Submit |
Contests |
Top Rated |
Reviews |
Previews |
Guides |
Cheats |
Screens |
Scores |
Videos |
News |
Forums |
Blogs |
Register |
Login |
Users |
Staff |
Links |
Meta
3DS ::
Arcade ::
Dreamcast ::
DS ::
GameCube ::
iPad ::
iPhone/iPod ::
Mac ::
PC ::
PlayStation 2 ::
PlayStation 3 ::
PSP ::
Wii ::
Xbox ::
Xbox 360 ::
Retro & Import
Earn prizes and eliminate ads just by contributing content on your FREE user account. Click for details or register today!
|
Systems > Xbox 360 > B > BlackSite: Area 51 > Staff Review
Sign into your user account to view or leave feedback for this review. Don't have an account yet? You can click here to open one. It only takes a minute, and it's free!
Review by Felix Arabia
November 21, 2007
BlackSite: Area 51, simply put, is a surprisingly lackadaisical title devoid of the little green men one would expect to find in a game baring the subtitle “Area 51”. Sure, the arid environs of Iraq and Rachel, Nevada are crawling with all sorts of strange entities ranging from annoying roaches that explode on contact all the way to massive, laser-spewing armored beasts ten times the size of a tank. Add in legions of cybernetic enemy troops and it becomes quite apparent that Pierce and his fellow fighters Grayson and Ambrose have their work cut out for them. But while the game strives to pull off the epic firefights seen in other FPS titles such as Halo 3, while simultaneously providing the eerie atmosphere found in Half-Life 2, it succeeds in doing neither very well.
That doesn’t mean that BlackSite is a bad game. On the contrary, it does employ some rather enjoyable segments, like when Pierce must blast his way through winding trailer park corridors, battling Reborn soldiers (the cybernetic legions previously mentioned) and eye-spewing worms. The style of combat – the ways the guns feel, how the physics work, and the magnitude of the explosions – are all fine. BlackSite does use the Unreal 3 engine, so at least it has a solid foundation.
Unfortunately, it lacks the extra panache needed to propel it into the next echelon of first-person shooters. There are only a handful of weapons, none of which are imaginative. The assault rifle can easily dispatch enemies from a long distance, while the missile launcher, sniper rifle, and handgun are not any less deadly or accurate. Even the two enemy weapons – futuristic guns inexplicably equipped by the Reborn menace – are unable to get any more creative than a plasma rifle and a spreadshot. Ammunition plentifully litters the six main levels, ensuring that Pierce will never run low on bullets.
As for the levels themselves, as I mentioned, the first one is set in Iraq and the last five take place in and around Rachel, Nevada. A majority of the game takes place in sun-soaked deserts replete with the color brown. The portions that do not take place in the scorching desert are set in abandoned suburbia and dilapidated military bases. Despite the lack of variety, it’s not really surprising that these are the areas the game is set in. The level design, while linear, does manage to at least vary the scenery somewhat. The problem is that none of it looks that great. The visuals already look dated, and the enemies that populate these levels aren’t even terrifying to behold.
They often just charge at you, or, if they’re Reborn, hide behind something and shoot at you. The enemy AI is not advanced; the enemy will rarely attempt to outmaneuver your position. The incredibly deadly weapons that Pierce uses, along with the help of his squad, ensures that you’ll rarely die over the course of the game. You can even, with just the tap of a button, give your squad innovative commands such as “shoot that enemy” and “open door”. I swear, Pierce has a squad following him only because he is incapable of opening doors. There is this concept of squad morale, but it, like much of the game, went unrealized. It’s supposed to work like this: the higher your squad morale, the easier it is to kill things. Even with low morale, battling the toughest enemies never proved to be much of a challenge. Not even higher difficulties could stop Pierce from turning the entire Reborn army into a pile of bloody corpses.
Of course, you won’t find any blood or gore here! BlackSite was only given a T-rating. At least, despite all the little nagging issues I have with the game, I can still confidently say that this is an average shooter. The single-player campaign will end after only a few hours. You won’t cherish the time spent playing as Captain Aeran Pierce, but you won’t regret it, either. Should you decide that you really like the game, you can play a variety of multiplayer matches via Xbox Live. Basically, the game is good enough to rent and play through, and it should give Area 51 fans something to enjoy. Anyone looking for a more serious FPS – something with sterling graphics, fierce enemies, awesome design, and a great multiplayer mode – should look elsewhere. BlackSite: Area 51 doesn’t have any of those things, though I don’t think it ever seriously entertained the notion of becoming the newest big FPS title.
It’s simply the newest mediocre FPS title.
|
|
|
|
|
Average As a whole, this game is quite average. You're unlikely to find much of anything remarkable about it at all. |
||
| Read more about the review rating scale... | ||
Staff reviews represent the opinion of the individual staff member that wrote them and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the site staff as a whole. If you disagree with the contents of this review, you may click to leave feedback on our dedicated forum. Thank you!
|
||||||
|
|
|||||
|
Title: BlackSite: Area 51 |
||||||
Do you own this game? Register for a free account to track it and other games in your collection!
Voice Your Opinion...
Average User Rating (1 rating)
Only registered users can rate this game!
Halo 3 is another Xbox 360 game in the First-Person Shooter genre that has been attracting activity lately, so you might want to check it out and see what all of the fuss is about!
|
© 1998-2010 HonestGamers None of the material contained within this site--from reviews, guides, cheats, fiction, and editorials to message board posts--may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. BlackSite: Area 51 is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to BlackSite: Area 51, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. No opinions expressed in any review, guide, cheat, fanfic, or editorial necessarily represent the opinion of the staff or any site sponsors. |
|
