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Black: GameSpot Review
- Thread starter suikodan
- Start date
phonte said:
i loved The Chronicles of Riddick, fantastic game, but easily the best xbox only fps of this gen. How bout halo or halo 2. I realize from you're previous posts ur not a fan of halo 2, and i guess you arent crazy about halo 1, but its a matter of personal taste. Theres room for improvement, but the gameplay in halo is incredibly solid, its single player mode is longer than riddick, and you can't neglect its multiplayer modes, which give it life waaayyy beyond anything COR is capable of. You could argue maybe that Chronicles has a more innovative, varied single player experience, but the best xbox FPS of this gen, no question? Thats saying an awful lot, considering you have Brothers in Arms in the mix even if you dismiss halo and halo 2, which you shouldnt imo.
dante786 said:
honestly, i just found both games to be antiseptic in their gameplay, the most recent installment especially.
i don't care for the setting, the storyline, or the gameplay -- which can be best described as plodding monotony.
i know people give the ai high marks, but i didn't see anything, even on the highest level, that changed my opinion of the series.
like i said earlier, i KNOW i'm in the minority..halo is just one of those series i don't get.
its brevity and the lack of an online component notwithstanding, chronicles of riddick shames the halo series.
it's just an awesome game.
i wish they were making a sequel to it.
BTW, i haven't played half-life 2 for the xbox, so that's why i rank chronicles of riddick as my alltime fav fps for the system.
JonathanEx
Member
Well, Halo is on PC, Halo 2 is going to Vista, and it's generally thought that Halo > Halo 2.
Sorry no, since you can track back through several Black topics at this point and see that I've been of the opinion this would be a rental at best for me for awhile now. I'd just prefer to try and better characterize the game and its motives than simply backlash on the hype like too many are doing. I certainly think the characterization I made is more accurate than your presumption that, never having made an FPS before, Criterion was very likely to have come up with something "archaic" like this, even though several other less skilled dev teams who have no previous FPS experience themselves were able to adhere to the contemporary archetype and expectations for FPS in their first example of such a game.Musashi Wins! said:
Maybe, just maybe, it has less to do with underperforming and rather deliberate intent to try something different? Like I said, that should have been apparent from almost the beginning, when all the closed door demonstrations focused so strictly on the shooting and *never* played up major expectations for deep AI, multiplayer or the like.
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
I should really play Riddick one of these days. It was really untill this generation that I get into FPS....that and I suffered from 3D motion sickness for good long while.
cant argue with ur opinion, since it is your opinion, i just love halo and think it can't be totally ignored when discussing the best FPS's on the xbox, but chronicles of riddick is unquestionably a great game. Getting back to black it's been downgraded over time for me, was a must buy once upon a time, now maybe a rental if i can afford the 5 bucks in between all the sick games that must be purchased this month.
phonte said:
I don't love either Halo games. I believe it is somewhat over-rated. I think the multi-player though hits a nice sweet spot. It's kind of what I always wanted Unreal to be for me but never was. It's arcadey but not silly arcadey. I think it was the console successor to GoldenEye in that it hit at the right time and had the right mix of action.
The series probably takes itself too seriously and so does it fans but I think there is still an above average game there at it's core.
But then my favorite shooter isn't even really a shooter and that's Deus Ex. The shooting part of that game is actually the weak spot but I would love to see a more action oriented game but with that level of depth. Unfortunately most likely won't happen on a console.
kaching said:
I hear your point but I tend to still think they just failed to make a good game or even failed with their ideas on "gun porn".
The first problem is that the game looks realistic. So there is an expectation for that realism to be backed up by somewhat realistic actions. Not that the game should strive for ghost recon or anything at all like that but when it looks like a modern day military shooter, you kind of expect a higher breed of intelligence at work.
It's certainly archaic in it's design but not in a good way. Old school design is often skill based or extremly hardcore. Look a really tough arcade shooter like House of the Dead. Instead Black for the most part is quite easy and doesn't require very much skill. It's not like your going to replay levels to get a higher hit % and unlock some cool trophy or something. So they practice old school with only the bad parts and none of the good.
The story is so bad, yet it really acts like its doing something good and artistic. The tone should have been more over the top and bad-ass. If it's a pop-corn game then deliver me a pop-corn story that will be suitable in style. Instead it's all artsy and "cinematic".
Basically if they were going for old school, they didn't go old school enough imo or they didn't really understand old school for what this genre is. Burnout is very retro imo. Burnout feels like where arcade games would be if they really still existed. Black on the surface is probably going for a similar aesthetic but they failed to reach it on nearly every level and the no multi-player eliminates what was a lot of the fun in arcade games of this type.
krypt0nian
Banned
So this really turned out to be Killzone-tooie then? Criterion, I really expected better. =(
phonte said:
I didn't think it sucked but in comparison the orignial it is such a dissapointment that I can understand the opinion.
They should have split the series up. Deus Ex for the PC and Snowblind for the consoles and kept them in the same universe. That would have been interesting and I would have been able to have my cake and eat it too. I think the economic realities forced them to aim at a game that was neither fish nor fowl, console nor PC, and they got caught not satisfying anybody. Very unfortunate. I was never more sad than when they folded realizing the next Deus Ex game I play maybe 10 years down the road or maybe never at all.
