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Black Review - PS2

Jack Keller is an undercover Black Operatives agent, so deep undercover that even the Government denies their existence. Blackmailed due to dubious deeds, Jack is forced into a mission to stop the terrorist organisation from taking over the free world. Sound orginal? Well, no, we didn't think so either.

The hot topic of terrorism is still a little hot to handle by Hollywood, but Black puts you into the thick of the action against a ring of terrorists, and take them out one by one, with as much wanton destruction as possible.

There hasn't been too many reasonable action FPS for the PS2 since Red Faction II a few years back. Most recently shooters have been toned down, and often dull ports of their PC counterparts. Black comes along near the end of the life of the PS2, and is shaping up to be one of the last big name titles to grace the system. Does EA deliver an innovative shooter, or simply another tired derivative? We grab a black beanie, pump our AK-47 to full effect, and smash through a window to find out.

Gameplay

Each mission is separated by full motion video, which reveal much of the back story which plays out in the events of the game. It's refreshing to see full motion video in a game with real people, as opposed to animated cut scenes as now is the norm. The videos are fairly basic however, and it's almost like the gritty stylism is used to hide the fact that there isn't much to actually see. But the overall effect gives a more Hollywood feel to the game right from the get-go. With each mission, there are one or two primary objectives, and if you have the time to extract every last bit of gameplay, there are a number of secondary objectives to discover. As each mission can re-attempted at any time along the way, this may encourage you to go back and complete things again.

Missions are fairly non-linear, and there are usually a few different paths to get to each of the objectives. How you tackle each section is really up to you as well. Some sections are much easier to take a more stealthy approach, and equipping your silencer and sneaking up on terrorist by terrorist. Others the kill em' all attitude often can work just as nicely if you are feeling too impatient to do things the intelligent way. While most of the missions involve just Jack vs the world, a few others you fight side by side with fellow squad members, which adds that extra dimension.

Pretty much anything in the game can be smashed into pieces with lead, and fresh bullets score the walls to decorate them, windows explode, and shells chatter to the ground. To take out multiple soldiers at once, there is the obligatory exploding fuel containers conveniently placed next to terrorists. You would think they'd learn where to (continued next page)