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The biggest complaint out there from hardcore gamers is that the Kinect has little in the way of immersive first person shooters like Crysis and Call of Duty. And we’ve discussed here before why we think that is, but one company has decided to really go for it. Blackwater: The Game features a mission based system that is truly motion oriented to perhaps the point of fatigue and pain. To get through the mission based, time oriented levels, you have to jump, duck, and shoot to complete your tasks with your teammates. It would seem like just what the Kinect is designed for, but it’s not without its controversy, not because it’s a violent look at getting the job done in the battlefield, but because of the politics of its creator, Blackwater themselves.
The company is, of course, infamous since the Iraq war, where in difficult times, they often went out on their own, completing their mission at all costs, which to say it kindly skirted the law at times. They started out over there as sort of a private Secret Service, escorting dignitaries where others wouldn’t go. But as the US Government found out, their methods weren’t always what was found in the code of conduct and thus they got a pretty soiled reputation as a company, coming off as gun-happy thugs for hire, instead of the protection that people assumed they were. And due to their controversial nature, have had several disputes with Congress, the latest one being that Rep. Jan Shakowsky accused them of releasing the game as a PR plot to whitewash their tarnished image. There may be something to be said for that. The game does focus on Blackwater’s helping the UN in a fictional North African country.
But what about the game itself, beyond the politics? Well, it’s a mixed bag of Kinect goodness with some mediocre play and some decent graphics. The on-the-rails shooter when playing resembles more Rise of Nightmares than it does Call of Duty. Players are ushered from scenario to scenario which last around 10-15 minutes each based on their path choice. At the end of each one, you can save the game, but not during. So if you have to leave, you’ll have to go back to the end of the previous level when you play again. The scenarios generally consist of you being put into different “sets” where you have to rid the area of enemies, while trying not to get killed just as you do in Rise or House of the Dead. But what is different here is that you aren’t playing just a single character, but actually four at the same time. Since each has a particular job to do in the game, the console switches you between them automatically. One minute you might be the sniper on the roof or you might be blasting everything in sight with a shot gun or automatic weapon as someone else. Each player can also have multiple path choices to shake things up.
Of course, dodging bullets is the most important task of the game and this requires that you duck behind the many objects littered about the scene, ducking in real life. When you feel you can make a shot, you stand upright, aim your hand (which moves a crosshair on the screen) and fire at the enemy. If you kill him, then you can usually remain standing until someone else starts on you, but if not, the scene plays out like a bad TV episode of TJ Hooker. You fire, then he fires, then you fire, then he fires in sort of a turn based wave, because enemies would never break the rules and fire whenever they feel like. The good news about this system is you don’t have to stay ducked for too long, thus crimping up your back. You can also move your upper body left or right to move back and forth to avoid getting shot. If you need to move forward, but there is something in your way, you can literally jump and your character will do the same. You can also kick your opponent if he comes up to you.
The game, according to developers and Blackwater, is not meant to be a combat simulator like America’s Army, but more like an arcade game. Although they liken it to cops and robbers, not sure if I would be comfortable in letting a 6 year old play it because despite the fact there is little blood, there is quite a bit of violence in it. The sad part, though, is that even though it showed some promise, especially with what could be done Kinect wise, sometimes stupid AI and tracking issues (some related to the Kinect itself) make it seem that it was hastily put together. But at times it can be fun just as Rise is. But a word of warning, this game can give you quite a workout and those that are not in shape may want to evaluate their health before playing. Because of these things, we can only give this game 3.7/5 stars, politics not included.