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Black blows Killzone out of the water. It is actually a fun game, just too short and flawed. Killzone was just pretty to look at (when it was not having weird LOD or texture problems)
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
kaching said:
I wasn't attempting to insult you, or infer you were doing damage control. I thought you were being sarcastic and found it funny. I don't think the games intent was to have great AI and I don't think a lack of multiplayer is a major issue if the core game is fun. On the other hand, good multiplayer can semi-rescue a single player game that sucks (ie. PDZ). That said, Black feels archaic because it's an update of the earliest form of shooters, which consist primarily of funneling through areas killing all in sight. It's just more fun because it looks and sounds better. If you've played a few other shooters, it will also seem shallow. Most people on GAF have probably played too many games period
So it's easy to see it's flaws. But there are some fun moments in this one. And that shouldn't be looked over because the pendulum has now swung the other way.Nick Laslett
Member
Black is meant to be a fun arcade style game.
Think of something like Gradius in a FPS context.
You are meant to replay the levels on harder difficulty setting.
One play through only nets you something like 30% game completion.
Black is great fun, how can anybody not enjoy playing through this game.
It is not meant to be Half Life or Halo.
I can't believe you are comparing Black to these games.
That would be like comparing Burnout to GT4, Forza or TOCA.
Is the core game mechanic in Black well released? Yes, this game creates the most fun gunplay ever had in videgames. Compared Black, stuff like Halo or Half Life is practically antiseptic, where is the destruction, where is the BANG.
You guys take games too seriously. The stories in most games are crap. The level design is weak (Even Halo has boring repitition in the middle stretch.) Black is lean and mean like a good arcade game should be.
I hope the casual gamers lap it up.
Think of something like Gradius in a FPS context.
You are meant to replay the levels on harder difficulty setting.
One play through only nets you something like 30% game completion.
Black is great fun, how can anybody not enjoy playing through this game.
It is not meant to be Half Life or Halo.
I can't believe you are comparing Black to these games.
That would be like comparing Burnout to GT4, Forza or TOCA.
Is the core game mechanic in Black well released? Yes, this game creates the most fun gunplay ever had in videgames. Compared Black, stuff like Halo or Half Life is practically antiseptic, where is the destruction, where is the BANG.
You guys take games too seriously. The stories in most games are crap. The level design is weak (Even Halo has boring repitition in the middle stretch.) Black is lean and mean like a good arcade game should be.
I hope the casual gamers lap it up.
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
BuzzJive said:Geist > Black
you're like a war profiteer. It's too easy to blast Geist though, so you should have a little moment.
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Like no way in hell.BuzzJive said:Geist > Black
Nick Laslett said:
Playing it on a harder difficulty setting actually makes the game unfun. It doesn't really make it difficult (just need to use more cover since you can't 'carry' health packs). It's unfun cause you have to do stupid, pointless objectives that go out of your way to complete missions. You can't beat a level in dark ops unless you complete every objective, and the objectives are almost like 'collect-a-thons'.
Criterion should just stick to what they do best: Burnout
brandonh83
Banned
Yuck, I'm very much disappointed in these scores. Doesn't sound awful by any means, but I was really hoping for a triple A title here. It certainly looked like it was going to be.
Red Blaster
Member
Hey don't knock Red Faction Gek. That was pretty durned awesome back in June 2001.
adamsappel
Member
And the opposite is true for me.dark10x said:
gigamex said:
heh..he's not far off with halo.
from the impressions i've gathered from friends, black is a viscerally gripping, albeit short, romp that never loosens its hold on you until the very end.
halo is the exact opposite, imo.
i know u said that halo online was great, but i was so turned off by halo 2's matchmaking that i didn't really give that component much of a shot.
Pedigree Chum
Banned
gigamex said:
He might have gone a bit overboard, but after seeing Black all other FPS/action games look like they lack intensity. GRAW for example looks awesome, but the gunplay looks terrible, the simple act of firing the weapon looks so lame.
Kabuki Waq
Member
Pedigree Chum said:
usually in FPS games the AI and the skill of other players is what makes a game intense to me. If the AI sucks then the intense feeling wont last.
Pedigree Chum said:
I disagree but I've kicked this dead dog enough in this thread. I'm willing to bet in 6 months Black will never be mentioned again practically until the inevitable sequel PR march begins. Ultimately that's the real problem rather than any specific complaint. It simply isn't memorable for a variety of reasons. I'm guessing people will still be fondly remembering other FPS's in that time.
Pedigree Chum
Banned
Kabuki Waq said:
Agreed, but I'm sick of FPS where the weapons have no intensity...it needs to end.
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
Pedigree Chum said:
Pretty much why I want this. I've played the Halos, the Dooms, the milarity ones like Ghost Recon/Socom, so on and so on. Now I'ill like to try for a different experience. All the crazy mayhem in Black with it's destruction and what not is what I like to see more of in Next Gen titles, but it's nice to see a taste of it a gen earlier.
Kabuki Waq
Member
Pedigree Chum said:
err what do you mean? the ghost recon and R6 series have some great sound effects when you shoot someone. IT seems really realistic.
GitarooMan
Member
Not sure if this has been posted yet but 1up review is up
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3148267&did=1
7.0
To me, review doesn't really say much, seems pretty postive although it doesn't even mention game length that I can see
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3148267&did=1
7.0
To me, review doesn't really say much, seems pretty postive although it doesn't even mention game length that I can see
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
SantaCruZer said:
Not to mention the shit-talking and such.
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
Gek54 said:
So how it's going for you?
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Do you remember?
Edit: Gek, the % measures the secondary objectives. You can end the game with a 30% if you want.