Black (2006) review - ColourShed

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Black (2006) review
Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release Year: 2006
Developer: Criterion Games
Publishers: Electronic Arts
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Music (in order):
"Opening Credits"
"Black and Boom"
"Tunnel Trouble"
"Treneska Border Crossing"
"Walking Tour Of Treneska"
"Main Theme (Reprise)"
Black Soundtrack composed by Chris Tilton, Main Theme composed by Michael Giacchino
Gameplay, audio and images from:
2K Games
Acclaim Entertainment
Activision
Bethesda Softworks
Criterion Games
DICE Los Angeles
EA DICE
EA Montreal
Electronic Arts
Google
id Software
Iguana Entertainment
Infinity Ward
IO Interactive
Konami
Nintendo
Paramount Pictures
Rare Ltd.
Remedy Entertainment
Rockstar Games
Rockstar North
SIE Bend Studio
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Treyarch
Xbox Game Studios
KZbin videos used:
"Bodycount - Gameplay Trailer (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)" by GameSpot
• Bodycount - Gameplay T...
"Burnout 2 - Alex Ward Interview" by Jco176
• Burnout 2 - Alex Ward ...
"Burnout Revenge Trailer" by Click To Unlock
• Burnout Revenge Trailer
"Gamecube Longplay [019] Burnout 2: Point of Impact" by World of Longplays
• Gamecube Longplay [019...
"Longplay of GoldenEye 007" by LongplayArchive
• Longplay of GoldenEye ...
"Nintendo 64 Longplay [004] Turok Rage Wars" by Project Longplay
• Turok Rage Wars - Long...
"[Nostalgia] Black Game Trailer (2006)" by GameNewsOfficial
• BLACK Game Official Tr...
"PC Longplay [1061] Quake (Part 1 of 3)" by World of Longplays
• PC Longplay [1054] Qua...
"PSX Longplay [065] Medal of Honor (Part 1 of 3)" by World of Longplays
• PSX Longplay [065] Med...
"PSX Longplay [464] Syphon Filter" by World of Longplays
• PSX Longplay [448] Syp...

[@joewhitlow5799]

It's enhanced in 4k on Xbox One X. You can just pop in the original Xbox disc and it gets a free update. Essentially a free remaster.

[@djtoxicdhg]

Dope

[@djtoxicdhg]

Thanks for letting me know dude I literally just dusted off my antique Xbox One just so I can play this game again bro it's only ten bucks if you don't have the disk anymore which is pretty dope

[@joewhitlow5799]

@@djtoxicdhg yeah man. It's really amazing seeing these original xbox games in a new light. All the old splinter cell games got enhanced too. You have to have an xbox one x though.. The S and the launch fat VCR looking model doesn't have many visual enhancements.

[@Yodagamer1]

@@joewhitlow5799 Actually they do, they get a 4x resolution upgrade on the original xbox one models on og xbox games. It's really nice way to play as well, not as good as the 16x boost on xbox one x though.

[@nlrenzo9432]

Joe Whitlow since when ? I played it last month did it already had the remaster update then ?

[@beatingstuff88]

Another great review as always! some game suggestions: Driver 3 Driver Parallel lines Mercenaries Mercenaries 2 The Godfather

[@EverettMaynard]

Love Mercenaries 1 and 2

[@_KRose]

Driver 3... oh boy..

[@michelveraliot]

Id love to see a driver 3 review

[@deth1634]

mercenaries,that used to be the shit

[@altaccount3124]

Red dead redemption 2?

[@Jarekthegamingdragon]

I had a lot more fun with this when I replayed it on my xbone for a video than I remembered having. Holds up surprisingly well.

[@mattc2306]

Yeah, I remember reading an ad about it on a magazine a long time ago.

[@greciasoleble]

In regards of the lack of a fleshed up story, to be fair this game was released in the era were studios still focused in fun gameplay instead of a dramatic or emotional storylines, i hate how now all games have to have a deep emotional narrative in order to be considered good games, i want to play a fun mindless game not a fucking interactive movie with a story as dark and depresive as the schindlers list. Anyway as alway excellent review mate.

