Black (Xbox)

AI

I am in two minds about Black’s AI, the enemy AI at times seems to be as dumb as a rock and will rush at you, rudimentary dodging and weaving. Then at other times they will take cover behind crates and so on, firing and then moving to a different cover. Of course it is doubly funny when they crouch behind something destructible like a wooden table or even better to the side of a big box of ammunition, just waiting to be filled full of lead.

They also have a definite preservation instinct when you lob a grenade, they won’t just stand there and look dumbly at it, they’ll run as fast as they can away from the danger and this can lead to some funny moments if you stun them before they can run, shoot them in the foot and they’ll stagger – toss a frag to the side and then watch them try and clear the blast area.

They will also try and grab on to ledges and railings if they get shot or knocked off, hanging there for a few moments. I haven’t seen them climb back up, but this is because my killer instinct kicks in and they get a helpful stream of gunfire to put them on the ground.

I think the best thing you can say about the AI in Black is that it does its job and provides a decent challenge, at times it feels decidedly too human.

Sound

The sound engine to Black renders up the various guns, explosions and ambient/spot effects nicely – every weapon sounds good and meaty, they have a distinct audio signature and no two guns sound the same.

Music

Black has a dramatic and effective score, with the option to use your own custom soundtrack and replace the music in the game. There’s something quite satisfying about shooting a whole bunch of bad guys to the strains of Disturbed or something similar. The music to Black is orchestral in nature and isn’t one of these with a jarring/annoying techno sound track that throws you out of the feel of the game.

Multiplayer

None, nada, Black is a single player game and that’s it. It is LIVE aware.

Boom! Headshot (Final thoughts)

I always have one of these sections, for my Jerry Springer like musings. Black is a good game, it’s a refreshing no-nonsense shooter in the mould of the good old games of old. Black doesn’t try and be anything else, and I salute the developers for this – Black is also short, if you’re a good gamer you’ll blast through these missions in a couple of days.

Black also screams sequel when it gets to the end, which isn’t that bad, but it also doesn’t really satisfy – sure you can unlock some stuff by replaying it but in the end it really does just boil down to shoot, rinse, repeat and shoot some more.

It has great production values and is a good game if you want to see a step in the right direction for the old FPS.