Really sharp audiovisual presentation that makes a great first impression. An exellent FPS.

Its the Burnout-Revenge rush, but done with the guns ! Awesome ! just by looking at the game will make you want to get spanked !

Solid 1-night rental. A one-trick-Pony if there ever was one. Nice clowdy puffs, but old school in the wrong ways. Geez the press sucks up to some developers.

Quite impressive technically in some ways, but it feels like all the other generic FPS'es with crap AI out there after the initial thrills of blowing stuff up wears off. Also, several fundemental flaws haven't been ironed out, such as the obvious lack of checkpoints in some places.

Great FPS. Yeah there is no mulitiplayer, but that doesn't take away from the game. This game was designed to do one thing, and thats Kick Ass. When are game reviews and people going to quit bashing EA. Enough Said

Truly amazing what the PS2 is actually capable of doing. S-video with Dolby Pro Logic II surround is the way to go here. Such an intense experience I played standing up most of the way. Took me 8.5 hours on normal difficulty. I heard you can unlock a bunch of stuff if you finish on hard...that's what I'm doing next. Also because I'd like to pay a little closer attention to the story and figure out if some of those terrorist cell docs are legit. Great work Criterion!!!… Expand

This isn't the Burnout of FPS everyone was harping on about months ago. Dull, but pretty. Not worth full price, Buy budget.

The most intense FPS I've ever played. Truly the Burnout of shooters. So much fun, you wont miss the argument or story line.

It's killzone in a better package.

Depth? Sorry -it's unashamedly a balls out shooter, and I'm not really looking for huge amounts of emotion out of a FPS, and Black steams through like a tank through a china shop. Shameless explosions and shooting - Top draw!

This game is THE best shooter on PS2, regardless. OK, some people say the plot is a bit thin and it is a bit too short, but in all honesty, you are not going to buy a game like this for the plot and the extra weapons and difficulty levels ake you play at least 3 times through and it's still not boring!

When they call this game "Gun porn" they were right on the money. Weak story, over the top action that puts a smile on your face but leaves you empty inside. Great game.

Best shooter on PS2 hands-down. Decent graphics, great gun action, lots of bang-bang, you can destroy some types of cover! Minor points: crosshairs should change based on gun type, scoped-in view should stay scoped, ammo capacity seems a little high (500 AK rounds?). But still an awesome game. $40 is a bit much for a short game, though. I reconfigured controls to emulate Halo and picked up the game instantly. Loved it from the first to the unsatisfying end nine hours later.… Expand

No plot to speak of but when a game is this much fun, why bother?

I think the IGN review gets it and GameSpot misses the point. This game is just plain FUN. And for $39, it's priced just right. I'll definetely play through again. Nice package too.

This game is a must buy for all fans of fps.

I think the bottom 4 critics are being to analytical. Just have fun with this. Next Gen excitement Today! I have a projector and HT. When I'm finished playing I've got battle scars and smell like gun powder. This game is what it is! The Guns are great. The AI is great. The physics are great. The sound is great. Play it NOW!

The game is way too short to merit a purchase. It gets repetitive pretty fast. Level design get's boring in later levels. And enemys are downright stupid. Graphics and sounds are the only things going for it.

Intense, immersive experience through and through. The length of the game is perfect and I look forward to going back and blasting the heck out of each and every level again.

A little short, but definitely one of the best shooters for the PS2. I think the industry has found the limits of the PS2 platform with Black. Pros: Great gun selection that feel good to shoot Unlockable stuff Destructable items Varied mission objectives Difficulty settings Easy controls Selectable 480p 16:9 prog scan support looks great Fair retail price of $39.99 Excellent music score and audio Fire and explosion effects some of the best on PS2 Totally customizable controller with button remapping Looks "Next Gen" and Xbox version looks even better Cons: Unskippable cutscenes (1st playthrough) Limp storyline - lacks immersion No H/V sensitivity adjustment Not coming to Xbox 360 (Black 2 maybe?) No online play… Expand

Brilliant FPS, the best on the PS2. Graphically excellent, no slowdown or fuzziness. The AI is sharp with smart enemies, the sounds are great and change appropriately for your location with echoing, crunching of glass underfoot, ricocheting bullet cases when standing close to walls. As for thin plot? What kind of plot do Halo or Doom have? All pretty much non-existant and Black is no better and no worse! You're tracking down an ex-CIA operative turned mercenary through the Eastern Bloc! What's not to like in that? Tons of playabilty in it too, with four gradings of difficulty! If you manage it on hard you get to try Black Ops. Most folks will probably manage it, but me being fairly hopeless in comparison find it hard enough in Easy mode and that's entirely satisfying for me even then!… Expand

it looks nice, but its really very average and even mediocre. the lack of a overhead radar display makes the combat confusing, and the hailed destructability is not better than red faction was in 2001. Lots of decals and indestructable windows. And on the whole its also just plain boring.This game is 50 % hype, 50 % decent. Take your expectations from all the glowing reviews and media assault, and cut them in half .… Expand

It was a fair game to play but why do we still have to follow halo in holding only two weapons, lets go back to the best fps doom's motto of more weapons more killing more fun.