[@kyoobqa]

PCSX2 is an absolute bliss for allowing everyone to play those games again. I've had incredible fun as well as incredible nostalgia replaying the whole game from start to finish. So many memories. I wish it had a 60 FPS mode.

[@realbr1koo]

Killzone was out around this time, and although that game was also more gameplay driven its background story, art-style, atmosphere was spot-on and amazing. This game felt like some stupid D chategory arcade shooter, nevermind if it did some stuff pretty well.

[@marbl3d45]

Shut the up kid

[@vitamc1213]

I just love how they do collectibles in this game. Normally, when a game has collectibles, it's either some meaningless object for a trophy or a whole essay about some particular thing. But, in this game, they did it excellently, it feels like you are picking up something important and secretive that the terrorists got their hands on, like, "Detailed areal shots of Guantanamo Bay." That was really immersive for me.

[@Mucupurulent]

Некоторые документы так олдскульно висят на стене)

[@kireev20000]

as native russian i must say, those "russian phrases" is incredible edgy, people never talk like that (in cheap b-movie maybe)

[@greciasoleble]

What did they say?

[@that_deadeyegamer7920]

@@greciasoleble the sacred texts have been lost friend.

[@greciasoleble]

That_ Deadeyegamer79 damn :(

[@ry6651]

Oh i see, hey i am learning Russian through the Duolingo. What do you think? Is it a good app?

[@that_deadeyegamer7920]

@@ry6651 generally

[@wretchedslippage3255]

So excited to watch this!! BLACK blew my mind lol love this game

[@HikariSakai]

Man you should've played the Xbox One version, its the best looking one out of them all. It has enhancements done to it I've completed it on Normal, Hard & Black Ops. Black Ops being my favorite difficulty cause you get an M16 with an M203 Grenade Launcher with unlimited ammo and that's so much fun

[@alphaascii]

Oh, the grenade launcher... Allowing us to blow every freaking wall on the game with infinite ammo

[@ChampGnionsYT]

Yay! The PS2 Battlefield predecessor in regards to graphics, destruction, and quality.

[@deadhawk1212]

If we're reviewing classic FPS games, I'd like to see you take on XIII since it's getting a remaster soon.

[@pauloluciomachadodebrito8107]

Jesus Who is remastering it?

[@cawashka]

YES PLEASE

[@cawashka]

@@pauloluciomachadodebrito8107 Ubisoft did the publishing, with Southend Interactive and Ubisoft Paris developing. Read more at www.gamerevolution.com/news/527865-xiii-remaster-announced-for-ps4-and-switch#bHYSR29qcGBuiF33.99

[@abbasraza2493]

Tbh cel shaded games don't age as much as normal ones.

[@cawashka]

Abbas Raza Yep, it actually still looks quite good today if played at a decent resolution.

[@archivedaccount5990]

When people think EA and shooters, the first thing that comes to mind is understandably Battlefield. Me personally, I think about Black.

[@greciasoleble]

Me medal of honor, saddly that series its dead now :'(

[@Darkest_matter]

When i think of EA, i think of cod.

[@jamsyy9788]

@@Darkest_matter but its activision?

[@Darkest_matter]

@Subi_fan forgot they publiShed it

[@dudeletsplay4792]

My uncle plays this game religiously since 2008 when we first played it on ps2 Every time I try to convince him to play cod or some other war game he tells me only this game gives him an Adrenaline rush game should give

[@nulolove]

Press Like If you want him to review the Mafia Series

[@TSL73]

James Pierce F

[@marioe8911]

this please

[@lawsofearth6617]

F

[@SaidMetiche-qy9hb]

Mafia 2 is great

[@RazorMediaYT]

Love it when you do 6th generation console games ...how about Shadow Of The Colossus

[@5eur]

One of the greatest PS2 games of all time. Played it so much when I was a kid. Pretty hard too. Great video as always.

