Nothing incites the primal urges of game players more than watching tons of things go “BOOM!” and it's something that Criterion Games, the studio behind the fantastic Burnout series, decided to not only implement into its latest title Black, but pay homage to by keenly constructing its game around building-leveling explosions and of course, guns. The game stays the course and doesn't stray far from its premise, and while the novelty of it all seems to wear off after a short while, Black's mix of visuals and intuitive gunplay saves it from being too grand a detriment as to not place it atop your gaming “to do” list.

The narrative is told through an interrogation of your character, Keller, and a government official hell-bent on finding out the truth about what exactly happened that caused everything to go so awry. Prior to the interrogation Keller was sent out on a series of missions to take out the arms-dealing terrorist organization known as Seventh Wave and its mysterious leader, Lennox. The story is told through live-action cutscenes with stylistic, shadowy camera work that doesn't do much other than hide the fact that the story lacks much content. The cutscenes serve as merely bridges between the actual gameplay, and given Black's primary focus that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Black is the textbook definition of a first-person shooter by offering a variety of locales, several guns to wreak unholy Terminator-style hell, and lots of exploding cars, barrels, crates, tractors, cannisters, pipes, and just about anything else that could possibly store flammable contents. What the game may lack in originality, it excels – for the most part – in execution. The game's focus on guns is evident from its packaging, to its menu screen, and finally to in-game, where your inordinate number of possible weapons fill up the majority of the screen. Fortunately all of that focus wasn't a superfluous effort, since all of the weapons feel tight, responsive and really carry the game. That said, there isn't a great deal of variety to the weapons and you'll usually end up sticking to a long range weapon such as the AK-47 or M16 and a specialty weapon such as a shotgun (locked doors), sniper rifle (extremely long range shots and required areas), or rocket propelled grenade launchers (RPG: used for high-powered long range shots and required areas).

Consequently all of that attention on gun-totin' eventually also leads to the downfall of Black. The enemy AI seems hit or miss, since at times the enemies will run around aimlessly while others actually look for cover by getting behind objects. But since the game relies on guns and explosions many of the objects they take cover behind are susceptible to going bang, which subtracts a certain level of tact from the player's approach. While not always the case, you could generally shoot in the immediate vicinity of the enemy and eventually blow something up, not really letting you try and line up great shots and take advantage of your brainpower. This is not meant to lump the game in with run-n-gun titles, since wildly running out into the open is a one-way non-refundable ticket to a “game over” screen. Still, it almost makes the game feel “cheap” since you can cop out and starting setting off long strings of explosions to deal with the sometimes intimidating number of foes.  Also, the enemies are extremely durable and you'll have to unload full magazines into a single guy just to take him down. It isn't a large hindrance, but it's certainly annoying when a full clip from your AK-47 isn't enough.

Also we couldn't help but wonder if the enemies who sought out cover were scripted to do so depending on certain situations and your own placement on the map. We have no proof of it, but the signs of inconsistency amongst the enemies were perplexing. As stated earlier some would take cover and even try to flank you, but others would start running moronically right toward your muzzle. The enemies had difficulty adapting to close quarters situations and many seemed to stumble around if you took an unexpected angle on their position. There were also instances in which foes would be oblivious of your presence despite being within breathing range and at other times they would notice your position from dozens of yards away without you tipping off your position by firing any shots. Black's opponents never give you a chance to grasp their strategy, you simply have to read and react to their unpredictable behavior.

You may have noticed that we haven't mentioned any of your cohorts, and that's only because they're expendable in Black. Rarely do you see a bullet whiz by your head and into the face of an enemy on the cusp of finishing you off. You do have “team” mates, but more often than not you won't even notice them until you hear a lone gun firing nearby, only to see its your buddy inexplicably shooting at a dirt wall. They sometimes help out and take out a couple of baddies, but make no mistake about it, you're pretty much Rambo out there.