It still can't believe how good Black looked at the time. How in the world did they make depth of field, reflective materials and volumetric lighting work on PS2.
I’m not too sure how black achieved its effects, but shadow of the colossus was known for pulling off some very cool tricks on the ps2. I’d imagine reflective materials might be achieved in a similar manner to their ‘velvet shader’, where highlights appear if the normal vector is facing the general direction of the light vector. the ‘volume light’ could be with a layered transparency effect… I’m no expert though
Devs were really squeezing water from stone in the late Xbox era. That console was capable of great visuals, for the time, once devs had things optimized. Just look at Halo 2, Ninja Gaiden, and this game for examples :)
@@c.jarmstrong3111 also something i forget the wii basically an overclocked gamecube was running some xbox 360 games like call of duty and dead rising, very paired back versions but still really impressive that generation iw amazing in retrospect
@@theoroinvictus Shadow of the colossus ran at 20fps tops, diping mostly below 10. I was 15 when I first played that game and today I know how they did it, but at that time I had no idea what those visual effects were even called. If you are interested I recomend Selmiak's piece "Making of Shadow of the Colossus".
Black looks even more stunning on PCSX2 at 1440p, 16x AA, FXAA and with dithering disabled. Check it out if you get the chance. Best way to play it these days. You won't be disappointed.
Black was an awesome game. The level of detail of the guns were pretty sick and the amount of chaos you can do was such a blast. The box art was badass looking too.
Do you guys remember when you cleared an entire level and then everything just goes quite. Especially when you had to back track to find secret intell if you didn't find it earlier. Like the forest level or the last level in the city.
@@blazermettro2059 That forest level... That stupid forest level... I managed to beat Black as a kid, but, oh my God, the forest level was GIGANTIC. That level made me ragequit the game so many times... Starting off in the forest with a suppressed pistol, eliminating sentries, finding the AK-47 suppressor (which made life easier, but still VERY challenging), assaulting the small outpost, entering the cave, going for the checkpoint base... So much stuff, and so few checkpoints in that mission. I remember getting killed a lot in the checkpoint base, then once I got the hang of it, I died by some dude firing RPGs at me in front of the tunnel. Came back, killed the guy at the tunnel, fought through the second tunnel which FINALLY had a checkpoint. Then died a million times trying to cross the river bridge, finally got it, went through the trench part, where dudes with SPAS-12s and body armor came rushing in at you... I was already thinking "Jesus, this has to be the single biggest level in videogame history. When is it ever going to end?", then comes the farm section, and not only do you have to clear out the farm, you also have to defend it against a horde of enemies using AKs, shotguns and RPGs. Then you're off to the third level. Poor me, thinking that the third level was any easier...
@@choppergunner8650 Don't you know it. It's been so long, i really can't remember a level more frustrating then the forest. There probs is though. But what really made it bad for me was finding the secret Intel. Ya know, those laptops you can find scattered about in each level. Now imagine trying to find those in that damn forest. . Though it was all worth it after i unlocked the SILVER GUNS!!!
@@blazermettro2059 I also did unlock the silver guns... BTW, the Nazran Town level (level 3, after the forest) was pretty frustrating too. This level introduced you to sniper rifles and enemy sharpshooters. You started off in the cemitery, killing enemy sentries and blasting tombstones and shit, entering into the church to get the WA2000, snipe a bunch of enemies, go into the destroyed remains of the city, only to be stuck in a trench-like position, getting shot at by: guys with AKs, shotguns, sniper rifles and RPGs. Nazran Foundry was even worse. I remember running into a wide open field and dying over and over. Then I decided to look into the ground and I found several mines scattered across the field. Walking and looking at the ground to avoid them didn't help, as the enemies' bullets could hit the mines, and once one went off, all of them went off. This game was a torture test. Good, but extremely hard.
The sound effects on this game blew my mind. I had never heard a video game gun actually sound like a gun before. I vividly remember playing the first level then calling my friend telling him he had to come over right now. Didn't matter what he was doing, he had to see and hear this game.