[@MidnightClubStillCancelledSoz]

Definitely..my favorite EA shooters of all time.

[@lame_rookie9814]

Sad m8

[@lame_rookie9814]

@Kaecilius look at his profile name bruh

[@genaroslxps]

*BLACK* man actually confirm mcla to comeback get it? btw midnight club los angeles still cancelled soz

[@Blueflag04]

Sad soz

[@mrdorifto]

Omg man now I find u here wth

[@jj68]

A true classic I revisit it often...The PS2 had some of the greatest FPS experiences ever with the likes of Timesplitters, XIII, Cold Winter and of course SW Battlefront 2...Great video, would love to see more FPS's reviewed like this.

[@tonyjuarez6296]

J68 I still play this in my original ps3 and I still have my ps2 good old times

[@CynicalZeke]

Please do Area 51 next on the og Xbox 🙏 New sub here btw, love the game reviews!

[@dlbutters7164]

Oh man, i played the shit out of that game on the PC, and its multiplayer was sweet AF too!

[@humansaredumfuckthemtodeat9461]

Yooo brought it back with that one . Midway games right? That was a fps I forgotten about entirely.

[@germ_tb3_gm088]

You should review the timesplitters series next

[@merouanetekfi8303]

This game is like a sweet holiday....its fun ....but waaay too short

[@speedwaynutt]

I'm surprised this game never got a full game sequel with multi player modes

[@phoenix8573]

Black,Killzone and COD3,man i miss those days...

[@greciasoleble]

Killzone was the shit back then i spent so much time with my friends in the multiplayer

[@brkkrkya]

I love your channel. Suggestion: Singularity or Wolfenstein 2009. Both are the Raven Software games which are underrated :)

[@abeabeification]

The graphics on this game at the time were amazing, one of the best looking games on PS2.

[@carlrygwelski586]

This game meant a lot to me as a kid. I played one mission each day after school. As an adult and a gun owner I must say this game is a hidden gem

[@rustysqueezebox8]

You should do mark eckos getting up

[@violetshft]

К Л А Д Б И Щ 12:09 That's like saying "cemeter" instead of "cemetery" =)

[@TheGhostrecon42]

Black is awesome game and underrated really

[@SaidMetiche-qy9hb]

This game is incredible, sad kids these days mostly don't know about it.

[@m.f.m.8290]

"It's not a hard game either" Ah I see you haven't played it on Black difficulty

[@DANLi_]

Theres a name I haven't seen in a while.. BLACK, what a game!

[@murcock9776]

Idk if this is the place to say it, but you should review both Juiced Games. It would honestly be great to hear you bash those two semi-great games to the ground

[@TheIndulged1]

I loved Black but I found it really hard, I am more used to more slower more strategic first person shooter's and if you try and play it like that you get swamped and pinned down fast!, Honestly it took me at least 3 hour's to get past the second level because I thought stealth was the way hence the silencer on the pistol and slow atmospheric ambient sounds totally threw me off the all out pure chaos of the first level, but once I got pissed off and just went crazy it seemed so much easier and it became second nature to just go all gun's blazing and leaving destruction everywhere and I distinctly remember saying out loud "Fuck me this is so cool" and I was won over and even after replying it I still found enjoyment but so sad about the sequel basically being rehashed into a totally different game under a different IP.

[@PuNkY-fr]

If you like the russian setup I suggest you to play Singularity. Basically Bioshock with russians.

[@iiTsFaded_]

So, the interrogator went from solving Keller’s case to dismantling a street racing crime syndicate…neat (yes the interrogator is Keller from Undercover)

[@midnightchannel4856]

Review Yakuza 1 and 2 (ps2)

[@gon4455]

I think these are the same people that made the ww3 multiplayer.

[@GunsNGames1]

Too bad many idiots who suck at gameplay give it negative reviews, the game is about bullets flying and about the act of shooting a gun, you can't do that if you're reloading. Those fools simple didn't get it that you need to keep the trigger pressed down, the enemies are bullet sponges, but your guns have doubled magazine capacities and boosted up rate of fire. Thanks for this review man, you've got a new subscriber.

