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Available on: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

BlackSite: Area 51

Yet another forgettable FPS

Words: on November 16, 2007

Nov 16, 2007

With all of the great first-person shooters spinning in Xbox 360 drives this holiday season, BlackSite: Area 51 is bound to get lost in the shuffle. And unfortunately, that dishonor is deserved. Despite impressive graphics and impressive demos that had us begging publisher Midway to move its release date - which they did, but not far enough - BlackSite falls short in the area most crucial to any good videogame: gameplay.



BlackSite attempts to combine its classic arcade rail-shooter roots (surging swarms of enemies, some of which are rooted in place so you can find their weak points) with more traditional first-person shooter action. Squad-based combat, perhaps BlackSite's most touted feature by developer Midway Studios Austin, falls apart thanks to crummy artificial intelligence.

Squad mates typically default to running headlong into battle regardless of any orders the player provides. Other times they simply stand idly by, getting killed while the player does all the work. In theory, the "morale system" would give squads a performance boost if the player was performing well - but we didn't see much difference. Either there's no way to please these ingrates or it just doesn't work.

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BlackSite: Area 51

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Platforms:

Xbox 360, PS3, PC

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Mediocre
YOU'LL LOVE
  • The graphics
  • Laughing at the A.I.
  • Deathmatch with friends
YOU'LL HATE
  • Terrible AI
  • Uninspired design
  • Paying full price

More Info

Release date: US
Nov 12 2007 (Xbox 360)
Dec 11 2007 (PS3)
UK
Nov 16 2007 (Xbox 360)
Expected release date: US
09/03/2007 (PC)
UK
TBA 2008 (PS3)
July 2007 (PC)
Available Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Genre: Shooter
Published by: Midway
Developed by: Midway
ESRB Rating:
Teen: Blood, Language, Violence
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