I remember this game from the PS2 days! Before this video, I couldn't tell you about the story. I couldn't tell you about the setting or locations. I couldn't even tell you about the level design. What I could tell you about, though, was that sweet, sweet G36 model and how beautifully gritty it was and how much fun it was to shoot. For whatever reason, all I can remember is sitting on this catwalk in the dark, with a G36 and SAW, laying on the ground, and shooting into the night at advancing enemies. For whatever reason, that small scene sticks in my head from this game. I don't know when it was in the game, where it was, or why I was doing it. I just remember how visceral and fun it was. I suppose that goes to show that if Criterion's main goal was to make the gun the main character and the gunplay the centerpiece, then their mission was accomplished. I'd love another!
its possible that it can be the second mission when you are trying to rendevouz with your teammates but the g46 and SAW where not in that mission. Maybe on of the last missions
Reminds me of a vivid memory i have from when i was like 8, i was on the night forest mission (mission 2?) Taking a suppressor on and off a glock (or an ak) wondering what it did. And the funny part is that the tv was stuck on mute lmao
Man did I put hours into this damn game. Zero regrets. Similarly, I’m stoked to play Bodycount sometime soon. The platinum will be glorious but the playthrough(s) likely moreso with this one.
I loved Bodycount man. If I remember right it wasn't reviewed super well but I had a blast with it. The destruction at the time was ahead of it's time.
Body count isn't great. There's a weird mechanic to the aim trigger. A light touch aims down the sights, all the way down gives you a Wolfenstein lean mechanic. You can't turn it off and it's horrible. The story is crap and it's visuals are unbelievably ugly. Not the worst game, but black absolutely slays it.
@@duel2k7 Ya know what grinds my gears about Bodycount? The goddamn crosshair being lower centered. WHY DO GAMES DO THIS?! Is not like the game has jetpacks or anything
I remember legitimately thinking that this must be a PS3 game that my PS2 was somehow running because of how amazing the graphics were. 9 year old me wasn't good at drawing logical conclusions
Black was the first FPS I ever played. I have very fond memories of it and without it Id have never played KillZone. Its high time EA dug it out the archives, gave it an HD remaster, with modern shooting controls, and put it back out there.
I loved this game. Pumping hundreds of rounds into terrain knowing that your enemy cant hide forever since you will just rip apart their cover. Nothing has ever felt so satisfying to shoot since this game
Triple A game's just aren't made like this anymore, proper research, thought and innovation put into the project. It feels like the early 2000's was the golden era of gaming.
They didn't have the memory to waste back then though :) . There were very limited resources. It reminds me of the Amiga 500 days and before that the commodore 64. Look what they managed to make on a C64 with about 48k useable memory :) . Games with speech and all.
@@ahyesname5978 it really was. I feel so sorry for the kids growing up over the last 10 yrs and beyond cos what they're getting is honestly disgraceful compared to what I got as a kid. I could get a cheap AA game and have the time of my life. Now they gotta spend loads of money to get the most average-shitty game ever. There's no innovation or even passion anymore. Just corporate greed.
Unless people had a copy of Need for Speed Most Wanted on console that had a trailer for BLACK. I remember I once had an old copy of that game on PS2 & it came with a trailer for BLACK.
Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal (2020) have depth of field as you pick up a gun, but Black did it first all the way back in 2006. CoD 4 Modern Warfare is considered one of the most influential games of all time, yet Black laid the ground work one year prior with highly detailed guns and an immersive shootout experience. Great game.
This game, wow, just holds a very special place in my heart. When it was added to the EA play, I just cried of joy and so much nostalgia. A masterpiece.
Now this is a story I have always wanted to hear about. I wondered what had happened with BLACK as a series, because it felt like a strong initial game, but of course, EA always has to have their say.
Each time I play a gun game, I try to be as sneaky as possible and use as low ammo as possible. I grew up playing with Metal Gear Solid and Syphon Filter too much. So when I played Black, I was a sneaking and tried not to waste ammo as much as possible. Looks like it needs a revisit with me going batshit crazy :D
I like how some of the weapons have arbitrarily placed pi-rails and metallic scratches on polymer parts. Bought the game on release day, was able to go into town from the base where I was doing my conscription service. Great looking and very fun game.
I wrote a pilot and made a tonal concept reel (on my channel) for this game, I want to turn it into a TV show so badly. Would be grounded but so insane.
Ah yes more people that don't grasp how REALITY works and IF a company has a studio that costs money, however doesn't make money they generally do the intelligent thing and close down that studio.....Its almost like companies want to make money because they can't produce goods or pay employees with hearts and minds....Weird how reality works.
