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.

There's also a little bit of strategy involved with the game's environments, which I thought was a nice touch. There's soldiers scattered throughout, and there's a wide variety of explosive canisters and drums just as equally distributed, so you can let loose and watch buildings and houses explode, taking the soldiers with them and leaving fiery carcasses as a result. However, I wish some more was done with the AI balance. Some soldiers are pretty smart, hiding behind objects while taking pot-shots at you, while others are dimwitted enough to just stand out in the open while you mow them down. Also, it seems that they have a bit of invulnerability on their side, as I had to give one particular soldiers three head shots to bring them down. I've heard of someone being "strong-headed" but this is a bit ridiculous.

The game's graphics represent some of the finer environments and detail I've seen in an FPS since, well, Half-Life 2. You're really dropped right into the gritty setting of a war, complete with destroyed vehicles, buildings with torn floorboards and moldy walls, and even grass-filled forests and dank caves that give you the real feeling of going underground. The frame rate is pretty constant, even in the most hectic of explosive situations, and the animation is lovely. There's also cool little "dizzy" effects that hit from time to time, slightly blurring the screen. These occur mostly after explosions or if you're hit a couple of times by gunfire, and add to the realism. But, you gotta admit, the best detail here has to be the environments themselves, and the way they just come apart as the result of your constant gunfire.

As far as the audio, it's as good as it mostly gets. The voice acting stays on target with the seriousness, and refuses to bow down to ridiculous lines of dialogue. It works really well, staying with the military-esque theme. The music is awesome, driving home the point of war and even changing tempo on occasion with the action in the game. And the sound effects are the real meat and potatoes of the game, ruling your speakers with constant gunfire and actually coming close to the point of shaking after you take out a tanker truck- with five soldiers around it. Glory!

But not all is well in Black-land, I'm afraid. Remember when I addressed the lack of multiplayer earlier in the article? Well, it actually takes more of a crucial hit here than it did for Half-Life 2. Why? Well, Half-Life 2 was more engrossing and took a little more time to complete than Black did, so the single player carried it a little bit further. Here, the game will take you six hours to complete either on easy or normal, and then...that's it. You can go through and try to complete the game on a different difficulty, or even go through again and try to find some bonus weapons that really throw some gasoline on the fire, but the appeal is limited the second time around, as you know what ambushes are coming and where soldiers are positioned.

And this is where multiplayer would've saved the day. Black built itself on the basis of having some kick-ass action behind it, and I think multiplayer, against other soldier factions, would've been a key element. The game had the environments to back it, as well as the weapons, so it kind of puzzles me why Criterion skipped the option. After all, didn't these guys thrive on multiplayer competition in Burnout 3: Takedown? I still hop on Xbox Live from time to time to take people down in their shiny coffins (aka cars).

Black has so much going for it, and for those itching to get their FPS face on in Xbox territory, it comes highly recommended...as a rental. During your time with the game, you'll enjoy the adrenaline rush and the constant action that it brings. However, I just wish Criterion thought about the long-term, as the game can only survive so long on such a short push of action. Perhaps with the sequel, we'll see a better realization of this. As is, the sun comes up on Black a bit quicker than I would have liked.