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Life & Arts

Slick 'Black' encourages gamers to jump the gun

by DEREK LANPHIER
The Daily Cougar

Every good gamer knows that great graphics don't make a game fun to play, but then along comes Black, the new console-shooter by EA and Criterion Games. While it still might be a little extreme to say that the graphics make this game fun, they most certainly help.

Black, above all things, is about shooting. It's about the mayhem, danger and all around awesomeness of a Hollywood-style gunfight. This game goes back to what all those other first-person shooters have tried to stray away from -- mindless violence. Literally, every bullet you fire will have an impact on the game world in some way. Black doesn't encourage you to preserve your ammo; In fact, the game encourages you to spray the general area of your enemies with bullets. This isn't because of some god-like auto-aim feature, it's because even if you miss your enemies, there's a chance that you've killed them off. You will often find yourself overcoming your enemies in ways you never thought possible. Got a pesky squad of bad guys on the other side of a wall? Fire at the ceiling and bring it down on their heads. See some barrels next to a bunch of insurgents? Shoot them until they explode. 

Although the game-play isn't innovative--it is a first-person shooter--the way you interact with the world and your guns is. Actually, sometimes you have to take out walls in order to progress through the storyline.

Unfortunately, the game does a poor job in focusing on the story. Players assume the role of Jack Keller and given the task of bringing down certain terrorist organizations. Blah, blah, blah. You get the idea. Although there are a few twists here and there, the story isn't deep. It is all about shooting, so that can be a good or bad thing depending on what type of gamer you are.

The sound is also bone-crunchingly crisp. There are no bad or unrealistic sound effects in this game, and every one adds to the realism of the game. All the sound effects the creators could have repeated, like ricochets, are always fresh and new sounding. 

This is a game that needs to be cranked all the way up. Explosions are so loud you'd swear they happened next door. And despite all the sound effects going off at once, the sound never gets static-ridden or dulled-out. 

Finally, although the music isn't often heard, every song in the game is incredible. The opening theme alone is enough to get you totally pumped about this game.

The cinematics are great and similar to games like Devil May Cry 3. Sometimes it's worth playing through a level just to see the cut scenes. 

Some deal with some pretty heavy stuff, and if you are well-versed on the current affairs of the world, you might pick up something here and there that might make you a conspiracy theorist.

Whatever Criterion Games is feeding its developers is working because they make PS2 and Xbox have some incredible graphics. 

Both systems are pushed to the limit but look amazing. It might even make you think, "Do we really need next generation consoles so soon?" 

It cannot be stressed enough that Black is an amazing looking game. Check out some screenshots and you'll ask if the game is really on the PS2.

Black

Rated: ESRB, which means that the rating is pending

EA and Criterion Games

Verdict: If you don't have the cash to throw down on it, at least rent it because this is a game that's not to be missed.
 
 

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