BLACK is a refreshing FPS that stood apart from the rest the day it was announced. It wasn't because of the name, the visuals, or the promise of all guns blazing, BLACK stood out because it came from Criterion. When Criterion's name is attached to a game it isn't just an announcement – it actually means something.

Joining the list of jovial anticipators, I waited for BLACK's release with hopes of something different. The finished product meets a portion of that dream, defying the genre by taking risks that other shooters wouldn't have attempted. For that I applaud Criterion. I applaud their efforts in creating an intense, in-your-face FPS experience. It truly has no rival. Though Halo is still the king of console multiplayer, BLACK is - at times - a tad more forceful, bombarding the player with gunplay typically saved for movies and TV.

I also applaud Criterion's sound development. The little things (footsteps, standard gunfire, explosions, etc.) have become so common since Medal of Honor: Frontline launched that you probably won't notice most of them. Don't let familiarity blind you: there's a lot more to BLACK than meets the ear. It has the perfect mixture of realistic sounds that adapt to the location and situation of the mission. Fire your weapon inside a tunnel and you'll notice a distinctly different sound than when fired out in the open. Walls, many of which are destructible, receive damage differently depending on the way they were built (we're supposed to believe that they're real, not polygons), and thus the sound that follows varies greatly from shot to shot. Explosions are also quite intense, packing a wide number of blasts that are both visually and aurally satisfying.

BLACK is a wonderful achievement for Criterion, no question. The gameplay comes just as promised – all guns blazing – and the technical accomplishments really speak for themselves.

Much to my dismay, however, there are a few things that just don't add up.

BLACK begins in CG form, showing a video that's supposed to intrigue players and lead us into the story. The style seems to be a rip-off of Domino, though I assume there are other movies it could have been "inspired" by. Frankly I didn't much care, until I started to press buttons and couldn't skip the movie sequence. Now I'm forced to know what's going on.

This non-interactive, unavoidable beginning didn't deter me from getting to the game. Shove the story down my throat - I was going to play it regardless. (That attitude we gamers have, unfortunately, is what keeps some developers from adding a much-needed "skip sequence" feature.)

Upon entering the battlefield I was treated to a series of wonderful treats: breathtaking lighting, lots of gunfire, and top-notch sound - and that was just in the first five seconds! Before I could grab the pick-ups (ammo, grenades, etc.) and find a way out of the room, enemies began unloading their artillery. It was extremely exciting to blast the door open and walk up to that ledge for the first time, only to be flooded with a stream of bullets that were next to impossible to dodge. Should I have seen it coming? Probably. But I guess the pretty colors (and inherent desire to explore) were too great of a distraction.

From this moment till the end of the mission I was in awe. Little cover could be found in this wide-open, modern-day battlefield, where practically every barricade is destructible and no wall is too thick to shield you from a sniper that can't be seen. Cars, trucks, boxes, crates, rails, shields, lights – even some walls and ceilings can be destroyed with the right weapon. It's crazy, but incredibly cool. You're never safe, not when the box you're hiding behind could contain flammable contents that'll takes your head off if ignited. Your enemies are in just as much danger, but they have one unexpected advantage: armor.

As interesting and challenging as armored soldiers are, BLACK has a couple technical issues that really LACK the quality of the rest of the game. First off, armor quality is not clearly defined. Is it random? Is it based on the level? Does the color of their uniform have anything to do with it? I dreaded the thought of cracking the manual, and guess what? It didn't offer any answers. Since we can't determine the lifespan of each enemy, it might not be fair to judge all of them equally.

I can, however, judge a couple of mistakes that appeared throughout almost every mission. (1) Not every dead-on shot seemed to affect enemies negatively. They should have, regardless of the armor they were wearing. (2) If an enemy is down and I shoot him, he's down and he's been shot! He does not have the power to block bullets and get up unscathed, yet the game believes otherwise. This isn't a cheesy arcade fighter where injured characters turn transparent and become temporarily invulnerable to attacks - it's a realistic FPS where anything that moves should be perishable regardless of the position it's in.

BLACK's realism (and cinematic appeal) is boosted by its immaculate use of sound, color, and control effects when near death. First the music cuts to a suspenseful beat. It drums in the background, letting you know that something's not right. If more health is lost, the sound will intensify until you die. Just before that point the game switches to a slow-motion, grayscale effect that seems more appropriate for a flashback then a near-death experience. Nonetheless it's awesome and works very well in this situation.

There is, believe it or not, such a thing as going too far. I love motion blur effects as much as anyone. Hideo Kojima made them cool. BLACK does the opposite. Before I elaborate on that, let me remind you that BLACK is a game of non-stop shooting. Primary missions are primarily about destruction; secondary missions don't get much deeper, and always lead to more destruction. On average you'll reload your weapon three times per minute. No problems, right?

There wouldn't be any at all, but BLACK has the crazy notion that it'd be cool and cinematic to blur the screen every time you reload. Aside from being the most annoying feature I have ever encountered in a top-tier game, the reload blur is somewhat of an eyesore. I had to fight myself from looking away from the screen to avoid seeing it. Even if this were based on a real soldier whose eyes welled up every time he ran out of ammo, I still wouldn't have wanted them to include it in this game. BLACK's realism doesn't come from its weaponry, which seems to have a hard time penetrating human flesh. Why focus on a feature that's so out of focus?

Gameplay: 8.4
Like Criterion's masterpiece series (Burnout), BLACK is on-the-edge-of-your-seat entertainment. The excitement level is shot through the roof once enemies start falling through it. There are walls, ceilings, and countless other structural elements that can be destroyed with one of your many powerful weapons (handguns, shotguns, machineguns, etc.). BLACK is a wonderful experience. It has its flaws, many of which will be remembered until a sequel comes along and erases them from our memory. Regardless, the excitement shines through, and if Criterion-quality excitement is what you want, that is exactly what you'll get.

Graphics: 8.9
Aside from a few clunky animations, BLACK is arguably the best-looking PS2 shooter on the market. The structures have no equal – from the way they look when standing tall, to the way they demolish after receiving a powerful hit, BLACK's structures and environments are incredible.

Sound: 9.0
Mighty impressive. BLACK's sound is unlike any before it. You know you're playing a game that's leading into the next generation when the sound changes based on your location. I don't mean different music for different levels – I'm talking about guns that sound different depending on where they're shot. I'm talking about the dynamic explosions, as well as the little things that round out the aural experience.

The fact that music is used in more subtle ways turned me off at first, but after getting through the first few levels I began to see that the direction they took was the right one. They use the music where it's appropriate and take it away when it's not. They also use it to intensify the mood, which would've been harder to do if music was playing constantly throughout the entire experience.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
A challenging game with a nice range of difficulties and additional objectives (and bonus weapons) so that gamers of all skill levels can get in on the action.

Concept: 8.0
Take every FPS you know, refine the controls, increase the graphics, add more destructible environments than you can shake a cube of C4 at and you've got one of PlayStation 2's most groundbreaking shooters: BLACK.

The idea of a blurry reload screen, however, just plain sucks.

Overall: 8.4
As much as I hate for these flaws to impact my overall rating, they did impact my experience playing the game and cannot be ignored. BLACK is a great game that has a lot going for it. It's thrilling in a way that gets your juices flowing. It makes you want more of BLACK, and superior gameplay in other shooters. It's fast. The frame rate is almost always consistent. The battles won't have you on the edge of your seat – they'll push you off.