Black

Stuff

The bone-rattling density of Black's combat makes the nine levels feel like tours of duty with the grizzliest mercenary squads the world has ever seen.

BonusStage

Easily the best console FPS experience I’ve played this generation.

PGNx Media

It’s simply a technical marvel with top-notch gameplay.

Game Chronicles

The gameplay is fast and furious and the presentation will blow you away with stunning visuals and rich 3D Dolby Digital surround. And even when the non-stop shooting threatens to grow repetitive, the ever-changing level design will keep you on your toes.

Ferrago

At no point in Black's development did the game ever indicate it would become anything more than what it is: a high-powered homage to the FPS genre in its simplest and most undiluted form.

AceGamez

Its shortcomings are overwhelmed entirely by pure, unrelenting fun from beginning to end, with enough multiple routes on the levels to warrant at least a couple of plays through.

GameZone

A great game, an accessible shooter with mainstream appeal, just what the Xbox needs in its twilight hour.

Pelit (Finland)

An awesome shooter that looks gorgeous and feels great. Although shooting is fun, the gameplay tends to be a bit frustrating because of the long levels, too few checkpoints and no saving option during the missions. [Mar 2006]

IGN

It's an extremely focused game that offers one of the most visceral gaming experiences you'll find anywhere. But, it offers little variation outside of blowing things up and its short length and lack of multiplayer will irk some people.

Armchair Empire

The A.I. predictability coupled with linear game levels somewhat dampen the invigorating, bullets-flying-everywhere gameplay that will have your ears ringing from gunfire hours after playing.

Game Informer

For a first-time entry into the firts-person market, Black is impressive. [Apr 2006, p.112]

TeamXbox

For what it is, BLACK delivers one of the most exciting, explosive and intense FPS experiences we’ve had on the Xbox in a long time, but it’s straightforward and repetitive gameplay also leave the overall impression a bit thin.

Kombo

Black is a visceral FPS that is in your face and full of action, but it’s unfortunately short and pretty much devoid of any replay value.

Cheat Code Central

Black would be an absolutely fantastic game if it only lasted half-an-hour. There's an old show-biz axiom that states: Leave them wanting more. The problem with Black is that it starts off in high gear and has nowhere else to go from there.

Xbox Solution

Black is a great stress reliever and a great game to destroy and blow things up. It takes thinking and skill to get through certain points.

Gaming Age

While BLACK doesn’t add to the genre in terms of innovation, it is an experience that will suck you in and won’t let go until you’ve finished the game.

Worth Playing

The challenge BLACK presents is not to outwit enemies, but rather to stay interested in dispatching them with extra style. While it may not appeal to fans of more narrative or tactically oriented shooters, it hits the spot for those for whom there is no such thing as style over substance.

Into Liquid Sky

What Black does do right is the fact that you are almost guaranteed to not find another game this action intense in a long time. I've never played a FPS with this much going on and stuff flying around on the screen.

Game Over Online

BLACK is the kind of gun opera you’d expect from director John Woo, starring Chow Yun Fat. It’s explosive both in its technical presentation and gameplay, but it’s a very short experience.

VGPub

Those looking for a deep and involving story to go hand in hand with the intense action will be disappointed, but for people who enjoy shooting the crap out of everything and will enjoy doing so often, Black is the game you’ll need.

Next Level Gaming

My only big complaint is that some of the missions are just too long.

DarkStation

Criterion applies the lessons from the crash-laden Burnout series to make an over-the-top, explosion-heavy and beautifully flowing FPS.

Gaming Target

To say the least, the explosive environments in Black are pretty busy and are the reason why the game is worth playing.

3DAvenue

If you like "Burnout" and like first person shooters, buy this because Criterion has done to FPS what they did to racing games, all over again.

Games Radar

It's worth playing for its grueling gunfights and beautiful, combustible environments; just don't expect anything earth-shattering.

Yahoo! Games

A multiplayer component is absent and the AI is a little ridiculous at times; but like a good action film, Black hits you hard and fast, leaving an impact you won't soon forget.

GameSpy

As is the case with even the best action films, BLACK probably won't stay with you long after the closing credits have rolled. That's not to say, however, that you won't be on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Total Video Games

Beyond a handful of novel ideas BLACK is very much a typical FPS, however given the intensity it's still quite unlike anything the genre has offered in recent years.

GamePro

If Black was created to produce an adrenaline-induced euphoria of maddening guns going wild, then it is a total success. In the sequel, as the end of the story sets up, let's hope the AI is improved and includes at least some type of multiplayer.

Sydney Morning Herald

Little strategy is required for each stage, with abundant health packs and aggressive opponents of little intelligence. But there are many strategies and the use of cover is vital.

Computer and Video Games

Here's hoping the developer now takes this painfully short, yet spectacularly sweet game, and turns it into the giant-killing franchise it was born to be. Until then, sample it, savour it, but brace yourself for when the rug is pulled from under your feet and you're sent crashing back into reality after what only seems like five minutes in the most crazy, fantastical shooter you'll ever experience. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

games(TM)

It may all sound a little base, but Black is a game that reminds you that, at your core, you love things that go bang loudly – it’s a good feeling to suddenly realise that you’re just like everyone else. [Mar 2006, p.104]

MS Xbox World

There is no doubt that whilst it lasts, Black is a very cinematic, fun and immersive playing experience; however its length and lack of multiplayer might ultimately be its demise because most gamers could probably get the most from the game within a rental period.

