Serious Sam: The First Encounter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.125692]
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Enter the Matrix [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.126948#2682893]
Black Shades:
Right, I'm going to review a freeware game called Black Shades. Firstly because I'm poor and secondly because freeware games are often overlooked so I hope to bring light to a few.
In Brief: Black Shades is a fps based around escorting an npc (referred to as the VIP) through a city and defending him from hidden assassins. There is a link to the website at the bottom of the review if you want to download it.
Story: None, the game is based around disjointed scenarios with the only continuation between them is your score.
Graphics: Like most freeware games, Black Shades should not be judged by its visuals. The style however is another matter. The setting for all levels is simply a grey city which is somewhat boring but makes sense as there are few pedestrians the assailants could hide among in the Swiss Alps. Suffice to say the setting suits the gameplay. Black Shades has an interesting style in that all the people are made up of polygons with different coloured torsos which I found oddly appealing, possibly because my gaming past doesn't stretch back to the snes but more likely because it helped the suspension of disbelief at the bizarre scenarios you encountered (which is a long winded way of saying it fits well).
Gameplay: A lot of people hate escort quests, feeling they're either out of place or just irritating to have to worry about two people. With that in mind, Black Shades works quite well as an escort based fps, overcoming most of the usual problems that appear in mainstream games. You are set to guard your white-suited npc for a set time as he suicidally takes long walks around the block despite having the whole CIA competing to see who can assassinate him in the least subtle way. There are civilians and the assassins look exactly the same until they pull out their weapons, especially difficult when they use knives as the only way to tell is to spot someone running towards you VIP. So the game is a test of observation and reflexes, minimising the time between an assassin showing himself and taking a shot (your VIP dies in one shot by the way). To aid you in this you have a bullet-time mechanic, a very handy feature since you use the time it gives you to line up the necessary headshot you need to take down an assailant. Since it has no recharge time you basically end up hitting the button as soon as you see an enemy appear. Yet somehow it work s, as without this feature the game becomes extremely frustrating as you shoot enemies in the body half a dozen times because you're frantically trying to kill them before they take a pot shots at your VIP.
Yes, he's the one with the knife and a furtive look.
After you succeed in saving your VIP you move to the next level where you are still escorting him but with a different weapon and, occasionally, the civilians and assassins are replaced with zombies who, in search of a treat, go for your VIP's brains. The AI behind these guys, zombies or otherwise, is simple but effective. They never go for you which makes it difficult to die, unless you're like me and careless with grenades,but instead run for the VIP,. It does remove the need to worry about your own health which has always been a major annoyance of escort quests so one could say that it was well adapted to the task.
There is no end goal except to rack up points which you gain for kills and success and lose for VIP or civilian deaths. I don't know what to think of the system since it adds a way to keep track of your progress but sooner or later you'll encounter a level that will push you back to zero, such as when I was given grenades and killed dozens of civilians with them. You are set loose in the same environment with different weapons each time and often the enemies will adopt one particular kind as well. The fiddly controls and the quickness of pace the game demands means that changing weapons part way through the level is largely impossible, leaving you to fight with what you're given. To be honest it didn't bother me that much since the variations was what kept me playing but the controls irked me once again when I was given a sniper rifle whose scope was sluggish and you had to crouch when you used it, treating yourself to a faceful of asphalt as you desperately try to use it on assailants. But, again, it doesn't get in the way too much since the assailants are usually nearby, triggered by the proximity of the VIP, therefore rendering the scope largely useless anyway.
One of the largest problems with Black Shades is the lack of tutorial and a very unhelpful readme which makes the games very difficult to get the hang of since you have no idea what you're supposed to be doing for the first ten minutes. However if you go in with an idea of what it's about (which I hope this review has given you) then you should have few problems.
Conclusion: Black Shades is different and worth looking at if you want an fps with a twist to it. It's certainly good for a few hours of hectic action.
Comments: the posters thereof shall ascend into Vahalla as the Valkeries sing praises of their deeds in exaltation of the great hero. In other words, all comments or criticisms welcome. I hope to review a few more freeware games (Aver Fate, you're next) so if you have any recommendations for me to review please post them.
Black Shades download [http://www.wolfire.com/black-shades]
