CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games Books TV
Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Games

Playstation Reviews
PS3 | PS2 | PS One | PSP

Xbox Reviews
Xbox 360 | Xbox

Nintendo Reviews
Wii | DS | GBA | Cube | N64


PC | N-Gage | Dreamcast

How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Games In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.



BlackSite: Area 51 ps3 Game Reviews
BlackSite: Area 51
Critic Score
Metascore: 57 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.2 out of 10
based on 22 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 10 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

Featuring a powerful single-player campaign, along with multiple online multiplayer modes, BlackSite: Area 51 delivers vicious combat action, next generation graphics and A.I., and a plethora of powerful weapons and vehicles. Set in present day, players take the role of a decorated military veteran charged by the government to lead a squadron of "secret soldiers," each with his/her own specialty skill set, into the Rachel, Nevada area to fight off the invasion of unidentified enemy races. The player?s modern-day emotions and fears are driven into a world charged with grave responsibility affecting lives hanging in the balance and eventually finding himself torn between his professional orders and his own ethical standards. In the end, only the actions of the player and his squad can shape the outcome of BlackSite: Area 51 during this potentially pivotal moment in history. [Midway]

PUBLISHER: Midway
DEVELOPER: Midway Austin
GENRE(S): First-Person Shooter
PLAYERS: 16
ESRB RATING: T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE: December 10, 2007

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Cheat Code Central
If you're looking for a ground-breaking experience or a robust selection of multiplayer modes- Blacksite's don't offer much more than a weekend distraction--this isn't it. However, if you find the idea of fighting aliens in your own backyard appealing, you won't do better than Blacksite's relatable, the-truth-is-out-there experience.
Read Full Review
75
ZTGameDomain
The controls are silky smooth and responsive, the visuals are fantastic, and the multi-player is certainly proficient, but nothing really makes it stand out from the herd.
Read Full Review
75
Game Informer
I can see FPS fans having fun with BlackSite since it provides all the standard FPS rollercoaster thrills, but most of us have been up and down those hills a few too many times.
Read Full Review
72
Kombo
BlackSite has its ups and downs from the start. The story is interesting and the graphics are very nicely detailed. The technical hitches of the slowdown were rather sad.
Read Full Review
62
Game Chronicles
A rushed-for-the-holidays by-the-numbers first person shooter that does almost nothing new worth mentioning.
Read Full Review
62
IGN
Just like every other run-of-the-mill FPS out there. You can find better multiplayer in Resistance, you can find a better storyline in The Orange Box, and you can find a livelier environment in just about anything. The game underperforms in every aspect.
Read Full Review
61
MEGamers
A little overpriced for 7 hours of light entertainment that will end up sitting on a shelf or in a drawer when you have completed it.
Read Full Review
60
GameTap
BlackSite, which evolved from a light-gun coin-op game in the late 1990s, does its best to shadow "Halo 1"'s story in many respects, but regularly comes up short.
Read Full Review
60
Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
With the sole exception of its occasionally genre-elevating aliens-invade-middle-America presentation, Blacksite is a servicable, unremarkable shooter; not bad, just excessively average. [Mar 2008, p.82]
60
AceGamez
There really is a decent game in here somewhere - it's just such a shame that it is hidden beneath some awful glitches and some clearly unfinished gameplay mechanics.
Read Full Review
58
Gaming Age
Blacksite's biggest issues aren't in the controls, but the lack of what you can do with them, not to mention the horrible enemy A.I.
Read Full Review
55
PTGamers
BlackSite on PS3 will suffer the same fate as the Xbox 360 version, being a game made without enthusiasm, and crammed with problems that seriously hurt its ambitions.
Read Full Review
54
GameTrailers
BlackSite: Area 51 features a handful of fun moments blasting giant aliens, but there?s too much time spent in forgettable shootouts, the story fails to engage, and it?s so riddled with bugs that not even the Orkin Man can feel safe purchasing it.
Read Full Review
51
PSM3 Magazine UK
It has some great ideas, but ruins them with mediocre shooting and a truly shocking frame-rate. [Apr 2008, p.76]
50
Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
What could have been a decent shooter is crippled by big technical problems. [Apr 2008, p.103]
50
Maxi Consolas (Portugal)
Not that we were expecting something big from this game. But something like this, unfinished and with no personality whatsoever, will quickly drown in a highly competitive industry... even more so if it?s an FPS. [Jan 2008]
50
Playstation Official Magazine UK
The shooting at the core of the game is pretty solid, but that doesn't count for much when every complex set-piece cripples its engine. [Apr 2008, p.102]
50
Video Game Talk
From the AI to generic gameplay and shoddy presentation values there are several things that keep this game from being as fun as it had the possibility to be. In the end this title is little more than a weekend rental for FPS fans looking for something to pass some time with.
Read Full Review
45
Worth Playing
Although the game in concept is not itself rotten to the core, unless Blacksite: Area 51's developer can repair the technical disaster that is the PS3 version ? I suspect this would require a substantial, cost-prohibitive reworking of the core software ? I cannot under any circumstances recommend this title.
Read Full Review
44
PSX Extreme
Nothing more than an awful game, with horrific visuals, arguably the worst framerate this generation has seen, poor audio, and cookie-cutter gameplay that'll bore you to tears. As a torture device, Blacksite works extremely well, so if you're into masochism, this'll do the trick.
Read Full Review
43
Play UK
Congratulations on a massive failure, this one is going in the history books. [Issue#163, p.90]
40
Edge Magazine
Blacksite is a thoroughly unexceptional title for which unrealistic promises were made, and one that is further let down by a wide assortment of bugs and design issues. [Jan 2008, p.83]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jerry M. gave it a10:
Excellent, best ever AI, 3D graphics that rival Crysis, just buy it.

Leo D. gave it a10:
Say all you want! Blacksite is just one of the best FPS shooters there is. Perhaps you may not have known, but because of the schedule and pressure, this game turned out just like that. But it is still fun to play, and it is not repetitive unlike Resistance!

Mas J. gave it a6:
One of the few people on the planet to have played this game and finished it. It not bad for a beta version. Your squad mates could use some AI so they don't stand infront of your face grinning at you in the middle of a fire fight, some rough graphics to smooth up and some of your squad mates just disappear into thin air after running ahead of you.

Tony W. gave it a5:
Way too many troubles with this game,frequent freezing and way too short although you may prefer to get this over with quickly.

gamer24 none gave it a5:
A few very nice 3-D components, but meshed with a ton of bad 2D simulated 3D objects, a stupid A.I. and lack of realistic effects, makes this a half-baked game.

Sonic the Hedhehog gave it an8:
A good FPS that have all the elements if you need in this type of game.

Discuss this game in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | BOOKS | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise | Partnerships                                Visit other CNET Networks sites:

Copyright ©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use