Anyone here played Black?

[Uno Carb]

Since I feel so inclined, I will post my review from GameSpot:

 

"Ever wondered what it would be like in those totally devastating Hollywood movies where explosions and gunfire decimate everything? Well, look no further. Black answers your call, but it is just short of a full round.

 

You play as a special "Black" operative named Kellar, who is now bound in chains and being interrogated. Through the course of the game, he tells his story of the previous several days of his hunt for Lennox, who is a leader of the militant European group, the Seventh Wave. The story can be very confusing at times and is definitely hard to follow at some points.

 

The graphics engine is extremely powerful, looks absolutely phenomenal and really highlights the many dead-on visual aspects of the game. The guns are rendered perfectly and look amazing. Criterion also took it upon themselves to include a cool blur effect of the background when reloading, to actually show how each of the guns reload. The explosions look great and the building explosion animations are superb. Visually speaking, this game is absolutely fantastic in every possible way.

 

The weaponry also packs a lot of punch and they really feel like you are doing some serious damage. The recoil on most of the submachine guns and assault rifles can be extremely frustrating at times considering that a good portion of the firefights will take place at long range and with a heavy recoil, is a serious drawback to the fun factor.

 

Aside all of that, the action is what is important. For a good portion of the game, you will be holding the ‘fire’ button and unloading clips as if it was a do-or-die situation – and in most of the levels, that is the way it is. The action is repetitious at times but when a game looks this visually stunning, it is really hard to consider that a downside. There are plenty of containers, minefields, houses, and almost anything else you can think of – to be destroyed and blown up in this game. Most of these explosions are obvious (also guided by a black reticule, when an object is explosive) and stick out like a sore thumb. Usually nailing these special explosions will result in an obliteration of nearby foes, considering they usually stand near the explosive items. But then again, what would be the point of having explosive items if you couldn’t use them? The enemy AI could have also used room for improvement, since it seems like many of these baddies don’t activated when needed to. When they finally activate, they’ll do anything to rip you a new one. Along with many explosive sequences, bullets seem to interact with any object they come into contact with. Chunks of walls and buildings can be shot out, and bullets hitting any solid object or surface end up in smoke jumping in front of your face. Shotguns can blow open doors and blow through walls, submachine guns can cut though wood planks, and RPG rounds can blow through whole buildings. With this high of a level of interaction being placed in this game, it can be easy to be disoriented in these scenes. When worst comes to worst, find some cover and take a few seconds to reload, check your ammo, and gather yourself.

 

This game is extremely short with only eight levels, most of which will take you anywhere from 30-50 minutes to complete. Though most of this game is absolutely phenomenal, it feels as if there was room for improvement, whether it is to add more levels or improve the enemy AI. Black really tries to do something new, and it does try in many respects, but there is still some potential to be found in this adventure. Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy FPS’s."