ere are just a few of the key ingredients: explosions, muzzle flashes, bullet holes - can you see how incredible this is going to be? - hang gliding, come on! Okay, so the Black Xbox demo we played may not have hang gliding, but it sure has a ton of that other stuff… in spades! We’ve been waiting for the chance to get behind what are supposedly some of the biggest, nastiest guns in all of video games. Read on for some first impressions and be sure to watch videos of all the mayhem.
In the very short demo that we got our hands on, we were charged with getting across the Treneska Border (which I’m halfway sure is a fake place). You start out in a bleak forest with a little pistol. I attached a silencer and started stalking one of the masked militants. As I lined up a headshot, someone started firing from behind so I emptied a few bullets into my target and found some cover. At this point I figured everyone knew I was there so I removed the silencer and started mowing down the next enemy. The satisfying “blam!” echoing through the crisp mountain air almost made me sad to switch out my pistol for a nice big assault rifle.
This powerful automatic rises slightly from the kickback if you hold onto it for too long so I would usually aim for a guy’s crotch and just draw a line up to his head. The rifle can be silenced, but why would you want to mute that sweet “badadadada?” You can also toggle between fully automatic, semi automatic, and single shot by pressing up on the D-pad.
The shotgun has no reason to mess with silencers or secondary fire. The ridiculously loud boom will send those poor rag doll bastards flying through the forest or window or wall or whatever happens to be behind him. And it’s even louder when you fire it off inside a small enclosed cave. You can only carry two guns at a time, so say goodbye to the pistol when you come across this bad boy.
Black’s health system shuns the automatic refill trend in games like Call of Duty 2 or Halo. You must search bodies or secluded areas for health packs. You can carry three at a time, and you can just hit down on the D-pad to give your health bar a boost. It kind of reminds me of Gun, but without the whiskey. This system tempts players to check their kill even though it may be directly in the line of fire. I think the health regeneration strikes a good balance between not being too easy and not being a pain in the ass.
The game offers a few different paths you can take to get to your objective. There’s the straightforward jaunt through a well worn path filled with enemies. Or you can sneak through a cave and pick off the guys in a more enclosed space with extra cover. As you approach the border checkpoint you can power through the primary bottleneck entrance or find a fuel tank near a hidden part of the fence and go through the new hole you’ve created.
When you enter the main encampment, there’s no sneaking allowed. An alarm starts blaring and pretty soon every soldier on the base is after you. It’s probably best to find shelter in one of the buildings first. So look out for a fuel tank and watch the explosion tear open a nearby wall and burn up everyone inside. I used this tactic a few times and then scavenged the wreckage for ammo and health packs.
Another great tactic is strafing alongside a building, shooting out its windows, and then chucking a grenade inside. Also, I pity the fool who’s stupid enough to use any of the tanker trucks for cover. A few shots to its fuel tank and everything lights up. Even regular box and barrel cover can’t keep them safe for long. Pretty much anything in the game can be destroyed with guns or grenades. So if you see a few guys hiding, chuck a grenade over to either blow them up instantly or at least take care of anything they were using for protection.
After killing everyone at the base, take a minute to look around at the destruction you’ve caused. Listen to the distant wind mixed with the crackling of fire from everything you’ve destroyed. When you’re ready to move on, chuck a grenade at the exit gate to close out the demo. No keycards or secret passwords are necessary.
Overall, Black is looking great. Graphics, explosions, and sound design are all fantastic. The environmental textures still look a little current-gen, but that's to be expected. One thing I thought was a little strange is the lack of a jump button. There were plenty of times where I blew a hole in the side of a building and couldn't go through it because of some rubble on the ground. This guy can take down a whole army, but he can't hop through a little hole? Plus, the build we played on the Xbox has thin black bars on the sides of the screen when we played it in widescreen. Let's get rid of those before February, huh?
So can Criterion keep the excitement at this level of insanity for an entire game? What other kinds of environments and weapons can we expect? How about some kind of story? These are the kinds of question you just can’t answer in a 15 minute demo. But you can be sure we’ll have a full blowout on Black as soon as a full game build is ready.