Sort of Medol of Honor on steroids. BIG problems, 1. NO MAP!? 2. NO COMPASS!!? WTF? You spend nearly as much time running in the wrong dorection as the right direction on some missions. 2B fair, most are straghtforward enough but perhaps the lack of these things add to the intensity of the experience. You end up sooo frustrated that you take it out on the bad guys and joyfully blow the livin' crap outta them. The atmosphere, graphics and sound are amazing, I must say. A few more checkpoints, ability to skip boring, senseless cutscenes and a save option would've been nice. Overall, the experience was challenging and left me with a mild case of post traumatic stress syndrome but as for the fun factor... I'm still not sure. It was quite depressing and very stressfulI. I feel like I fought in a pointless war against faceless enimies with little... make that NO payoff. Sure I beat every level and killed every guy and blew up most everything in sight but (yawn) so what? A big waste of time and bullets. Sorry, Criterion but look at the bright side... BURNOUT RULES!… Expand

Amazing FPS, but I agree with many of the criticisms. Too short, no online, no map, needs more save points. But beautifully designed environments (the asylum level has gorgeous room after gorgeous room that forces you to be creative, i.e use the shotgun to blast through thin walls to get around guys with shields) that have to be played through a couple of times to be appreciated. A great rental or bargain buy.… Expand

Amazing game - and not too short as some have said! The most incredible gun fights I've ever experienced - beautifully done. And there's a fair bit of skill and tactical thought required to succeed.

Finally, a game where you truly can destroy EVERYTHING!! The video cut scenes bring some much needed reality and current event basis to the FPS genre. I love this game and enjoy playing it again and again.

This game is awesome just dont get too hoked b/c if u have a short temper u might want to play like one level a day (it gets long VERY LONG) but still i luvd it so it gets a 10 from me.

awesone game, real war scenarios, non-stop action.

One of a kind among first person shooters. Bullets ricochet all over as soon as they hit their target. Very realistic physics for a playstation game. Could of had blood.

The gameplay is fantastic. Action packed from start to finish. The gameplay also contains some tactical options but its up to the gamer of how he wants to play. Destructive enviroments compined with amazing graphics tune up the experience. The sound effects and the music are also fantastic. What could have been better is a more interesting story,characters and presentation. Black also needs more replay value. Still a great game.… Expand

Looks nice but it a bit hard and frustrating. Not only that, it was too short and u cannot even save your checkpoint at all. So u have too finish the level 1st then only u can save your game. Its not like Timesplitters or Area 51 will save your checkpoint any place u reached. Man, they could have done more better then that.

The PlayStation 2 has a lack of great FPS games but Black come to solve this: the game is superb in all aspects, from gameplay to graphics, from mechanics to AI. It's incredible see PS2 hardware running this game without any slowdown with incredible graphics and scenario interaction. If you don't like FPS games reconsider and try Black: your opinion will change.

I first heard of this game... what, 2 years ago? I wanted to play the second I heard about it. This could have been the Halo-Killer we all wanted for our PS2. But, like Killzone, psh... It's nothing more than a good looking FPS with some nice innovations. The story, its just an excuse to move from location to location. I've seen Cartoons that have better stories. Now that I have gotten most of the bad out of thew way, let's see whats good: 1 Graphics. Best in-game graphics I have ever seen on the PS2. 2 Freaking awsome guns. While there may not be too many guns, the ones thye have are the coolest I have ever seen. I will never look at an AK47 the same way again. Or an RPG for that matter. 3 Destructible Enviroments. This is actually another area where the game fails to live up to it's expectations. But it's PS2, what can they do? It's still the most destructible that I've ever seen on current gen. The final nail in the coffin of this " Halo-Killer" is the lengh of the levels. IDK how many people want to play a game where one level could take up 1 hour (Up to 1 hour and 45 minutes if you want to get everything) just to kill the same 5 enemies over and over and over and over and over. Also, it's FREAKING hard. But it still gets an 8, cuz shooting terrorists in the face never gets old. Also, Black 2 should have Blood and Gore.… Expand

The best game in the history of first shooting games for PS2.

