Testing out three new maps
In a genre that is saturated with mediocre titles, Blacksite, the first person alien shooter from Midway Games is hoping to buck that trend and will be battling it out head to head with Halo 3 this autumn. The developers know it's going to be extremely tough competing against one of the biggest franchises in the industry, but lead campaign designer Ricardo Bare and exec creative director Harvey Smith do have the pedigree and experience to put up a decent challenge, having both worked together on the critically acclaimed Dues Ex. The pair of them are acutely aware of the Halo 3 situation and know that any direct attempt to compete with the game would be total lunacy, but they firmly believe that their new shooter offers a totally different experience than Bungie's masterpiece and they’re hoping we'll be tempted by their moody, gritty and thrill-packed fast-paced shooter, come September.
Despite the game's title, BlackSite won't exclusively be set around the mysterious classified facility in Nevada, instead the missions will span out across various environments, including small towns, castles, canyons, and even a trip to Iraq. In this politically charged first person shooter, you play as the leader of an Elite special forces squad and it’s your job to keep the government's secret safe by destroying alien life forms that have escaped from the infamous facility.
Click for larger image
Click for larger imageBlacksite involves a mixture of land and vehicle based battles against human opposition, such as Iraqi soldiers who aren't too keen on you intruding on their territory, and hundreds of imposing aliens who are wreaking havoc across the globe.
Having played the Xbox 360 demo I was quite disappointed. It was difficult to see exactly how Blacksite was going to differ from other first person shooters on the market, but I've now had the chance to play a much improved version of the game, across three new maps and missions and there are plenty of signs that the game can distinguish itself from the rest with its inventive morale based system and simple, yet effective squad commands.
