Blackwater is a FPS for the Xbox 360. The interesting thing about Blackwater is that it’s also a “Better with Kinect” title. The question that I wondered though was is it really better with Kinect? After all it is a FPS title. In the short year or so history of the Kinect shooters have not really been it’s strong point. Could Blackwater be the exception? First a brief video intermission.
505 Games have based this game off the very real “Blackwater” now titled Xe Services LLC that the US government contracts for protection and security. The Kinect controls are very much the way to play this game. I would not suggest even trying to use the controller. The game is on rails. It plays similar to The Gunstringer except without anything good. You find yourself hiding behind crates, barrels and walls and leaning out of cover to fire upon enemies. This leads to be a problem if playing with the controller. You find that when trying to move into cover you will sometimes roll out into in-coming attacks. This serves even more of a problem considering that when it comes to taking damage a few hits will drop, you’ll need to retreat. Long story short; Play with Kinect!
As you see in the video above the controls are pretty simplistic, but unfortunately will also make you tired quickly. You need to realize when playing that it’s not just shooting, you must cover, throw grenades and aim. All these things together make for really just too much movement for my taste. The controls are not really bad for lagging and for the most part work well. The option for your weapon to auto fire is a nice feature to have as you escalate through the short story. I felt like i was being distracted from the story for needless checkpoints. The game also offers collectibles and alternate routes that give the game some replay value, but really after you finish the story if you do, there really won’t be any reason to go back for anything.
The graphics in the game are less than par considering the nature of look of the FPS market these days. The cinematics are jumpy and the characters look a bit awkward. The in-game graphics are not all bad and considering what it is, it’s really one of the only high points in the game. Keep in mind that it’s not going to win any awards, but still a good effort put forth when referring to weapons and environments. The games soundtrack is somewhat generic as most FPS soundtracks are, but while playing Blackwater the music is honestly the least of your worries. The weapons sound the best in the game and the voice acting is really very “B Movie” in my opinions. All the dialog feels pushed and over dramatic.
There is also a competitive mode, but I doubt anyone will be frequenting this area of the game as the it does a good enough job of wearing you thin in the single player mode, much less gathering with anyone else to play the it. The best way to look at Blackwater is an arcade light gun shooter with no light guns. The game is less than satisfactory in today’s market of FPS games even at it $49.99 price point. Even though the game is clearly being marketed as a Kinect title, it doesn’t really say a lot for Kinect nor does it represent where Microsoft wants the hardware to go. Sorry to say, but in my opinion Blackwater is a pass even as a title to rent. If you’re desperate for a shooter for the Kinect, pick up The Gunstringer or wait for something more solid to drop for the hardware.
