We've been talking about Black for quite a while, haven't we? Whether it was the full-blown preview I knocked out a few weeks ago or even back in the day when the game was first announced, the buzz was there, starting to build up steam. "A first-person shooter from the Burnout guys? With destroyable environments? Count me in!" But then, during the game's development, a few facts were laid on the table. Yes, the game would be intense. Yes, the game looked to have plenty of exciting features. Yes, there would be no multiplayer. But, hey, Half-Life 2 wasn't half bad, right? So we can't factor that against it right away.

And now the final product has arrived, on a wave of heavy advertisements, including a commercial where a nice deluxe suite, complete with chandelier, gets trashed to shit by gunfire and explosions. It really does set the mood for the game, which is a symphony of utter destruction that doesn't let up through its entirety...but then comes to an abrupt halt once it's over. Think of it as the rush you get from getting your first kiss with the dream girl, only to find that it was just the one kiss you'd be getting.

Black builds upon the story of a military soldier who's sitting in the middle of a jail cell. He's given the option to either talk about the operations he's served under, or face a large jail sentence. And it's with that the soldier begins reflecting back on each of the missions he's faced, and the game flashes back to each mission, putting you in the shoes of this soldier as he faces countless enemies through lush environments. The objectives stack up in each mission, with simple tasks being met and new ones being assigned rather quickly. But it's pretty cut and dry, with you being able to find your way around a level rather easily, or wander off to see if you can find some bonus items or more soldiers to blast the hell out of.

The cinemas are unfolded in an interesting format. They use live-action actors but fail to succumb to the hokeyness of older games that used a similar presentation. Criterion was wise to keep the serious tone throughout with these sequences, although the story, to be quite honest, just doesn't hold up in the end. There's not nearly enough twists to make you care any more for your mission, you just want to skip past them and keep on shooting. Sad thing is, you can't...at least, not the first time through.

At least the in-game stuff is exciting. Criterion has wisely put together a gameplay engine that has a lot going for it, like the ability to switch off between two weapons on the fly and zoom in for some distant attacks, some of which work better than others. The shotgun, for example, sucks in distance, but up close, it's just wonderful to fire. The gameplay works very well, with nary a problem in aiming or camera operations. I liked the way that Criterion threw in different firing patterns for some of the weapons. Take the AK-47. Feel like fully automatic? Have at it. Want to conserve your firepower and go single shot? The option's there. You can also pick up health packs and use them as you go, which is a nice system. But sometimes you just wish for an automatic update, especially when you're getting mowed down and have no time to tap up on the controller.