In EA's
Black, you're a member of a special covert Black Ops military group, tracking down and killing bad guy terrorists in exotic locations with unpronounceable names. You live under the Five Rules of Guncraft: Guns are the stars. Every bullet is your baby. Bigger guns make louder explosions. Leave a trail of destruction. And (last but not least) get crazy creative with your kills.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of overall creativity on the game maker's part, the real (and only) highlight of the game are the guns. Beginning with the over-glorified opening sequence (that would be better fit as an infomercial for the NRA), these guns will leave a trail of destruction. And while the bigger guns do make the louder explosions, louder explosions don't always make for a better game.
Remember the infant days of the first-person shooter game when it was still cutting edge and revolutionary and only underground hardcore gamers dared venture to a new level? DOOM was the first FPS to burst onto the gaming scene. Soon after, everyone was in a rush to put out the next big thing in the FPS genre, and new games continued to improve upon earlier ones. Then, HALO came and set the standard.
Nowadays, every game is rammed down your throat as the second coming of HALO. Too bad the mere mention of HALO 2 is just wishful thinking (and seriously false advertising) -- most of the newest games recycle concepts that have been used too many times before. The mechanics of the game operate just like any other FPS, and all the standard issue weapons are available: assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, etc. (Sorry, Dick Cheney -- no hunting rifles!)
