Black (computer game)

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BLACK
Studio Criterion Games
Publisher Electronic Arts
Erstveröffent-
lichung
EUFebruary 24, 2006
United StatesFebruary 28, 2006
Hong KongMarch 3, 2006
South KoreaMarch 25, 2006
JapanApril 6, 2006
platform PlayStation 2 , Xbox
genre Ego shooter
Game mode Single player
medium 1 DVD (PS2, Xbox)
language Audio: English, German
Age rating
USK from 18
PEGI recommended for ages 16+
information The German version only contains the most necessary voice output in a mission.

Black is a first-person shooter from the English manufacturer Criterion Games . The computer game was released on February 24, 2006. The game won over game critics with its graphic abilities and the exchange of fire, which are based on Hollywood films like Heat or Saving Private Ryan . The game has sold over a million copies.

Game flow

The player takes on the role of the elite soldier Jack Kellar. Since Kellar has acted against direct orders during several missions, he is in jail. In an interrogation, Kellar tells what he experienced during his stay and his missions in Eastern Europe. The narrations are interrupted by the missions that the player must re-enact.

The game consists of eight missions or levels . During a level, the player can carry two weapons and nine hand grenades . The weapons can also be exchanged for weapons found in the level. All weapons are automatically reloaded with ammunition when the magazine is empty and the player has additional magazines with him. During this procedure, the background will be blurred to increase the level of realism. Some weapons can also be equipped with a silencer , which must also be found in the level.

The levels are linear, i. H. the player usually has to go through a rather narrow and elongated game world. It is not possible to save during a level, but there are a few savepoints at which the game can be restarted if the character dies. If a savepoint is reached, the level sections crossed so far can no longer be reached. This also means that the weapons, ammunition and medicits left there are no longer accessible.

In some levels the player has one or two immortal fighters at his side who react completely independently, but always stay near the player as long as possible. Alternatively, he is supported by a sniper in level 4 (Naszran Foundry / Nazran steelworks) who, if possible, kills enemies from a distance.

The main goal is to cross a level. Depending on the level of difficulty that the player has chosen, some or all of the secondary objectives must be fulfilled. The secondary objectives include finding documents and weapons or destroying certain buildings or safes. In the difficulty levels difficult and Black Ops there are also no medic kits available. A special feature of the Black Ops level of difficulty is that all specified secondary goals must be achieved in order to successfully complete a level. For example, if you forget a document in front of a savepoint or have not destroyed a certain building, the level can no longer be completed successfully. As a little help, the player in Black Ops mode has the Silver Weapons at their disposal, which have unlimited ammunition.

Details

weapons

The game emphasizes a realistic representation of the weapons. Some weapons have a high rate of fire, but also a high scattering effect, other weapons have a high penetration power at long range, but a low rate of fire. The recoil effect means that the weapons cannot be held steady. Some weapons have different modes of operation, such as single shot, semi-automatic and fully automatic . Weapons that are equipped with a silencer lose some of their effectiveness. All weapons leave bullet marks and cause walls or panes of glass to shatter (particle effects).

The following weapons are available in the game: Glock 19 , Magnum , DC3 Elite Pistol (which has similarities to the Desert Eagle and FN Five-seveN ), Heckler & Koch MP5 , MAC-10 , IMI UZI SMG , FN P90 , M16 Assault Rifle , AK -47 , G36C , Walther WA 2000 , Remington 870 , SPAS-12 , M249 , M203 , RPG-7 .

weapon Type Rounds per magazine Max. Ammunition load silencer Shot mode switchable available in level
DC3 Elite gun 15th 100 Yes No 1, 4
Glock gun 12 100 Yes No 2, 5
Magnum gun 6th 60 No No 4, 8
MAC10 Elite Submachine gun 70 500 Yes Yes 6, 7, 8
UZI Submachine gun 90 500 Yes Yes 1, 3, 5, 6
AK47 Assault rifle 60 500 Yes Yes 1, 2, 3, 6
G36C Assault rifle 70 500 Yes Yes 4, 8
MP5 Submachine gun 80 500 Yes Yes 5, 8
M16 Assault rifle 95 500 Yes Yes 5, 7
P90 Submachine gun 100 500 No Yes 4th
M249 Machine gun 150 600 No No 6, 7, 8
SPAS 12 Shotgun 6th 120 No No 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Remington 870 Shotgun 8th 120 No No 6, 7, 8
Walther 2000 Sniper rifle 5 60+ No No 3, 6, 7, 8
M203 Grenade launcher 1 12 No No 3, 7
RPG Panzerfaust 1 30+ No No 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8

Effects / degree of realism

Some buildings are slated to explode. In this case, a pre-calculated destruction is presented without the game being interrupted.

Enemies can disappear in the spotlight or hide behind clouds of smoke. In addition, rays of the sun can be seen shining through trees and window panes.

