It's great fun if you can enjoy it for what it is - style over substance. There's nothing special about the gameplay or the narrative. It's all about the explosions and destruction with bullets, bodies and debris flying everywhere.
I'd argue it's best enjoyed on normal or even easy. This was the first FPS I ever played with a gamepad back in the day, so I sucked really bad and had a tough time. Eventually, I came back and beat it on the hardest difficulty, more to prove a point than anything else. On this last playthrough I played on normal again and found it pretty lenient, but in a good way. You can afford to be sloppy and just go in all guns blazing like it says on the back of the box. On the harder difficulties you can't carry health packs, so you are forced to go more slow and steady and pick off enemies from afar, which is not a fun way to play what is ultimately a power fantasy game. You also don't have to worry about mandatory collectibles which can disrupt the flow of the experience. Leave those for subsequent playthroughs, if you are the completionist type. The game's super short anyway.
The story is not very original or interesting. Something about a deep black ops conspiracy. They throw so much military jargon at you that it's a bit hard to follow. I do like the visual style of the live-action cutscenes, though. The orchestral score is used sparingly, but it's really good at building tension or creating an epic feel.
I've seen people make the claim that this is the best FPS on PS2. I don't know about that, but it might very well be the most technically impressive one. Yeah, the lighting is all baked and the destruction is pre-calculated, but it looks great in motion, especially for the time and hardware. I played in 480p (activated by holding X and triangle while the game boots) and it does have some slowdown during heavy scenes, but it's fairly minimal considering the quality of the visuals. There's a widescreen mode, but you should avoid it, because it's just cropped-in 4:3.
I'd argue it's best enjoyed on normal or even easy. This was the first FPS I ever played with a gamepad back in the day, so I sucked really bad and had a tough time. Eventually, I came back and beat it on the hardest difficulty, more to prove a point than anything else. On this last playthrough I played on normal again and found it pretty lenient, but in a good way. You can afford to be sloppy and just go in all guns blazing like it says on the back of the box. On the harder difficulties you can't carry health packs, so you are forced to go more slow and steady and pick off enemies from afar, which is not a fun way to play what is ultimately a power fantasy game. You also don't have to worry about mandatory collectibles which can disrupt the flow of the experience. Leave those for subsequent playthroughs, if you are the completionist type. The game's super short anyway.
The story is not very original or interesting. Something about a deep black ops conspiracy. They throw so much military jargon at you that it's a bit hard to follow. I do like the visual style of the live-action cutscenes, though. The orchestral score is used sparingly, but it's really good at building tension or creating an epic feel.
I've seen people make the claim that this is the best FPS on PS2. I don't know about that, but it might very well be the most technically impressive one. Yeah, the lighting is all baked and the destruction is pre-calculated, but it looks great in motion, especially for the time and hardware. I played in 480p (activated by holding X and triangle while the game boots) and it does have some slowdown during heavy scenes, but it's fairly minimal considering the quality of the visuals. There's a widescreen mode, but you should avoid it, because it's just cropped-in 4:3.
Esse jogo é dificil pra caralho. Nunca consegui zerar.
Hidden gem, clunky mess only a mother like me could love, phenomenal sound design.
pqp to surdo até agora com os barulhos do tiro
The guns in this game were so loud, it snuffed out my parents arguing at each other.
This is a very good game, surprising how well it has aged. The guns feel weighty and powerful. The destructibility is incredible, something I was completely surprised by. The story is something I did not pay an iota of attention to. You're supposed to be a kind of spec ops guy who goes rogue? Not certain. All I really cared about was the gunplay. Which was pretty good! Good enough to go back and play? Maybe not. But I had a good time with it. I say that because, though probably among the best FPSs of its time, feels kinda bad to play now.
The fact that your screen goes blurry when you reload and that there's no proper aim-down sights but instead just a zoom in of holding it at your hip is annoying. Also the fact that every time you pull a gun out you have to do an animation. Nothing more infuriating than trying to swap to your shotgun because a guy is right on you and having to wait a second to finish fiddling with it.
Another issue is how often the game is just you spraying bullets into a guy who is standing still making the same flinching animation. A little tiring. Blowing the heads off of guys was fun but it could be very boring trying to take down a guy from far away with your AR. Still. despite all that, managed to have a fun time.
Each level is about an hour long which was perfect. No save states and some pretty unforgiving checkpoints makes it real annoying if you end up dying, which can easily happen on the later levels which was maddening. I also lost an hour's worth of gameplay because I forgot to save after mission end even though I made it back to the menu. Almost wanted to just delete the game after that. But had a great time completing an hour-long mission in the evening after work and then leaving the next mission for the next day, it was a good time! Would recommend if you're into older stuff.
The fact that your screen goes blurry when you reload and that there's no proper aim-down sights but instead just a zoom in of holding it at your hip is annoying. Also the fact that every time you pull a gun out you have to do an animation. Nothing more infuriating than trying to swap to your shotgun because a guy is right on you and having to wait a second to finish fiddling with it.
Another issue is how often the game is just you spraying bullets into a guy who is standing still making the same flinching animation. A little tiring. Blowing the heads off of guys was fun but it could be very boring trying to take down a guy from far away with your AR. Still. despite all that, managed to have a fun time.
Each level is about an hour long which was perfect. No save states and some pretty unforgiving checkpoints makes it real annoying if you end up dying, which can easily happen on the later levels which was maddening. I also lost an hour's worth of gameplay because I forgot to save after mission end even though I made it back to the menu. Almost wanted to just delete the game after that. But had a great time completing an hour-long mission in the evening after work and then leaving the next mission for the next day, it was a good time! Would recommend if you're into older stuff.
"Black" stands out as a remarkable achievement in the fifth-generation console era, boasting graphics that pushed the limits of the hardware and set a new standard for visual fidelity. The shooting mechanics are exceptional, offering tight controls and satisfying gunplay that make every firefight intense and exhilarating. In its time, "Black" was undoubtedly the best shooter game available, showcasing the capabilities of the era's consoles. While the story may be somewhat average, it still manages to deliver a cool and engaging experience that complements the action-packed gameplay. Overall, "Black" remains a standout title that continues to impress with its groundbreaking graphics and solid shooting mechanics.