Black

Written by Adam Woolcott  on October 03, 2005

First Impressions: Just wait until some opportunistic congressman gets wind of 'gun porn'

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If there's one thing the Burnout franchise has demonstrated, it's that Criterion Games really likes blowing stuff up, and in spectacular fashion. Few other racing games have captured brutality and violence like Burnout, and that's nothing but a racing game at heart. Imagine if they applied their tried-and-true standards to a genre more suited to the concept, in the form of say, a first-person shooter. Well, imagine no more Ц the much rumored Criterion FPS finally is a reality Ц known as Black, the game is not your usual FPS, other than the fact that you use weapons and shoot stuff. Instead, the weapons are the star, along with the relentless destruction caused by firing these weapons, designed to cause mayhem at all corners, thanks to a crazy destruction model. Set for release sometime in 2006 on PlayStation 2 and Xbox (and a rumored 360 version later), Black just might be the last great FPS for the current generation of systems Ц even with the surprising lack of multiplayer.

Since word started floating around about Black after it made its behind-closed-doors debut at E3 2004, Criterion has constantly referred to Black as 'gun porn' Ц basically meaning that there's a high level of overdone sensation with the various weapons you can use. Instead of a gun being the means to an end, the gun is the star of the show, and everything revolves around what you do with your weapon. The guns are loud, the bullets fly and zigzag across walls, and of course, stuff blows up. Those who remember the old PS2 game Red Faction likely recall the Geo-Mod technology that made pretty much anything on the screen a target of destruction. Black takes Geo-Mod and outright blows it up with its own physics system that emphasizes complete and utter chaos at the hand of the player. Not only is everything in Black a target, it all blows up in glorious, hyper-violent fashion Ц though very sensationalized, which leads back to the 'gun porn' terminology. Everything is exaggerated for pure entertainment value Ц just like Burnout is. It's obvious that Criterion has learned from their Burnout experience and have applied the same level of intensity to Black.

As of this time, Black contains no multiplayer, instead focusing on the single-player game. The game takes place in some nameless Eastern European city, ravaged and left for dead. Your character (unnamed as of now, and probably won't be named) is a retired soldier from a hush-hush Black Ops team (hence the name Black), brought in to rescue his old buddies who are caught in this city of hell. Though originally a covert mission, things don't work out that way and the game turns into a shootout from beginning to end. Criterion is hoping to balance the old-school FPS with the new-school FPS, telling a decent story but at the same time making the actual gameplay the real star. There won't be any 'find the key' missions though Ц why would you do that when you can just blow the crap out of the door? However, while few doubt that the game will play great considering how well they've done over the years with Burnout, it's questionable whether or not they can pull off the storyline part Ц naturally you don't need a story for racing, and Criterion's other, forgotten PS2 game, Airblade, didn't have any story either. If they don't pull it off...well, at least they're making the game entertaining by creating a playground of destruction. Of course, there are enemies to kill, and Criterion promises smart AI that can do the same sorts of things as you can.

It is unfortunate, however, that Black doesn't have that multiplayer option as of yet Ц and apparently won't be any. There's reasonable excuses Ц in a multiplayer shooter, there's less time for destruction and more about shooting stuff, and of course, this means there's more focus on delivering a great solo experience (which will get the most amount of play anyhow). But given some time in the shop, many great ideas could come around. Why not shoot a barrel near an opposing player, blowing him up and the surrounding area? Or knock parts of a building off, crushing a victim under the debris? There are a lot of possibilities, and if put online it could be a nice alternative to the usual FPS gameplay. At the same time though, there have been many great FPS games that have done very well without the multiplayer feature...Chronicles of Riddick anyone?

Criterion is known for pushing the PS2 hardware to the limits, and Black pushes them farther than almost every other game out there. Though there's been exactly one trailer shown, it's easy to see the incredible effects of things blowing up, the care given to weapon design, the visual presentation of bullets flying out of a clip and connecting with the environment, all presented in an apocalyptic world, beat down by previous violence. There's also the sound effects Ц if you've played Burnout Revenge, you can recall how loud and impressive the sounds are, be it engines revving or crashes in the distance. This is being used for Black as well, with LOUD gun effects and explosions all around. I'll bet there's not going to be one single note of music played during these levels, just because Criterion wants to make you well aware of all the damage you're doing. Just from the one trailer, Black looks and sounds fantastic Ц just imagine how it would sound on a well-equipped television.