Black has a lot
going for it -- amazing graphics, a sense of style, and some of the coolest
effects ever seen in a video game -- but it has left itself open for a number
of hard hitting questions. For example,
why isn't this game online? After all,
these days it's hard to get your first-person shooter noticed if you don't
offer some kind of multiplayer experience.
Jeremy explained that for "this version" of the game they
wanted to focus on making the best single-player experience they could.
Wait … this version??
To follow up the question I made it a point to find out what
they meant by "this version".
Are they working on an Xbox 360 port for sometime down the road? Well, if they are Jeremy wasn't ready to let
us know. He joked about his bad choice
of words and explained that many of the developers at Criterion were hard at
work on another project … a game he failed to name (or even hint about). Could Black
be a future Xbox 360 game? Let's just
put it this way, he never said no.
When asked why they decided to stick with the current
generation rather than focusing on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Jeremy
asserted that it was just too early to be thinking about the next
generation. He understood that people
are excited about the company's next generation projects, but at this point the
Xbox 360 has only been out for a few months and there's still no firm date on
the PlayStation 3 and Revolution.
Personally I would have loved to see a next generation version of Black; this is one game that hardly
looks dated. When it comes right down to
it, Black is easily one of the best
looking games on the PlayStation 2.
In fact, the PlayStation 2 version of the game not only
looks amazing, but it also manages to keep up with the Xbox in nearly every way
possible. It's this PS2 version that
Jeremy is most proud of, talking at length about how impressed he was that they
were able to pull all this off on a six year old system. With only a few noteworthy first-person
shooters, the PlayStation 2 is far from the first choice for fans of the
genre. But if you're a PS2 owner who has
been waiting for a worthwhile FPS, then it's time for you to rush to your store
and put your money on Black.
Black's biggest
surprise is not its action or huge explosions; it's the way the story elements
are inserted into the game. Criterion
Games has decided to cast real people for live-action full motion video
sequences, one of those odd little quirks you don't see in video games these
days. Like the first-person shooter
elements of the game, these cinemas are full of style and have a very distinct
look to them. Inspired on TV shows like
24 and Alias, these cinemas fit perfectly with each level's all out action.
After having a taste of Black
(and talking to the people responsible for making it), it's safe to say that
this is one game that is trying to be as big and explosive as a summer action
movie. With all of the chaos going on
around you, it's hard not to be reminded of the movies of Jerry Bruckheimer and
Michael Bay; it's an experience like no other.
GamingNexus looks forward to playing through the final
version of Black in the next couple
of weeks. Expect a full review around
the time of release, and more information as the days count down. If you've been waiting for the most chaotic
first-person shooter around, then it's time for you to get excited about
Criterion Games' Black.
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