Published by : Midway Games Release Date: Out Now Formats: PS3 £49.99 XBOX 360 £49.99 PC £34.99
What at first glance seems like it should be a really good first person shooter turns out to be a bit of a disappointment.
You are Aeran Pierce, a US Special Forces soldier deployed in the Iraq war. After the relatively easy opening level in an Iraqi town where the only enemies are a number of Republican Guard this game quickly evolves from a standard old fashioned military first person to a monster-a-second blasting session as the action is quickly moved over to Area 51 in Nevada.
Similar to so many games such as Half-life 2, Resistance: Fall of Man and COD4 but unfortunately falls short in so many ways.
At first glance the graphics seem impeccable with pillars collapsing under gunfire and rocks flying through the air after explosions tear rocky cliffs apart. However, as good as the graphics are, the characters don’t look like they belong in the environment. Highlights around the characters seem to be overemphasised, creating a thin outline in bright colours when they are in dark rooms, easy enough to ignore but its just one of those things that bugged me.
The bugs in this game are really off-putting and the game play failed to win me over in any way. It’s no surprise that the lead designer Harvey Smith left Midway before the game was released. Speaking in November at the Montreal International Game Summit, Smith talked about the poor reception the game had received and blamed himself for most of it.
Firstly, at certain stages in the game, you can walk right through scenery such as rocks and cliffs, which make you feel like you’ve just skipped half a level. Collision detection is quite poor and objects can float in mid air that clearly shouldn’t….such as your jeep as it takes “off-road” to a new level!
The rest of your squad follow you around the levels shooting at the enemies and generally having a dig at hot political subjects as they moan their way through each stage. It’s quite off putting, funny once, but as the game goes on you just feel like telling them to shut up. This political undertone carries quite a bit of the story where one of your original team members, Somers, goes MIA after the first level. It emerges later on in the story that the origins of the monsters and soldiers you have been fighting are much closer to home. Let’s just say the old conspiracy of Government and Military biological experiments comes into play.
The AI is quite poor too, as simple obstacles seem to baffle your team and you end up spending ages coaxing them through gaps and over barriers. At times when that gets too much you continue on your way alone, but you can still hear them complaining, and then magically they appear next to you like they teleported there. A nice feature of the AI is the use of morale, as you do better in a mission, your team morale increases, causing them to inflict more damage and generally perform better. If you start to do badly, it reflects on your team too and at times they might even retreat.
The game play is hindered by a very unintuitive vehicle control system. You would need to spend ages getting to grips with the driving and you’ll most likely end up just skidding around the road crashing into things rather than completing the objectives.
It is fair to say that Blacksite is an average first person shooter that should have taken pointers from its successful counterparts. Too many glitches and awkward controls ruin what could have been a highly enjoyable game. Good to rent out for a weekend before buying, but be prepared to be disappointed if you take the plunge and fork out your £49.99.
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