New Black trailer released

By Ellie Gibson Published 14 September, 2005

It's looking very special.

If happiness is a warm gun, pure unadulterated ecstasy is a really massive gun that's so hot from the relentess BLAMBLAMBLAM of its neverending stream of bullets that before you can pick it up you have to put on oven gloves. Made of the stuff they put on the outside of space shuttles.

That's our opinion, anyway, so we've been very much looking forward to Black, the forthcoming first person shooter from Burnout developer Criterion - and now we're even more excited having watched the new trailer.

Black is set in a near-future Eastern Europe and sees you playing as a former member of the mysterious Black Operations division. When your old Black Ops chums disappear, it's down to you to head into enemy territory and bring the troops home.

And, by the looks of things, shoot anything and everything you meet along the way - cue endless amounts of hard-fought gun battles and huge explosions, all beautifully rendered at a pace that'll give your eyes blisters.

Black is currently in development for PS2 and Xbox, but there's no word on a release date yet. In the meantime, the trailer really is worth checking out.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 7 years ago

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  • cubbymoore #1 7 years ago

    Yup, trailer looks good, even if half of it is a huge EA logo.

    Hope that stuttering gets sorted out though, whenever there's a big explosion it seems to freeze slightly.

    Otherwise looks like it could awesomely good fun.

  • theiceman #2 7 years ago

    black is to fps what burnout series is to driving games. easy on the hand and mind lol. this looks like the dogs bollocks

  • ralphwolfenstein #3 7 years ago

    EA - can't make a good game to save their lives, but they sure know how to buy one...

    Burnout, Oddworld, Katamari, and now this...

  • bionutz #4 7 years ago

    Bring it on the PC, how can it be [a shoot'em up] only developed for PS2 and Xbox???!

  • Furbs #5 7 years ago

    Tiger Woods? SSX? FIFA? (regardless of your PES allegiances, to say its shit is being unfair). ;)

  • theiceman #6 7 years ago

    probably too simple for the pc crowd lol

  • OnlyMe #7 7 years ago

    The FIFA 06 demo showed a lot of promise regarding the gameplay mechanics. They finally realised that FIFA should stay on the arcade-side and improve on that. This years edition looks to be the best since FIFA '99.

    Still prefer PES though...

  • Bezzy #8 7 years ago

    Burnout was like racing for people who hate racing games.

    If this does the same for FPS games, I'll be happy, because I am bored to christ of uninspired FPS games.

  • Blerk #9 7 years ago

    Bring it on the PC, how can it be [a shoot'em up] only developed for PS2 and Xbox???!

    Don't you have enough FPS games of your own? :-)

  • theiceman #10 7 years ago

    well said blerk mate

  • Talha #11 7 years ago

    Bring it on the PC? And have it require two 7800 GTX in SLi to run decently? Now way man. Consoles are democratic - they bring gaming to the (technologically and financially) deprived masses. Black has to be the best looking console shooter unless Far Cry Instinct releases earlier.

    By the way, EA have become a giant by MAKING some great games: NFS Porsche Unleashed, NFS Hot Pursuit 2, Tiger Woods, FIFA, Madden, SSX series - but you will hate EA anyway after a fashion!

  • krudster #12 7 years ago

    Having seen it "in the flesh" this indeed is the dogs nadsticles. Prepare to have your perceptions of what the PS2 can do rudely ripped asunder.

  • Furbs #13 7 years ago

    Loved NFS Hot Pursuit - used to spend all my lunchtimes working for Game playing that. Hope Most Wanted can recapture its spirit (HP2 didnt do much for me). And NFS Porsche is still one of the top 3 PC racers imo.

    BTW. the main page is still showing theres only 3 comments here :p You really need to sort out that server clock guys!
    Edited by 1 at 14/09/05 @ 11:44

  • Ceatlan #14 7 years ago

    I doubt I'll be able to cope with a fast paced FPS on a console game pad. I find moving and aiming accurately at the same time very difficult to do at anything other than slow pace when using a gamepad.

    If however as most of the clips show you can stand still, shoot the crap out of stuff and then move on, I should be able to cope.

  • kangarootoo #15 7 years ago

    So long as it doesn't rip my dogs nads asunder, that would just be awful, poor little fella.


    I don't actually have a dog, but I feel for any dog that has its bits ripped asunder by this gun fest. Ban this sick filth etc.

  • kangarootoo #16 7 years ago

    Good aim assist is key on twin sticks methinks (at least till you get your technique sorted) along with a decent acceleration curve (for want of a less ridiculous pseudo science term).

    Halo had it right on the money, Medal of Honour was sadly lacking.

    /waits for extremely boring macho rants about how aim assist isn't for "real" FPS players.

  • Talha #17 7 years ago

    Furbs, glad to see you share my thoughts on NFS Porsche Unleashed. The only Hot Pursuit I played was HP2, since in 1997 I didn't have money, let alone a PC, to play the original HP.

    In my opinion, Criterion should ONLY EVER make console games to stick it up some plump, cheating PC developer asses. Long live PS2, long live XBox!!!

  • Snooz #18 7 years ago

    Can't say I saw anything special in that short clip, but isn't this the game where blowing up buildings with the havoc-engine is possible? (or something like that?)

    Anyways, those smoke clouds make everything that explode look like they're covered in a layer of gray dust. And those pillars that fell down just disintegrated and disappeared.

    The vid didn't give me much...could have been a painkiller mod

  • symmetry #19 7 years ago

    They obviously don't believe in recoil at Criterion.

    Also, most of that video wasn't actually footage, just logos and shit. Hate that.