[@megacide84]

I fondly remember playing this game way back on my OG Xbox. That and Breakdown. I bought both of those games as soon as they became backwards compatible on Xbox One. To me... The mid 2000s was the golden age of first person shooters. Half Life 2, Doom 3, Quake 4, Timesplitters, Black, Breakdown, Fear, Area 51, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Halo 2, Metroid Prime, XIII, etc. Right before Call of Duty monopolized the genre.

[@LeoCharles]

I remember my mouth dropping to the floor by the graphics the first time i played this game when i was younger. Had tons of fun and remember it fondly. Great review !

[@AceD500]

A excellent game but no Multiplayer or Coop mode?

[@mythologue]

I always knew Black was critically acclaimed and, no less, developed by one of my favourite teams in gaming. However, I never knew why until I saw that destruction. Definitely have to give it a go and experience it myself.

[@datb0yavi123456]

One of my favorite games from my then (prior to EA fucking them up) favorite dev. Would love a review of The Warriors.

[@JustABegginer]

Hey man just saying you should review Sleeping dogs . I think it's better than GTA . If not better then just as good as them and combat and story is definitely better than GTA

[@warmrollsforthetable]

Just beat this and unlocked silver guns. Such a great game.

[@Xenonuke]

*Black is what DOOM 3 should have been gameplay wise*

[@Jamie_06]

I'm surprised they created this as well as making burnout revenge was surprising

[@johndonwood4305]

I think Black was so much more about letting the player do as much damage as they wanted while providing a minimal story line to justify it. Listening to developers like Stuart Black gives me the impression that he wanted to emphasize the gun fetishism over storyline.

[@visassess8607]

I can't believe you haven't played the original MoH games yet! You gotta try those out

[@silverwolf5643]

Best part about BLACK is silver weapon you unlock after playing Normal or Hard and the Silver M16 with underbarrel grenade launcher attachment after completing Black Ops difficulty

[@jeromebanks9045]

Silver Wolf YES! My favorite map was the bridge 😍

[@ryomario90]

That tape recorder sound got me, nice work.

[@nattila7713]

great review as usual! regarding black... played on the xbox 2 times, will play through again on xbox one for sure :)

[@demetriharlan5887]

This game was ahead of its time. I was really waiting for part 2, we should be on BLACK 5. PLEASE BRING THIS GAME BACK.

[@Iris_Fennegan]

Please do Medal Of Honor European Assault if posible :D

[@straled5818]

Words can't express how much a want this game on PC,this was my favorite game of all time...

[@GoldSrc_]

Try it on PCSX2, you can even play it with mouse and keyboard.

[@whyarewealwaysyelling]

This game had the best gun sounds but the longest loading screens

[@leegsy]

This game and Battlefield Bad Company are two of the greatest console-only FPS experiences ever!

[@hunainmeo]

Don't know if everyone knows this or not.So here's a tip. "If you press the square button while reloading the blur disappears."

[@baham6930]

I love Black because this game started me to love the fps genra And this is the game i played at the ps2

[@JustDevon]

I’m looking forward to your Forza 4 review, it might be tricky to appreciate some of its best features with a community that is pretty much non-existent since so much of what made it great was community based, so I’m interested in what you make of it

[@mr.raslyon6626]

I had this game back in 07...wish I gave it more of a chance. But like you, I got hooked on COD and it got lost in the shuffle.

[@rickyrosay33977]

I think that’s the case with all of us COD was all we thought about

[@paulclynes9865]

Meanwhile 13 years on the most recent FPS we get is trash like Wolfenstein:Youngblood. So much for progress over time.

[@carstorm85]

Hope you can at some point do a review on The Godfather, Thrillville, and SOCOM u.s. Navy Seals series!

[@TheFurryInShambles]

I should get Socom on PS2. I have all psp ones so might as well get those to.

