Black

Moby ID: 21453
PlayStation 2 Specs
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Description official descriptions

Sgt. J. Keller is a Black Op and he has just failed his operation - badly. He has been incarcerated and is interrogated to reveal his mission and to find out what went wrong. The player goes through Keller's failed operation in eight areas, wasting enemy soldiers and trying to stay alive. There are primary and secondary objectives, such as reaching a rendezvous point and gathering intel.

Black is a traditional first-person shooter with variety of weapons and interactive scenery - interactive meaning destructible in this case. Enemy soldiers can be killed by destroying a nearby fuel tank for example, and weak shelter, like a wooden fence, can be shot to pieces in order to expose the enemy.

The game can be played in four difficulty levels: easy, normal, hard, and black ops. In easy mode, only the primary objective is required. In normal and hard modes, some of the secondary objectives are required. In black ops mode - unlocked after completing the game on hard - all objectives must be reached. New weapons are also unlocked after finishing a level.

Spellings

  • 黑煞 - Simplified Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

365 People (356 developers, 9 thanks) · View all

Music Produced by
Original Score by
Performed by
  • Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra
Live Action Sequences Directed by
Live Action Editing and Visual Effects by
  • Ntropic
Performances by
Voices
English Voice Casting by
IT Manager
IT Support Engineers
Senior HR Manager
Senior Recruitment Manager
Executive Producers
Producer
Lead Designer
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 78% (based on 75 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 77 ratings with 6 reviews)

One of the best FPS on the PS2...

The Good
This game kept me entertained for a long time. I haven't played a FPS so much since Goldeneye on the N64. The levels are massive and the enemies present a decent challenge. There are plenty of awesome weapons at your disposal, and much of your surrounding environment is destructible, which makes for some cool strategic possibilities.

The Bad
Overall I'm quite pleased with the game, but in my opinion it's a little short. Other than that though, everything is awesome!

The Bottom Line
One of the more enjoyable, quality FPS on the PS2. Reminiscent of Goldeneye on the N64 and Killzone.

PlayStation 2 · by Kid Fraser (13) · 2008

Feelings Are Dumb; I Just Wanna Blow Sh*t Up

The Good
The implementation of fully-destructible environments has been a coveted Holy Grail for action games of all sorts, especially immersive games such as first-person-shooters. Amongst the FPS genre, there have been several attempts, Red Faction II being one of the most well-known examples, to weave destructible environments into the flow of combat and interaction within a first-person virtual world, but most attempts have been particularly unremarkable. At the very best, a few breakaway walls and exploding pieces of terrain have given environments a semblance of the desired effect.

It is in this category where BLACK rises to the top. Apply bullets and explosives vigorously to whatever you see, and objects, walls and whole buildings will explode or shatter into dust, fragments and splinters of whatever object, facet or structure they used to represent. Not only do the flames, smoke and dust of explosions look gorgeous, but the destruction is woven seamlessly with the action and gameplay. Sometimes, it's as simple as blowing a door off its hinges with a shotgun or grenades to access the next room. Other times, the player will be faced with the pressure of blowing holes through walls to flank a fixed enemy position. And every once in a while, the player will inadvertently level entire buildings and structures from afar.

And to do all of this fun stuff, the player has a varied and beautifully rendered assortment of guns and explosives at hand. BLACK probably has the most thoughtfully rendered and animated guns in any FPS. One of Criterion's focuses for the game was to create "gun porn' which they certainly achieve. All the guns sound, look and fire with intense virtual weight; it's hypnotizing just to watch the avatar reload or switch firing modes with the natural sway and bob that an actual person would exhibit.

And to control all the mayhem, Criterion has made sure that players controls match perfectly with all available functions. Controls could be comparatively likened to those of Halo 2, but the controls in BLACK feel tighter, more weighty. In addition to the standard use of analog sticks and triggers, the D-pad is smartly deployed as the main console for weapon management, firing mode s for burst/single/automatic fire, extend stocks and thread suppressors. And most importantly, the controls mesh perfectly in response to their relevant animations and how they affect player interaction within BLACK's world.

Beyond its highly polished gameplay features, BLACK also gets a few points for intangibles; presentation-wise, BLACK does so many things well. BLACK's menu design, music and immersion outside of main gameplay contribute greatly towards sucking the player into its dark world of assassination and secret warfare. Criterion goes through sincere lengths to make a player feel that they are entering a world where guns and death are gods.

The Bad
Through a combination of addictive gameplay and a cliffhanger narrative, the game feels painfully short. For all the bodies that get piled up and all the buildings that get leveled, I still wanted more when I was done. Due to its brevity, the game's narrative will come off a tad less sincere than what most players will hope for when spending full-price ($40) on a game.

The enemies, though masterfully rendered, animated and implemented, are relatively unvaried from beginning to end. Expect to see slight variations of the same soldier over and over throughout the game. In addition, the enemy AI is not particularly sharp; on my first run, I ran into plenty of dumbfounded and ineffectual formations and groups of enemies which ignored me until I got right in their faces.

The biggest crime of all is a total lack of multiplayer. BLACK could probably be one of the most addictive deathmatch/co-op games in the history of the First-Person-Shooter genre, but that possibility is closed and totally shut down. It was known from day one of announcement that BLACK would not feature any multiplayer, but it doesn't sting any less once one finishes the single-player campaign.

The Bottom Line
BLACK is a slice of deep-fried gaming. Havoc, destruction and mayhem will be available in abundance, but expect to want more. But despite any of the aforementioned criticism mentioned above, I'd highly recommend BLACK for what it does so much better than anyone else.

Xbox · by ET2600 (15) · 2006

A very good FPS with lots of destructive capabilities and lots of weapons.

The Good
Many weapon choices and very realistic firing action. The sounds, kickback, and rise of all the weapons is amazingly realistic. It was realistic in regards to ammunition and weapon numbers that could be carried. Destructive capabilites are amazing and should not be seen as "too destructive". The storyline was a bit lacking at times, but there was never a dull moment.

The Bad
The AI throughout the game was not as smart as I prefer, but it was not horrible either. Sometimes a bit difficult even on the low difficulty settings when you get rid of a weapon you may need in a situation, but most problems have more than one solution to them.

The Bottom Line
Very good and recommended to any who like Criterion's game or FPS's.

PlayStation 2 · by Aphelion (1) · 2006

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Finding Intel Brian Leach Jan 30, 2008

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Black appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by karttu.

Xbox One added by Plok.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, FatherJack.

Game added March 1, 2006. Last modified March 15, 2024.