    EDIT: Can't spell Criterion.
    Edited by 1 at 14/09/05 @ 12:00

  • OnlyMe #20 7 years ago

    I think NFS Porsche Unleashed is the best PC racing game ever. I loved NFS Hot Pursuit on the PSone and it's sequel was excellent too. I'm looking forward to Most Wanted, 'cause it seems like it's going back to the roots with this one. Could be good.

    krudster: my perceptions on what the PS2 could do was already ripped asunder by God of War.

  • Talha #21 7 years ago

    Wow, good to see people remembering the greatness that was Porshce Unleashed. Honestly, it is only PC racing game I still play apart from Rallisport Challenge. As for Most Wanted, let's hope it gets the series back on track, but to me it looks like only the same underground illegal racing bullshit (read: low-poly cars, non-existent physics, scantily clad chicks, a single track, and bling) in daylight. And I read at IGN that NFS Underground 3 is planned to be a PS3 title!!!!

    As for the trailer looking like a Painkiller mod, you either didn't play Painkiller or haven;t seen the trailer. How much do you expect Criterion to wring out of the PS2 anyway? And what one would do with pillars that stay fallen other than to trip over them?
    Edited by 1 at 14/09/05 @ 12:06

  • drumbaby #22 7 years ago

    This game looks like it would get annoying about 5 minutes after you got over the nice graphics.

  • Teeth #23 7 years ago

    Agreed drumbaby... the physics stuff is just a few setpiece block towers you can knock over, the big explosions are all setpiece, the stuff that crashes down from those pillars just breaks up and disappears... it's all very underwhelming.

    HOWEVER the weapons and dust and explosion effects do look and sound terribly nice, audio is awesome, and it looks fun to play. But I'm not really that impressed with the physics side of things - was expecting much more to be honest.

    And yeah, if you wanna just see the gameplay stuff then skip forward past the THIRTY SECONDS of logos. less than half of the trailer is stuff you actually want to see, I wish they'd stop doing that.

  • zErOb_cOOl #24 7 years ago

    "Bring it on the PC, how can it be [a shoot'em up] only developed for PS2 and Xbox???!"

    Nob off.

  • zErOb_cOOl #25 7 years ago

    "Burnout was like racing for people who hate racing games.

    If this does the same for FPS games, I'll be happy, because I am bored to christ of uninspired FPS games."

    Nail.....it's head....*BANG!*

  • Talha #26 7 years ago

    Again, people whining about the physics, IT IS A CONSOLE GAME!!!! How much physics do you expect with 32 MB of RAM? The game's target is not to emulate real physics, but to deliver blasting fun. Same as Burnout - it LOOKED like we'd get tired of that, but we never did!!!

    Agreed on the trailer - it's pathetic in being so filled with logos. We KNOW it is a Criterion-developed game, we KNOW EA publishes it - whats the point?

  • gamesb*tch #27 7 years ago

    "Prepare to have your perceptions of what the PS2 can do rudely ripped asunder"

    Did you copy that from the old SCEE Killzone press release... ;o)

  • Teeth #28 7 years ago

    But Talha, much of the hype surrounding this game concerns the physics, which in my opinion is a pretty bad idea having seen this trailer.

  • OnlyMe #29 7 years ago

    Talha said: "Same as Burnout - it LOOKED like we'd get tired of that, but we never did!!!"

    I did.

  • Talha #30 7 years ago

    I think the hype is not about the physics but the VISIBLE crashes and destruction. Criterion apparently want to meet the hype by creating a very good visual approximation of the destruction.

    OnlyMe: my comment was in relative terms. Of course you get tired from Burnout - it is just that it was a matter of months for me rather than weeks.
    Edited by 1 at 14/09/05 @ 12:39

  • gamesb*tch #31 7 years ago

    What was that game with Red in the title that went on and on about the physics?

    Red something?

    'heed the tale of red something, oh Criterion'

  • Snooz #32 7 years ago

    Red Faction

  • OnlyMe #33 7 years ago

    I seem to remember the first Red Faction game being rather good, actually. Why would Black be any different?

  • Snooz #34 7 years ago

    I have only played a Painkiller demo, actually enjoyed it for a few hours. I think the demo was quite long. Played lots of maps for many hours, again and again, untill i got fed up after a while.

    After reading that there wasn't much more to the full game I really didn't need more of the same. "the same" being the gaming experience i saw in the Black-trailer I just commented:run and gun, just like the impression i got of painkiller.

    I'm talking about impressions, I havent seen lots of both games, but I've read about them and seen vids and demos. Black looking like a mod of Painkiller is the impression I got, run and gun, and some physics, ragdoll and maybe a thing or two moving or exploding.

    Maybe that physics stuff with blowing up buildings is from another game I've read about. :) No need to get angry

    Edit: No, this IS the game I've read a preview of: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59477 And I saw nothing interesting in the trailer, but I didn't know this was supposed to run on a ps2, maybe the xbox can cope with some rubble remaining after blowing up a house. "who needs next-gen"? apparently: Black, then :)
    Edited by 1 at 14/09/05 @ 13:04

  • kalel #35 7 years ago

    I was gonna bring up Red Faction as well. First thing I thought of when I saw the trailer. Personally there was nothing for me in that demo that looked "very special", although praps the EG lot have seen some other stuff that is getting them going.

  • BLACKSHEEP #36 7 years ago

    Let us hope in PS2 Black, it's not another Killzone promise!!!

  • LOLLERS #37 7 years ago

    Criterion aren't very good at designing good gameplay, they are however very very good at covering this up and making you think you're having fun by using flashy pyrotechnics. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, at some point everybody gets into a mood where they don't want to use their brain.

  • el_pollo_diablo #38 7 years ago

    Looks good and all that, but I expect a bit more for my 60 odd meg download than that.