Simply awsome. The intro ochestral soundtrack and overall sounds is top notch. The game itself is a sight to behold. War is about destruction and Black brings that to you without the blood and gore that most games display. I'm sure Criterion has it's critics but i'm just itching to hear about part 2.

Black is the most intense and incredible FPS available; however, the 8 missions prove to be incredibly short, and although new objectives and scenery do appear, the game is terribly short-lived. The only bonus is that it leaves you with a fierce need to keep going, and hopefully Black 2 will have the multiplayer capabilities we'ev all been waiting for.

Absolutely fantastic, just so short, I finished an awesome 8 missions and spent half an hour looking for the 9th mission before realising that was it, 6 hours gameplay, way way way to short, but I'm hoping to get Lennox on a sequal.

Incredible first person shooter. Best ever. Great intelligence build into the game!

One of the coolest games I've ever had the sheer pleasure to come across. The titanic waves of bullets and destruction and the seemingly console-defying graphics both serve to create a top quality game, which really serves as more of a sensory 'experience' than a true game.

PC shooters will always be up there. Console shooter tend to always be lower. This games seriously screams in the physics area of an FPS. But... the game has a few niggles. The game can be quite unfair at times such as the enemies take a whooping so hard that they seem to have skin made out of kevlar. The checkpoint system is harsh and there's no blood...which makes it seem a wee bit lightweight. It would be fantastic if multiplayer was part of the package. Online mode would be wicked.… Expand

Mediocre FPS which looks fairly pretty but has a real lack of creativity compared to other FPS's out there. Poor game design and only really worth looking at on budget. Does not live up to the hype at all and certainly not worth the wait.

Great looking game but so damn repetitive it becomes boring very quickly. Way too short for my money. Not really up there with the big boys of FPS's. Unfair at times but does look fantastic for PS2. More to it than looks though!

Wonderful graphics, gameplay and and lots of explosions. A must buy and absolutely brilliant

What was all the fuss about. Average game, nice graphics.

Very decent. Could use more sniper action IMO. Graphics stunning, gameplay very good. The controls are done very nicely, much better then in Killzone

Hmm, ok I guess. Graphics are astounding - 'specially on a PS2 but the game itself didn't do much for me. Not a lot of depth and coming from a PC I can safely say that it's one of the weaker FPS's out there in terms of story!? and gameplay.

Yes this game has its moments, as they say the game play is exciting but it could have been way better. The physics are good, all they need are good graphics with sharp textures and lighting. Black 2 will most likely be amazing. But even so, BLACK is quite good for PS2 but what would have made it better also would have been multiplayer. Plus the story line was confusing and boring.

The developers would do well to understand that you need balance in a game to impress - you don't just go all out shoot shoot shoot or the brain just numbs out! Take a look at any of the top fps's and they have balance and peaks and troughs of game action design. I'm off to play something more creative instead.

Average fps. Dull after a while and way too short. Much better out there.

Artificial stupidity and waaaay too short. Moribund storyline. I didn't like this at all. All the same!

Only eight hours of samey gamepley. No extra modes or multiplayer. No splitscreen and no co-op. Why did I buy this? must try harder.

Good graphics and details, and tight controls, but it's an experience you may not feel like completing as it's the same thing over and over with pretty bad AI and an incomprehensible storyline.

Average graphics, all gray, cutscenes does not skips!!! Only 2 guns you can carry and only one real to use, takes a clip or to to kill the enemy and way too hard, i barely make it out of 3rd level.

If Burnout had a sex change into a shooter, it'd be black. It's a brilliant shooter, which although lacks variety you never really notice due to how much that single idea is. and also note that Edge gave it 80, and they are tough cookies.

I have played a lot of war based games. But this is the far most best war game I've ever played. I was very impressed with this game.

There are no saves within the mission. It is too difficult even in the easy level. Weapons cannot be added to ones inventory. If I have acquired weapons in one mission it does not mean they will be there in the next mission. Most of the time one cannot tell where one is going and what is the way back.

A real treat for the first-person genre. This game REALLY makes you FEEL. This game is worth a try because of the amazing presentations this game brings out. The only flaw is that it's really short and it's darker than it has to be, although the title is indeed BLACK. Though not as revolutionary as the max payne series, metal gear solid 2, or call of duty 4, BLACK is one impressive FPS.

Yep, this game is the best fps game on ps2 I wonder if this game will ported on pc or make a multiplayer game,if this game make it definetly cool!

It is one of the best FPS on the PS2! Even though it is a relatively short game, each level took me at least 1 hour to complete, and so it is a fun game that ahs a lot of replay value.