@@lutherheggs451 Wait, did you just defended EA, one of the worst corporations out there? Ok so here is how it works. Because you don't seem to understand how reality works :) 1. EA buys a studio: Maxis, Origin, Westwood, DICE, Bullfrog, Bioware, etc. 2. EA is forcing that studio to make carbon copy of their previous games (without innovations and attention to detail) or a changed version that include trendy things that probably won't work with the franchise (or are just disgrace to the series): lootboxes, battle royale, simplified combat, etc. all with an unrealistic deadline.* 3. Game is selling bad because: it's rushed, underdeveloped, has lootboxes, is too simplified, has tons of DLC, is not faithfull to the series core, etc 4. EA has unrealistic expectations for selling numbers. 5. EA is SURPRISED that game is not selling good (who would predict?) and is closing the studio because, as you said "company has a studio that costs money, however doesn't make money". People are transfeered to other projects and can't work as an original team anymore :( 6. Good EA just wanted to pay that poor studio, but the studio don't make money... how dare they! *or they just straigh disband the studio and transfer people to some soulless projects like Sims or Fifa You can change "EA" with other companies: "Activision", "Square Enix", "Microsoft"... they destroyed many studios and franchises as well.
This game is still very unique. I loved the switching from single, burst and full auto. The only other fps I had played was Halo. This was revolutionary.
Black is such an awesome game. I remember at the time just how close some of the lighting came to 360 titles yet it was an original Xbox game. Amazing. That console was underestimated so often with the brilliance of Splinter Cell Chaos theory with the lighting and shadows in that game and Mercenaries which actually ran at 60 fps on Xbox but only 30 fps on PS2.
I remember this game. Hell, i still have it sitting somewhere at home in a box. It really was a good game. I liked that there was a infinite ammo mode if you beat the game on hard. Man, i was a demon with a rocket launcher and shotgun. Platinum guns for the win.
One of my top favorite shooters of all time. The gameplay was thrilling. The graphics were beautiful. It's still my favorite real world fps of all time.
I remember playing this around the same time I got a xbox 360 and it looked better than all my next gen games. Hope they bring this franchise back soon!
I remember getting home from elementary school, inviting my friend over by calling at their house phones (which were a thing back then) and then play black and killzone on the ps2 all day along, they were both hard as fuck and we used to get excited like crazy for finishing one level
The Cutting Room Floor has footage of a very, very early build of Black 2 and even in its bare bones state, the concept looked good. Man I wish we got a sequel.
This game was my favourite PS2 title of all time, I can still remember 7 year old me playing this game over and over again. I also love the customization and suppressor mechanics.
One of my favorite levels was the graveyard in the early morning or at dusk not sure but the fog and the silence just really set the mood, I was spooked creeping around trying to get the drop on the bad guys before all hell let loose lol, great stuff.
Black was legendary. The kinetic nature of the guns was incredible. Every shot had weight to it and the explosions were things you could really feel. It was fun as hell and full of adrenaline.
Their appointed "gun guy" only had ever seen toy and airsoft guns. The M16 has two forward assists and the G36 fires out of the gas tube, because they couldn't tell it apart from the barrel.
That two toned Glock was my favorite firearm that I had ever seen. This game was epic, I played it many times through only wishing it was more dynamic but for its time it was unlike anything I had played before. The effects and destruction were top notch.
Only reason I know this game is because when I was young my stepdad had it in his PS2 once I started living with him. He let me use it and I became hooked on this game as well as 007 Agent Under Fire.
I played that demo, when those came with magazines as a disc, at least 50 times. 1,000 after i got the game. I memorized where all the enemies spawned in. So sick even to todays graphics. I want to play it again!
Funny how guns were a focus point for the design team along with them getting a bunch of replicas to model the in game weapons off of, yet some of the guns are inaccurately designed. Example: The AKM, G56, and Uzi all are seemingly mirrored. The ejection port on those are shown to be on the left side, when in reality they're on the right side.
I’ve played A LOT of games. But I still remember my time with Black. I also had a meeting with Criterion & Acclaim at E3 where I was shown Burnout 1 before that was it’s official name!
I had this game on my old PS2, and I LOVED it! To me, it was just a good'ol fashioned run & gun big explosions good time! Despite its simplicity, to me it still had plenty of re-playability. I remember thoroughly enjoying the sound of this game. From the reloading, to the firing and the explosions it was just all wonderful stuff.
