Criterion Studios have hopped on the nostalgia train and released what is being touted as the spiritual successor to the massively popular Black, but will it live up to it’s predecessor?
Bodycount sees you take on the role of Jackson a standard manly protagonist working for a shadowy organisation that nurtures world peace by heading to a warzone and kicking both sides asses while sporting fetching lycra jumpsuits. The signature destructible environments from Black are back in full force alongside arcade style scoring mechanics, skill kills and a special meter that can be used for temporary damage and health boosts. The action is fast and furious with some meaty feeling weaponry that tears through buildings and scenery like hot piss through snow.
Almost all aspects of the games’ levels are affected by gunfire and explosions and if you stay in one spot for too long your surroundings will turn to Swiss cheese as it’s pummelled by enemy fire, likewise hapless enemies can be easily launched through the flimsy panels of shanty buildings with a well aimed shotgun blast. It’s a satisfying game element and one that lends the weaponry a real sense of power – being able to turn a window into a door using shotgun shells is something more games should allow for.
Mines and grenades are plentiful and the devastation they wreak is glorious. Helpfully placed exploding barrels and gas canisters are littered around every level in case you run out of grenades and your personal arsenal can be upgraded by achieving high scores, unlocking both new weapons and bonus items like adrenaline, explosive rounds, and airstrikes.
Overall the game feels solid, arcadey and fun, but with today’s focus on competitive multiplayer, Bodycount’s multiplayer options looking anaemic at best and some huge FPS releases on the horizon Bodycount is unlikely to draw much of a crowd.
Black was great at the time, but over the years the focus of the FPS genre has shifted from single player that saw you mowing down waves of unchallenging AI to competitive multiplayer that sees you mowing down waves of unchallenging newbies while shouting insults at them. Despite some fun features the core gameplay isn’t solid enough to carry off multiplayer gameplay with anything approaching the additiveness of it’s competition.
If you’ve got some cash burning a hole in your pocket and want an old skool stopgap between now and Battlefield 3/MW3 it’s worth a punt, but if you require more than single player carnage and arcade action to get your juices flowing, it could well leave you wanting.
