Black

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.