Burnout series and Black on the PS2, then Burnout Paradise running at a perfect 60fps on the PS3. Seriously, the Criterion Graphic engine was pretty amazing for the time
I played this game and Burnout with my uncle (he was 14 and i was 10) back then and till this day, i can say that this game have special place in my heart. And because that mission with silencer pistol, i still play sneaky like that in every game i play until now xD
Fun fact: the main guy behind No Man's Sky, Sean Murray, was also a technical director on the creation of the engine for Criterion's games, including Black and Burnout 3
Black is an eye candy. No other game has managed create guns that feel powerful and punchy even though enemies are bullet sponges. Guns have great sound, animation, destructible environment that react to your every shot combined with PS vibration it's a joy to play.
Black is my favourite shooter from 6th gen I absolutely loved it when I played it as a kid as I was never into 1st person shooters(still not into them) but Black made me realise how much the genre can be btw after this video I'll give Bodycount a try.
Black. The game I was way to young to be playing. My brothers dad bought this right when it came out. He had the perfect surround sound set up for this game. Man I played this game so many times. It was intense
Everytimes the producer says something, Im like YES, concentrating efforts on the gunfights and also making one thing as best as it can, he knows how to FPS
Black was one of the finest FPS games out there. Tough as nails, good graphics (for the time), and great sound. It's a game that I still revisit, thanks to emulators. (I played on the PS2, so I can't say what the XBOX version was like.)
If anything Tarkov is like a multiplayer spiritual successor to black. Its also worth mentioning that the battlefield franchise took heavy inspiration from Black when you look at the series starting with Bad Company 1 onwards as they focused more on weapon sounds, and the physicality of guns.
When you play Black, you can easily notice how they made the guns and environmental destruction system with absolute passion and then patched a bland FPS campaign to it. A sequel could have fixed this and be the birth of a new style of FPS experience.
Absolutely adore this game!! And i Still have the demo disc for the ps2, the graphics, FOV, gunplay, level design are all amazing. Now I want to find my ps2 and play this all the way through again!
Black accomplished a LOT especially on the PS2. Really pushed that hardware to its limits. Reminds me of some other FPS titles on PS2 like Area 51 and Project Snowblind. There are some FPS gems on that generation of hardware
I loved Black so much that I unlocked all of the in-game stuff on it which I almost never do for a game. In fact, if it were possible to ADS in Black I'd be playing it to this day, I'm certain. It's incredible and worth picking up the remastered version.
Black destroyed the world around you. SoF II destroyed the bodies. Imagine a merger of the two. Black looks even more stunning on PCSX2 at 1440p, 16x AA, FXAA and with dithering disabled. Check it out if you get the chance. Best way to play it these days. You won't be disappointed.
@@johnsmith8988 I didn't mention anything about the licenses; flipping the gun horizontally would _not_ prevent a party from infringing on said licenses. Criterion's own stated justification for inverting a lot of the guns is that, and I may be paraphrasing a tad: "It looks cooler with the casings flying across the screen." My personal position on their justification is neither here nor there. I was merely pointing out the inconsistency in their stated goals of "being gun porn" while simultaneously showing a disregard for the kind of authenticity gun enthusiasts care for.
Black - Still one of the most fun and hi octane fps I' ve ever played! Burnout 3 - One of the best arcade racing game ever made!! Thank god for emulation and upscaling ;)
This game was to the PS2 what GTA V was to the PS3 and Xbox 360... Im still mind blown at how they made a game look so good with so many aspects on a PS2!
Awesome work. Love your videos. Please make an episode about sim city and how city skylines with one game and a small team killed such classic city building game. Again thank you for the great content, this channel is unique and deserves a tv show on its own. 🙏
Loved it back in the day and come back from time to time. For me one of the very few FPS with really memorable Levels, still remember the Forge, the Harbour, actually almost all of them.
BLACK was one of the best FPS games on Playstation 2 right next to the equally as great TimeSplitters trilogy. Really wish Criterion did a remaster of the game with full DualSense integration, no load times via SSD utilization, 60 fps support, and maybe an optional 2 player co-op mode for funzies. Also, a PC port would be nice as well.
I play this every so often on PCSX2. It hasn't aged well, the controls are atrocious, but it was one of the better FPS games when it was out. Probably one of the first that let you bind any control you want to any button.
