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Black
Developer	Criterion Games
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Engine	RenderWare
Picture format	480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Released	February 24, 2006 February 28, 2006 March 3, 2006 March 25, 2006 April 6, 2006
Genre	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player
Ratings	ESRB: M PEGI: 16+ CERO: 15+
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox
Media	DVD
Input methods	Controller

Black is a first-person shooter for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, developed by Criterion Games (also the developers of the Burnout games) and published by Electronic Arts. Black is essentially a “run and gun” shooter with some minor “stop and pop” tactics, with few mission objectives and a “kill 'em all” strategy. There is a distinct lack of blood and gore in the game however, perhaps as a tie-in with its Hollywood stylings. The final rating was “'M' for 'Mature'” (17+) in the United States and 16+ in Europe for Strong Language. The ending of the game suggests a sequel, and in November 2006, it was reported that a sequel was in development.^[1]

The game was released on February 24, 2006 in Europe and on February 28, 2006 in the United States. A demo was released January 18, 2006.

The March 2006 update to Microsoft's Xbox 360 allows Black to be backwards-compatible with that console.

Contents 1 Development 2 Story 2.1 Levels 3 Weapons 4 Extras 5 Secondary objectives 6 Reception & awards 6.1 Awards 7 References 8 External links

Criterion intended to "do for shooting what Burnout did for racing - tear it apart", with dual emphasis on destructible environments and the handling and behavior of real-world firearms. Bullets that hit buildings, terrain and objects leave visible damage; moreover, the guns are rendered with great detail and accuracy (though some weapons' features are stylized or exaggerated). The emphasis on the appearance, function, and sounds of the weapons led the developer to label the game ironically as "Gun-Porn."^[2] Another notable and original feature is the use of real-time blur whilst reloading, giving a depth of field and more perspective to the game. Similarly, when the player drops below 2 bars of health, the screen turns black and white, the sound of the character's heartbeat become the dominant noise and the game goes slower, almost as if in bullet-time, and the large and small motors in the control pads match the sound of systolic and diastolic part of the heartbeat.

Black takes place in Eastern Europe, placing the player in the shoes of a "black ops" soldier named Sgt. 1st. Class Jack Kellar. Kellar tells most of the story in first-person at an interrogation four days after the events in the story begin.

Kellar is a poorly disciplined member of a CIA black ops group and a veteran of several conflicts including Guatemala, Colombia, Iran and Croatia. The unknown interrogator questions Kellar about an arms smuggling and terrorist operation called the Seventh Wave. Seventh Wave have been responsible for a number of terrorist attacks. Kellar is told that, unless he cooperates, he and his actions will be declassified, he will be dishonorably discharged and imprisoned for life. Though initially resistant, Kellar at last agrees to tell his story.

Four days earlier, Kellar and his group were assaulting a Seventh Wave strong-hold in the city of Veblensk. Kellar kills three high-ranking members of the cell but then disobeys orders by rushing inside a terrorist controlled building, where a terrorist ambushes him. However, the man did not kill Kellar, who learns that his captor is an American, a former CIA wetworks operative, William Lennox. After faking his own death in Cairo, Lennox has apparently become the leader of Seventh Wave.

Kellar's next mission is to cross the border into Treneska and traverse the Vlodnik Cannal, destroy a base and weapons cache, then meet an agent named MacCarver, the leader of black ops Team Bravo, at a farmhouse. Things did not go as planned; however, Kellar defends and clears the farmhouse and later meets MacCarver.

Kellar and MacCarver begin a mission to destroy an arms factory in the city of Naszran. To safely complete the mission they must navigate an old graveyard and town, both heavily defended. After doing so, they assault the town's iron foundry, destroying its productive capacity. The two black operatives then meet a third member of the team, Solomon.

The next operation resumes the search for the Seventh Wave leader Valencio, who has recently sheltered in an abandoned asylum. After destroying all resistance, Kellar again disobeys orders and tortures Valencio for information on Lennox.

Based on information gathered from the mission, Team Bravo has proceeded to a dockyard, cleared the area and linked up with Alpha Team. Alpha Team, however, is destroyed in an ambush while Lennox escapes. As a result, the operation is cancelled as too risky. MacCarver, however, dupes Kellar and Solomon into a continued pursuit of Lennox.

The team finds Lennox's location in an abandoned gulag. They must cross a suspension bridge littered with mines and defended by RPG and machine-gun-carrying guards. After successfully navigating the bridge, Kellar enters the gulag alone, while Solomon and MacCarver stay behind to secure the perimeter. After a surface battle, Kellar uncovers a bunker system beneath the prison. A long battle with Lennox's elite bodyguards ensues, ending with Lennox's apparent death.

