BlackSite: Area 51

"A good alien shooting time"

Well after numerous delays, Blacksite: Area 51 has finally emerged. Was it worth the wait? Can it survive with all the top fps that have been released in the last few months? Read on to find out if it has revealed enough of its secrets to warrant a purchase or if its just another mediocre title bound for the low game bin.


Story: 8/10

While not the most enrapturing story to come out, I rather enjoyed it. Basically this game models itself after a lot of world events and then changes them. You start in Iraq where you and your two squad mates are part of delta squad on a mission to find the weapons of mass destruction that are supposed to be there. From there you eventually find that the weapons are really alien technology that the bad guys have. Flash forward 3 and you are called in to Rachel, Nevada, a small wester town that houses some very dark government secrets. I wont go in to it to much more but its safe to say that the story does pick up more with a few let downs in between.


Graphics 8/10

This game is running off a modified unreal three engine with havoc physics. Though they are not as good as call of duty fours, they do stand on their own. With realistic explosions and destructive environments this game shines at what it attempts to do. Characters are very life like and their mouths actually match the words that are being spoken. One things that's weird is how shiny all the people are. Its like they are soaked in sweat, though its not a very big deal. Your main bad guys are animated well and look the part they were made for. Though I do wish they had more types I wont pick to much as each class has different versions of itself. Also another this is the driving parts of the game. Since when did dirt and debris fly off your tires on pavement? I mean it looks as if your leaving a dust trail with nothing kicked up? Also the vehicles look good coming up to them, but once your in them they look very undetailed and plain. Also, where is the animation for getting in and out of a vehicle? When your teammates get in they just disappear into the car. They are not shown getting in or out, they just appear or disappear. Same goes for your character.


Sound 7/10

The music is nice but nothing to get to excited about. Bullets sound real though I did notice the sound of empty shell casings hitting the ground was missing. Not a big deal but still not there. My major complaint with the sound is the voices. You can barely hear them and with no subtitles it makes it hard to follow the story. Seriously I should not have to turn my volume up just to hear a few words spoken. Sure you can adjust the sounds to your liken, but it still doesn't sound good.


Controls 9/10

If you have played one fps then you should be aware of what to expect. The controls are the exact same as call of duty 4 except for missing the sprint button. That really bothers me as the levels are very big and wide open in some parts. Sprinting would help you move around from cover to cover faster during firefights, instead you move at a snails pace. Well maybe not that slow , but try equipping the anti tank launcher and see how fast you move. One new feature that can be found is the squad command button. All commands you give your squad comes from aiming and pushing the left button. Yes its that simple. Though greatly under used through the game, it makes your life a lot easier as you can order your squad to concentrate fire on certain bad guys while you attempt other things.

Online 7/10

The online portion of the game is very basic with a few things mixed together to add a little difference to it. There are nine maps ranging from huge to small with weapon pickups and destructive environments. Blacksite borrows from halo and quake with a few of its power ups. Stealth, damage, and armor pickups are found hidden around the maps and can turn the tide of battle greatly. The weapons do not feel very balanced like in other fps and cause this game to turn into a hunt for the plasma cannon or anti tank gun. Standard game types are death match, team death match, capture the flag, and abduction. Abduction is a game type where only one person starts as the reborn, with all other players being human. The object of the game is to be the last human left alive. Every time a reborn kills a human that human then re-spawns back as a reborn. It is then their mission to hunt down their former teammates.


To sum it up for you is to say, Blacksite has a lot of good with a few bad points that could have used a bit more time to fix. There is nothing overly broken about the game, but there are problems that should have been addressed from Midway. Weapons should not float four feet in the air half the time and lay on the ground the other half. The frame rate should run smooth without tearing, as it does in a few spots. A patch can fix all of this, but it still should not have been there to start with. I do like the maps for online and the power ups. Also the story could have been longer than the time it takes to complete all six chapters. But with three levels of play and hidden dossiers, you can go back through it again.


Pros

Nice graphics and lighting
Good mission strength and depth
Nice online mode
Smooth controls
Good selection of maps for multi player

Cons.

Bad voice sound hampers the story
No sprint button really hurts single player and online as maps are huge and take time to traverse.
Need more weapons.
The story should have been longer than five to ten hours.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/07

Game Release: BlackSite: Area 51 (US, 11/12/07)