Doors cannot be opened by hand, but must be opened using weapons.

opponent

Due to the structure of the levels (narrow and long), which reduces the situations to be considered, the opponents react relatively intelligently. For example, they are looking for cover or attacking the player in a coordinated manner from several directions. Even the simplest opponents can take multiple hits like the player himself, but a direct head hit is instantly fatal with the common soldiers. Opponents who wear a protective vest or a shield also tend to attack the player directly, as they can take multiple hits or are almost completely protected against small-caliber weapons.

Overall, there are the following types of opponents:

  • Simple soldiers armed with submachine guns, assault rifles or machine guns.
  • Soldiers in armored vest, bulletproof white face mask, and shotgun, are extremely dangerous at close range.
  • Snipers who take the player under fire with a long-range, extremely powerful weapon from a position that is not visible at first glance.
  • Soldiers who are equipped with an RPG-7 (a portable anti-tank rocket launcher) and target the player from more distant, mostly inaccessible points (e.g. church towers).
  • Soldiers with a heavy storm shield: This shield is placed in corridors and is then immobile. It is completely bulletproof and cannot be destroyed even by intense fire.
  • Elite troops: These opponents wear a conditionally bulletproof Plexiglas shield that can repel a certain number of bullets before it is destroyed, and full-body armor that also takes a certain number of hits. They are armed with large-caliber revolvers (Magnum) or Mac-10 Elite MPs and are very accurate even at great distances.

Level

The player is the leader of Team Bravo, which is supposed to track down a member of the criminal organization Seventh Wave .

Veblensk City Street / Streets of Veblensk
This level is an introductory level as it is relatively short. In this level a street in Veblensk has to be crossed. The climax is the surprise attack by the enemy by blowing up the outer wall of a museum. Two soldiers serve as support after contacting the Black cell.
Treneska Border Crossing / Treneska border crossing
Here you first have to cross a border area, then a larger border station, then a small bridge. The goal is a farm. Important intelligence information must be retrieved from a building. If the player has managed this, the building is surrounded and stormed by numerous opponents.
Naszran Town / Nasran
The mission begins in a cemetery where the player is under fire from a sniper. If the player has reached the house with the sniper and has taken possession of the sniper rifle, the house is stormed by the opponents. Then the player must take out two more sniper stands. Then he has to fight his way through trenches to a large house front and watch out for opponents with RPG-7 weapons. The goal is the steel mill of the next level. A soldier supports the player.
Naszran Foundry / Steelworks by Nazran
The goal of this mission is a steelworks in which there is a camouflaged arms factory, whose production machines and blast furnaces must be destroyed. There is also a minefield along the way. The player is supported by a female sniper.
Tivliz Asylum / Tivliz-Anstalt
The member of the organization has to be found in a destroyed insane asylum. At the beginning of the mission there are two soldiers to support, after the player has penetrated the interior of the bombed institution, he is on his own and may see himself. a. Machine-gun nests and a massively occupied last hall opposite.
Vratska Dockyard / Vratska shipyard
Team Bravo is supposed to come to the aid of Team Alpha, which is supposed to track down the leader of the criminal organization in a shipyard. The mission ends with Team Bravo being late and Team Alpha finding dead. Shortly before the end of the level, crane snipers make it difficult to progress.
Graznei Bridge / Graznei Bridge
In search of the leader a bridge has to be crossed, some of which are mined. There is not only fighting on the bridge, but also under the bridge on railings and on top of the girders of the bridge. Two soldiers are back in support. The gate to the next level is heavily guarded, here the player is on his own.
Spetriniv Gulag / Gulag by Spetriniv
After a house-to-house battle and a heavily guarded courtyard, the player must penetrate an underground hiding place. The final battle takes place in an isolated room, into which the player enters through a system of tunnels studded with heavily armed opponents and machine-gun nests. Since you are enclosed by an armored bulkhead after entering the room, you first have to fight from the tunnel exit, also running against large numbers of elite troops, later the room has to be cleared of two machine-gun nests and several soldiers with RPG-7s, before the mission ends.

In the end sequence, the player learns that the leader William Lennox has escaped, but is officially believed to be dead. It is implied that in a sequel the player will pursue this leader again.

reviews

The game was rated above average in the trade press, with the top marks over 90% not being given (e.g. 4players.de: 84%, gamezone.de: 7.9 (good), gameswelt.de: 85%, justgamers .de: 88%).

videogameszone.de writes about Black : “ Every single level of Black would be a highlight in a different first-person shooter or the furious final level. Right from the start, there is no mess here. Even if you are only sent into battle with an Uzi and a pistol, the screen shakes every three meters and, with the right hi-fi equipment, the whole living room. […] This visual similarity to the medium of film is by the way no coincidence. Alex Ward, the game's creative director, openly admits, “A lot of people love action movies. We wanted to bring the action from the big screen straight into the living room. ”Whether it's Terminator, Die Hard, True Lies or The Rock, fans of these action classics will always discover parts of the game that were clearly inspired by these celluloid templates. "

swell

  1. Black sales on vgchartz.com
  2. Critique of videogameszone.de

Web links