[@HiLaval]

This is one of the best FPS I’ve ever played...AND one of the best looking of that era. Man I might have to get this game again lmao

[@balazs7235]

I have seen this game so so so many times when I went to buy a new game but never had the interest to pick up. So I am curious to see what I have missed out on

[@chrisbaled7471]

I remember my mom hating it when I played this game since it was sooo much noise. Nostalgic

[@rickyrosay33977]

My mom hated the cod zombies mode because it was loud and also she was scared of the sounds they make (mainly waw and black ops1)

[@KidTonyGaming]

At 13:40 I think you meant "put a whole clip/mag or 2 into them" not a round. A round is a single bullet. Fantastic review though, this was a hidden gem game because it came out so late in the PS2 cycle, you were like part of secret society if you played this game.

[@erikheijden9828]

Lol this was not a "hidden" gem at all by any means. Massive marketing campaign back then, it got all the attention.

[@TomiMancini]

I remember shooting random buildings and breaking every single window

[@ifeelluckytoday]

Like in Battlefield 3

[@nulolove]

DO MAFIA SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@gluee8674]

i think hes done the first

[@unnamed715]

It's too bad this game never got a PC release. Imagine playing this game now in native 4K at 60fps with a mouse/kb.

[@MidnightMechanic]

Check out Civvie11's review of the original Operation:Bodycount by Capstone, just to gather a sense of what the remake's based on. You never heard of it because the original was that terrible of a game.

[@MidnightClubStillCancelledSoz]

This game was...so kickass!

[@MCAWESOME19]

And just to think, 1 decade previous to this game we were just starting the FPS category, now we came to this masterpiece.

[@biglon2069]

Black was 1 of the best shooters on PS2 when it came out but like you said they're were some serious issues. For me I could have ignore them if they did a better job with the plot & story making more sense & the biggest issue was it's too way too short! It had a real chance to be probably a top 10 ten shooter of all time if it didn't have theses issues to me. Still I gotta give it mad love, it felt like a great shooter as your playing it even with it's short comings

[@GoldSrc_]

This game being short is not a bad thing, it's fun and I rather play a short but fun game than a long and boring one. Too bad the only way to play it on PC is PS2 emulation, would love a proper PC release.

[@ytanonymity3585]

This game feels like the early 90s fps (like Wolfenstein for example) with just modernized graphic & ragdoll physic with death animation after all.. No jump. No open/close door feature, no sprint, no vaulting, no leaning. Nothing more, nothing else. Just a straight walk, aiming up and down & just shoot em up. FEAR came out a year before this and have much better & advanced feature, let alone the graphic. Though, this game is still decent and worth a try for anyone who are into the nostalgic feel of old FPS gameplay flashback.

[@nostalgiaof98]

Such an eerie, scary game by just the depressive, bleak Russian environment, and when the music got REAL and those hockey-player shotgun soldiers jumpscaring the fuck outta me as a kid til now 14:00 ...I'm sorry, what? Love it.

[@LanternsLight]

I bought this for 7.99 in Hudson’s games. Great game really hard though. It’s so much better than that “spiritual sequel” bodycount I regret buying that mistake.🤦🏿‍♂️

[@xredliine7661]

Could've sworn you had more than 50k subs with the quality of your reviews. Congrats on the milestone, plenty more to come. 🤙🏻

[@Dja05]

Yeah... After just watching the preamble about how the lead designer wanted to transcribe the "realness" of guns into videogames, I can already said that he failed miserably at it since the game has one of the most ass backward gun models and animations I've seen in any game (including early counter strike where the reload animation on the M4 had your character PULLING BACK the forward assist)... Between the g36 firing from its gas tube, the m1913 rails galore, the inverted controls, and the uselessly over stylised mag swaps, my eyes bleed every time I watch video about it nowadays (even tough my 15 year old self loved it when it came out...)

[@JustGenius2001]

Huh... I wonder why they didn't make a second game? Probably cuz sales weren't good or they had no chance against the competition like Medal of Honor, Battlefield, and CoD.