Times Online

As the entire game is played at fever-pitch, you soon find yourself looking forward to the next mission briefing, if only for a chance to catch your breath. The only mystery to Black is why there is no multiplayer mode, since such intense battle settings would make for great competitive bouts.

Edge Magazine

Criterion’s ability to make the technology and design of games seem harmonious is a significant strength in an industry where few can pull it off... Black is a fiery example of what can result. [Mar 2006, p.82]

Talk Xbox

You will love pumping round after round into your generic foes, and the visuals enhance the experience. While Black gets this aspect right, it just doesn’t offer enough.

AtomicGamer

With a lack of multiplayer modes or any decent replay value, Black falls flat.

Xbox Evolved

Black holds a very well done audio and visual presentation but quickly fails in gameplay and story which drags it down to “just another” FPS.

Gamer 2.0

If you can excuse the inconsistent AI and the over abundance of explosives, Black delivers exactly what you want from it; a fun, fast FPS that will hold a spot in your gaming collection. Just don't expect it to do much more than that.

Electric Playground

It's very satisfying to hose a building with bullets and leave nothing standing when you're finished. It just might not have the lasting value you're looking for.

PALGN

For all the enjoyment the chaos and destruction brings, it’s hard to ignore its short length, lack of multiplayer and inconsistent AI.

eToychest

Sometimes you just want to blow stuff up with extreme prejudice. It's for these occasions that Black was made.

Gaming Nexus

Black is hurt by its simple game play, short story and crummy ending, but that doesn't mean it's not worth experiencing at least once.

DailyGame

Taken as a whole, BLACK is just your average first-person shooter.

WHAM! Gaming

Black sets out to achieve one goal of being the biggest, loudest and most impressively single mindedly violent FPS. Regardless of the zero it receives for narrative, it most definitely scores huge on thrills.

Detroit Free Press

The action is intense and the effects are splendid, though the un-reality applies also to the worlds in which you battle.

Play Magazine

The lack of online play for Black is notable, but not necessarily crippling. Black works well as a single-player adventure, despite its uneven patches, and certainly does its part to advance the genre of the console shooter. [Apr 2006, p.61]

Loaded Inc

Little-to-no depth and a short campaign prevent the game from standing out in the FPS genre but Black never deviates from what it promises—an explosive ride from start to finish with plenty of guns and littered those delightful red-barrels.

GameSpot

Black's first few levels are exciting, but the action movie formula wears thin fast, and the game's over not long after.

1UP

Like its namesake color, Black is bold in its simplicity, an elemental force that makes a strong, singular statement: It intends to be the most adrenaline-pumping, testosterone-infused shooter ever. And in that regard, it succeeds.

GamerFeed

During your time with the game, you'll enjoy the adrenaline rush and the constant action that it brings. However, I just wish Criterion thought about the long-term, as the game can only survive so long on such a short push of action.

Deeko

Long on hype but short on depth, Black travels an already well worn bullet riddled path taken by so many other games, albeit much louder than the rest.

Gamezilla!

Black can be summed up in one phrase. One dimensional. It plays like a great action movie, with a few problems, and literally doesn’t give you anything but that.

RewiredMind

A solid title for the greater part, but is not only flawed, but not massively difficult to beat. However, I’d rather play a game that made me smile for four hours and one that made me frown for twenty.

ZTGameDomain

Exactly what the developers said it was going to be, a straight-forward shooter with a decent story and unique environment interaction. Sadly the length of the single-player and a lack of any type of multi-player mode really dampen the experience.

Official Xbox Magazine

It may be initially enjoyable and easy to pick up, but the thrill doesn't last and it never quite distinguishes itself enough from the rest of the FPS pack on Xbox. [Apr 2006, p.75]

Jolt Online Gaming UK

Black lasts only eight hours, has no extra modes and no multiplayer. Not even split-screen; not even co-op. Granted, multiplayer FPS games are a two-a-penny these days, but it leaves wide open the question of what exactly you’re paying for here.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

A videogame can only live on "visceral" for so long before you're yawning, longing for better A.I., a more involved story, or...well, just about anything with more substance. [Apr 2006, p.94]

Gamer's Hell

Hopefully, if EA and Criterion are allowed more time to develop Black’s sequel, the proper attention can be made to fleshing out the total experience—and not just shining up the guns.

G4 TV

An hour a day will probably give any shooter fan a thrill, but prolonged and involved play makes all the small flaws more apparent and all the pyrotechnics more numbing.

NTSC-uk

Black is great fun, to be sure – it’s just not some divine revelation. Instead, it has nothing to show you that you won’t see within two days, at the outside.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Six hours. Pretty good hours, but still, The A.V. Club can't stress that number enough.

Game Revolution

Though a graphical marvel, Black is too brief, too straight and too lacking to be considered much more than a cool tech-demo, and the absence of multiplayer hurts it immeasurably.

Thunderbolt

The graphics and sound might be a great leap forward, but the rest of the game fails to meet any of the current criteria for a good first-person shooter.

Computer Games Magazine

Black may not be terrible, but it's repetitive and mundane. [May 2006, p.89]