The interrogator then reveals to Kellar that authorities had, in fact, always known of Lennox's involvement in Seventh Wave. Kellar had acted predictably, doing what his profile said he would, and his pursuit of Lennox was both expected and welcome. Kellar is told that a false "death" has been arranged for him, providing cover so he can continue his pursuit. The game ends with Kellar being told to get ready for his next assignment.

Black is the first of a planned trilogy of games, and the open ended storyline will continue in the sequels. The fates of Solomon and MacCarver are unknown but may be revealed in a later game. It is known that MacCarver was 'picked-up' one day prior to Kellar's interrogation.

The game consists of eight levels:

• Veblensk City Street
• Treneska Border Crossing
• Naszran Town
• Naszran Foundry
• Tivliz Asylum
• Vratska Dockyard
• Graznei Bridge
• Spetriniv Gulag

Black features a wide range of real world weaponry, with great emphasis placed on their performance and detail. However, all weapons do similar or same damage to enemies, although effective range varies among weapon classes. Players can only carry two weapons at a time; therefore, strategy is needed when choosing weaponry. Most weapons, specifically rifles and sub-machine guns, can have their firing rates changed (like their respective real world counterparts) and most weapons can be equipped with silencers. Grenades can be blown up by shooting them.

Pistols

• DC3 Elite (Desert Eagle)
• Glock (Glock 17)
• Magnum (Taurus Raging Bull)

Submachine Guns

• P90
• Mac-10
• Uzi
• MP5

Rifles

• AK-47
• HK G36C
• M16
• M16A2 with attached M203 launcher (available upon beating Black Ops difficulty)

Special

• Walther 2000
• RPG (RPG-7)
• M249 SAW (special purpose weapon version)
• Remington 870
• SPAS-12
• M203

• Completing Normal Mode will unlock Silver Weapons for that setting (certain versions, this occurred on a PS2 version), Normal mode will unlock Silver Weapons for that setting, and Hard mode will unlock Silver Weapons for all difficulty settings. Silver Weapons are silver in appearance and have infinite ammo. Hand grenades are not affected by Silver Weapon mode.
• Completing the Hard difficulty setting will also unlock Black Ops mode, in which the player must complete all primary and secondary objectives in order to complete the mission. A set of secondary objectives, called "Destruction" requires the player to seek out and destroy explosive items, such as ammunition crates, cars, and other flammable items. Black Ops mode also grants the player Silver Weapons and an M16A2 assault rifle fitted with an M203 grenade launcher and suppressor. The M203 is fired by pressing the grenade button and also has infinite ammo.
• Completing Black Ops mode gives the player Silver Weapons and the M16A2/M203 weapon on all difficulty settings.
• When the player achieves Silver Weapons, any arms he/she encounters will also be 'Silver' (infinite ammo).

The secondary objectives are primarily used to open up the harder game difficulties and allow access to other weapon types.

The names given to each secondary objective, which include items such as blackmail, operational intelligence, and other related topics, frequently take form as paper documents, laptop computers, document cases, video tapes and DVDs, and a few other forms.

The titles of each objective, especially those required for game completion, are used as an attempt to further the plot involving The Seventh Wave. Mostly, though, the secondary objectives are easter eggs providing insight into the politics of contemporary society. Many are also references to the movie "Sneakers", such as "Prof. Janek's black box" & "SETEC Astronomy". Some objectives were changed at the last minute, indicated by inaccuracies in the official strategy guide. They involved Osama bin Laden, and other real-world references.

The game gathered a lot of hype from the video game community while in production, and since its release has received good reviews from critics, who generally praise the game for its explosive action and cutting edge graphics, but criticize its lack of depth.

The PS2 version scores 80% on Game Rankings based on 72 reviews, the Xbox version scores 77% based on 70 reviews. Metacritic reviews give it a 79%.

• Received IGN's awards for:
  • Best PlayStation 2 First-Person Shooter of 2006
  • Best Graphics Technology on PlayStation 2 in 2006
  • Best Use of Sound on PlayStation 2 in 2006

• Official website
• Official Criterion Games website
• Metacritic Review (Xbox)
• Metacritic Review (PS2)
• GT Video Review
• IGN Review
• EA shocked as Black for Xbox leaks to the internet
• Black videos at GameTrailers
• Black at MobyGames