[@grahamkelly8662]

I loved this on ps2. Early FPS days were so special. I loved Black Goldeneye Doom Alien trilogy Duke Nukem

[@DanielNowell]

Hit like if you're gay

[@deadmetalbr]

"The Burnout of shooters," they said. It wasn't, really. Don't get me wrong, Black was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. The problem was that every enemy in the game was a bullet sponge, and unless you were a John Wick-grade headshot surgeon, encounters slowed the pace too much to compare to the pace of a Burnout game, especially when compared to the constant thrills of Burnout 3 and Revenge. I don't think we saw a 'Burnout of shooters' until Bulletstorm.

[@GameDude41]

I love Black. Check out Bodycount and just....Wonder where everything went wrong....

[@purplehaze2342]

Genuine Xbox classic, I loved picking apart the flaws and differences to my inflated PS2 owners

[@thattonnatoguywithafez8246]

Honestly my only problem is inexperience with controlers, getting into PS 2 classics with, being used to have sort off more control with aiming and such really, put me off with having to use joystick, and lining up to shoot.

[@humansaredumfuckthemtodeat9461]

Aye finally someone brought it back with ea's black . Brought it back to the original Xbox days . I recall this game as a Christmas gift I must have asked for it and I got it . From what I recall it was a really unique shooter game . I played black before call of duty tbh. So it holds a special place for me .

[@noraneko8926]

Imagine you didn't know Black have story. I'm always thought it just shoot enemy till end of mission. Well, maybe that because I was too young back then.

[@jordanbrooks8469]

A game about realistic guns, yet the charging handle on the AK is on the left, i DESPISE when games fuck around like this.

[@MrJayel27]

Absolutely astonishing game. Certainly pushed the boundaries of the PS2 and better than any FPS on the PS3 lol. On the flipside ive had it listed on Ebay for about a year for only £6.99 and it still hasnt sold haha.

[@DasNordlicht91]

wonder how many of these one-off mid-2000s FPS games ended on blatant sequel baiting that never amounted to anything.

[@hcohic9884]

first of all this games looks beautiful everything is grey and green and smokey and music is great it puts you in the role straight away . but what makes this fps stand out is the player movement which is very slow making you vunarable and making placvement and strategy important you are not just gliding like most shooters.. the focus is on aiming and the weapons themselves are heavy.. everything you do in this game feels like it s got weight .. from recoils to explosion to dust to the blinding bullets flares when shooting to the recoil and even the empty bullet shells flying in your face.. .everything is there to make you feel uncomfortable and its very immersive. as for the enemies they are varied enough but most prudent and hide well and all shoot at once and can aim even from far out in the large maps .. the ai is not bad and requires you to pulls off some long range kills which is hard with how precise the hitboxes are and how tanky the enemies so you cant just spray bullets and win. even the grenade need skill to aim.. but the problem is like you said its too short and you cant even schoose you starting weapons when replaying it.

[@kennykujo8603]

SCARFACE THE GAME REVIEW NEXT PLS also I just got this on gamepass

[@zensoredparagonbytes3985]

All I remember was: Amerikanski popetsku. I could only imagine it meant shoot the American in Russian 😂😂

[@mnky75]

Still have my copy, love the gameplay but those unskippable FMVs.....🤬

[@djtoxicdhg]

I remember I absolutely love this game to death I wanted them to make a second one so so bad I probably played this game and beat it at least five or six times maybe even more I used to love unlocking the Chrome camos for all the weapons this game with such a blast and this game came out in time when there wasn't a whole lot of destruct ability in games so it was quite impressive!!!

[@realbr1koo]

I dont know.. Everyond says this was the best fps on ps2, but in my opinion Killzone beats this game in almost every aspect.

[@ChaseMC215]

The story in this game is like Battlefield 3's story.... both shit.

[@robertlatham4541]

Brilliant review brilliant game. Tough in places but just enough to make you want to play one more time.