PS2), and there's honestly no major visuals differences between them. Even more impressive is the sound, which on a properly-configured surround sound setup kicks the *** of every other current-gen game we've played. No joke.
So with only a few weeks left to go what are the problems? Sadly, there are some worth mentioning. The most noticeable issue was with the CPU-controlled teammates that accompanied us on our missions -- in short, they were pretty gorked. More often than not, our AI buddies would just stand there in the middle of a firefight, turn their backs to attacking opponents, or shoot at an area where there were no targets to hit at all. We've been told that they'll be less dim-witted in the final version (and I hope they're right), but at least the enemy AI was better and didn't do nearly as many silly things.
Another disappointment is that there weren't (and there will not be) sensitivity sliders to adjust how your movements react in relation to your manipulation of the analog sticks. Apparently, this all ties into having realistic physics for the guns, but for some it could be a big adjustment. Checkpoints in missions can run pretty long too, with 20-25 minute gaps between save spots. This means that if you keep dying in one spot just prior to the next checkpoint, you could end up spending hours and hours trying to make it through a single sequence.
In all honesty, though, the positives far outweigh the negatives in BLACK thus far. It's definitely an immersive game to say the least, with plenty of enemies to shoot, things to destroy, and some great original music to boot. Check out the latest direct feed movies of the factory level that we've updated onto our media page and check back with us again for a full review in the next couple of weeks.
by Jeremy Dunham
Courtesy of IGN.COM
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