Blacksite: Area 51

[twmac]

I've been watching this game for a while now, and with the special going on in the local GameStop (buy two games and get a third free) I decided to not bother waiting for the reviews and picked this up alongside Halo 3 and Stranglehold.

I'm glad I didn't bother reading the reviews as it is currently getting slated

http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/blacksite-area-51/836496p1.html

Some of the criticism seems pretty fair, the attacks on the jaggies and worse some of the loading times between levels are ridiculous (even if there is no visible In-game loading on huge levels). The review doesn't mention some of the terrible texture pop-up in the first level, which makes no sense as it is one of the most confined.

However, I really liked the plot and pacing, the game allows the user to wander through the cutscenes, in a Half Life and Chronicles of Riddick style meaning that you are never left twidlling your thumbs waiting for the FMV to finish.

The VO stuff is not anywhere near as quiet as the review implies and I actually liked the one liners, even if the characters are the usual bunch of testerone filled beefcakes. The set pieces are good so far and the destructible scenery is very satisfying. It is also nice to have team mates who don't suck and do things like take cover, return fire and actually respond to your commands with some degree of competency. The morale system does work and you really notice the difference on the harder levels and sections when your team is backing you up.

I'm just under half way through the game after about 3 hours play which suggests a short playthrough but with achievements for the hardest difficulty and collectibles that I missed I'll probably go back and play it at least one more time.

Most of the stuff is forgivable (the minor C Class issues throughout the game suggest that the development team just didn't have the time to optimise) but the only design decision that pissed me off (Loading times are drinking times) was that clicking down on the left stick does not lock you into crouch, as soon as you let go you are standing again which makes it a pain to take cover while under fire.

I would recommed this if you can find it a little cheaper than full price or on the GameStop offer.