Electronic Arts Black Action Review

caje

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
2 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
A first person shooter game to blow first person shooter games out of the water. The player is completely interactive with the environment that one plays in. The Music is AMAZING and the SOUND of bullets wizzing and glass breaking and cement exploding is sweet!

Strengths:
Very Realistic, a worthy difficulty level, and very fun.

Weaknesses:
No multiplayer and the storyline could use improvement but the game by no means suffers from it

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $1999.00

Summary:
Black is the best FPS on PS2 and the most intense FPS I have ever played on any console....until Black for PS3/Xbox360. Black is an all out adrenaline rush-shoot everything and anything that moves-blow LOTS of stuff up-and have a Blast while doing it FPS. If that sounds like your kinda game then go buy it right NOW for either PS2 or Xbox the game simply ROCKS on both systems.

Strengths:

This game is made by the talented developers at CRITERION that made the AAA Burnout games among others. Criterion my friends are one of the most prolific and talented developers when it comes to the now aging-but still holds its own- Playstation 2 hardware, in fact these developers have the PS2 hardware dialed in to the MAX and it shows with the PS2 version of BLACK in everything from the AI to the detailed and smooooooth graphics that look better than 98% if the games ever released for the PS2. This game ranks right up there with the likes of Metal Gear Solid 3, Gran Turismo 4,Valkrie Profile 2 Final Fantasy 12 and Shadow of the Colossus as THE best looking PS2 games to ever grace the never say never PS2.

I can only imagine what Criterion will be able to do with the upcoming PS3 and Xbox360 version of Black.
Also the gameplay is slightly strategic especially in the later levels if you hope to stay alive. Sure at first it seems to be a shoot/take cover/shoot/cover simple strategy but the fact that you can only carry 2 weapons at a time and when and where to hide or cover is a very key element in this game especially thanks to the excellent AI that makes most of the enemies some of the smartest that you will ever encounter within the PS2,Xbox,GC era of consoles. I found that the PS2 version controls slightly better overall also wich really isnt a surprise since it seems that Criterion has always been a developer that seemed to concentrate slightly more on the PS2 versions of thier games than any other consoles of this generation. Black has great replay value for a FPS also you can earn the silver weapons and open up black ops mode etc.

You will find yourself going back to this game a few days later then again and again just to play through your favorite level or get that extra weapon and blow more stuff up , its a great stress reliever believe me lol. another note on the gameplay is that BLACK has the same "feel" of the burnout games in that the adrenaline rush style of gameplay from the burnout series has somehow been transferred over to a FPS in a way that nobody else has ever done on consoles or even PCs. I enjoyed this game more than any other FPS in YEARS and yes that did suprise me as it was very hyped and then put down by many so-called critics but I felt this game deserved more than a close minded jaded critics view and rating since it isnt Halo or DOOM 3000 or whatever.

Bottom line= THIS GAME IS A BLAST TO PLAY and guess what? VERY FUN and isnt that what video games are supposed to be all about?

Weaknesses:
there isnt much of a storyline but who plays First person shooters for their storylines? not me, and im guessing not 99% of the rest of the gamers out there.
Sure there isnt any multiplayer and that IS one reason many gamers (i guess) play FPS but again NOT me. I am also guessing that if you are one of the millions of avid Playstation gamers out there you probably wont mind the absense of a multiplayer feature either since that has always been PC and Xbox territory anyway.

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 0 of 5

Visitors rate this review
3.25 of 5,
4 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Black is a great game and has graphics to match. but a horrible story line and its kinda becomes the same mission over and over

Harley Gordon

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 0 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.20 of 5,
5 votes

Price Paid:  $4999.00 from Future Shop

Summary:
Bullets whizzing by your head, incredible explosions,fully destuctible environments. A FPS dream come true. Completely satisfying for newbies and experienced players alike. Easy controls, very accurate aiming, a nice variety of weapons and challenging enough to make you want to play on until the end. Black is probably the best FPS to date that's not on a next-gen system.Well worth any price and lots of replay value

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 0 of 5

Visitors rate this review
2.17 of 5,
6 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Explosions and realistic weapon effects are great. Overall graphics are good too. After two or three levels of the same stuff however the game gets tired. No plot or story line to follow, just run and gun. No blood on casualties either. The rating of 'M' could be removed if the use of the 'F' word were taken out. In some circumstances I could see the need for the profanity, but where it is placed within the gameplay makes no sense. If the in game world items can be blown up or shot why can't you shoot out a light, as in Splinter Cell, to quietly dispatch an enemy...just a thought. And where there are large holes in say a bridge why can't you fall through them adding to the realism of the gameplay ?
Overall an O.K. rental, but wouldn't bother purchasing this title.