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Review: BlackSite - Xbox 360

by Steven Williamson on 16 November 2007, 13:38

Tags: BlackSite, Midway Games, Xbox 360, FPS

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Giant worms and Octopus-dogs

Never has a game made me feel two such contrasting emotions in the space of a few seconds as BlackSite. Some levels are great, such as when you need to battle your way through a trailer park where the action is both frantic and compelling, but other levels are just plain awful, with dodgy AI and some poor game mechanics.

There were times in the game when I was really impressed, for example, when a giant worm came crashing through the roof of a house, or when the audio, gorgeous looking environments and fast-paced battles stirred up a little bit of passion inside me, but there were also moments when I gritted my teeth and shook my head in disbelief at the inconsistencies riddled throughout the levels. In a next-gen first person shooter I don’t expect to see an enemy disappear right in front of me just as I'm about to shoot him, see team-mates warp to a point beside me instead of walk or run toward me like they should do, or witness a fellow team-mate doing the ‘running man’ during one of the real-time cut-scenes.

BlackSite does have its great moments and some decent ideas, but the inconsistent game mechanics, the numerous glitches and the mixed message it sends out in terms of quality prevent it from being the great title that it could have been. As it stands, it’s a very average first person shooter.

Click for larger image




Click for larger image


BlackSite leans on the idea that Area 51 houses dangerous aliens and therefore some of the locations in the game are set around the mysterious classified facility in Nevada and throughout this desert region. The game also spans across other areas, where you need flush out the threat from both aliens and soldiers, including sparsely populated towns, trailer parks, castles, through canyons, and even a drive-in theatre.