Black

🎮 PlayStation 2 ⏳ 15 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Explosive Cinematic Gunplay #

This shooter was developed by Criterion Games, and is known for its intense gunplay and cinematic presentation, even though a lot of games were trying to do this at the time, this one is still a standout. What set it apart at the time was its focus on realistic weapon models, punchy sound design, and destructible environments that made every firefight feel visceral and explosive. Battlefield Bad Company soon followed after this one when it comes to environmental destruction, but until that, this was one of the most advanced titles on this regard.

Technical PS2 Showcase #

The story is thin and told through stylized interrogation scenes, but the gameplay is where it shines. Black impressed with its technical achievements on aging PS2 hardware. It’s short, but memorable, especially for fans of high-octane single-player shooters, which is my case since I have zero interest in multiplayer shooters. Another standout are the live-action cutscenes, they are very high quality, the acting is very nice and this is was very unique approach to story-telling at the time. Definitely a must-play from the PlayStation 2 platform if you like shooters to any extent.