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Really, really, really short.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 18 / 18
Date: November 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I beat the game in just under 6 hours. Yikes! That figures to about $10 an hour for game play!

You're a soldier for the US Army, initially sent to Iran to gather some highly needed, top secret information. From there the story gets fleshed out rather hurridly along with some well over used cliches. The gameplay is fun, the sound an graphics are great. Grenade explosions are really cool and the machine gun is very satisfying to shoot.

However...

This one is a perfect weekend rental. There's a good mix of run and gunning, driving and shooting from a helicopter. I have to repeat that this game was allot of fun to play. There were 5-6 levels (I forget exactly) each broken up into smaller "episodes" similar to the Halo games. Each level was pretty unique and at first glance the game could easily be mistaken for a Call of Duty title. Only a handful of weapons to choose from that sadly, didn't follow you between episodes and I found that I stuck with the machine gun almost entirely through the game except for some of the mandatory sniper episodes. There was also a very limited amount of aliens as well, which was surprising because I was expecting more. However, the ones that were there were very fulfilling, especially the larger "boss" type characters.

I would have scored Blacksite allot higher had it been longer game. You can't imagine my dissappointment after spending $60 and then beating it the same day.

Save your money for the likes of Assassin's Creed and rent this one.

- Dan.

Do not pay full retail for this title.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: November 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The graphics are sub par, and no far beyond what you might see on the original XBOX. The game is very, very short. It's unpolished and buggy.

I did play online one match and that was a little better. But this pales in comparison compared to some of the better shooters like Gears, Halo 3, and Bioshock. I picked this and Timeshift up at the same time, and Timeshift is a much better game.

It's probably worth a rental but not much more.

Black Eye: Area 51

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 23, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is bad. Bad, bad, baddity, bad. I hate it with the passion of a thousand suns. Here's why:

* It crashes. Constantly. It would crash at random moments, whenever the game tried to load the extremely detailed environments.

* There are a million load sequences that interrupt the flow of the game. And the load screens are repetitive. And the "hints" the game shares with you are useless. Reload frequently? Thanks, Blacksite, I never thought of that!

* It's linear. At one point, the resident tough guy character quotes Star Wars, cause, ya know, the area looks like one of the chasms on the Death Star. When a character points out how linear the game is, you know there's a problem.

* The enemies are boring. There's one actually freaky alien, and it's telling that the thing is showcased in all the art advertising the game. All the other creatures look like they were ripped out of Starship Troopers. There's also the stupid "exploding monsters" which are a tired staple of FPS. Did I mention that one of them is a giant tower that slowly rotates and farts out alien bugs?

* Squad-based tactics? Sure, that amounts to telling people where to go (they never listen) and telling them whom to shoot at (because it's not obvious?).

* Non-destructible environments. Sure, the fuel trucks can be shot. There are crates you can break, but there's nothing in them. The environment is largely static.

* There's also a rail game component. With monsters that shoot projectiles at you. I've never seen this before. All that's missing is the "shoot me in the head" game.

* You can't affect anything the game doesn't want you to shoot at. You can empty an entire clip into your allies heads, shoot their vehicles, and basically act like a moron without affecting the game. And when I get bored, I can really be a big moron.

* You can jump about two inches in the air. There is no purpose to jumping. You can't scale any environment, except to slowly fall down a zip-line like you're on an elevator. In the one area where you can fall to your death, the final boss battle, your dead body stutter-steps down to the ground. This is a fabulous piece of code, let me tell you.

* It's short. I mean, really short. Even for me. I tried to play the game on a much harder difficulty, but the crashing actually drove me so insane that I wanted to at least get my money worth. So I played it on easy to get it over with.

There are some redeeming traits, but none good enough to make the game worth buying. It's got some interesting environments, including a battle in a suburban neighborhood. At one point you receive air support from a chopper flying overhead while you're duking it out on the ground. And the rail gun battles, while rote, are at least scripted to be exciting. There's also the amusing, ripped from the headlines dialogue. None of that saves this stinking fetid pile of excrement.

In the era of Bioshock, Halo 3, and Gears of War, Blacksite is proof that graphics alone are not enough to make a great game. The developers should be ashamed of themselves, but I can't tell you who they are because while I was forced to watch the end credits...the game crashed.

Awesome game but more of a renter

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: November 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I wouldnt pay full retail price for this game as it is very easy to beat and lacks replay value. However, the storyline is awesome and the game is a blast to play. It reminded me alot of the old Pc game called "Gunman Chronicles". This game would make an awesome renter but I wouldnt pay $60 for it as you'll probably beat it the same day.

I expected more!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game realy let me down! I played the demo on X-Box and it seems prety good. However, when I got to play the whole thing I believe the creators could have done a better job on the graphics. The movement is not as life like as the most recent games out like Call of Duty 4 or Helo 3. The operation of the vehicle in the game is mechanical. I would recommend you rent it first.

Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

A couple years back, Midway updated their light gun shooter Area 51 for the last-gen consoles in the form of an action, scare, and conspiracy theory-filled FPS that was surprisingly good. Blacksite: Area 51 is more or less a follow up to the aforementioned game, in which you play a soldier and find yourself searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, only to uncover an alien conspiracy. The first thing you'll notice about Blacksite: Area 51 is that the game is boasting some spectacular graphics. The characters, aliens, areas, and environments are beautifully rendered; making the game a joy to look at, but that's about it. The use of squad tactics doesn't work very well, and you'll mostly find yourself engaged in battles with your squad not doing much to lend a hand. It should also be noted that there are a fair amount of glitches and bugs that occur now and then, ranging from graphical glitches to bugs in the gameplay elements. The single-player campaign is decent enough, albeit much of the shock value and scares that were featured in the last Area 51 game are absent. The multiplayer mode is uninspired and boring to say the least as well, which is even more disappointing. For all its flaws though, Blacksite does offer some solid moments of intense action, and the political commentary does conjure a smirk. All in all though, Blacksite: Area 51 is a disappointing FPS that could have been so much better than what we get here. It is worth a rental at least for FPS addicts or fans of Midway's Area 51 license, but other than that, Blacksite can be avoided.

This Game Sucks!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: November 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Nothing innovative. Horrible frame rate issues. Crappy ending. Average next-gen graphics. Scant amount of weapons. Too few types of aliens. The developers should have looked to Insomniac for some inspiration. Those guys made a vastly superior alien game in Resistance: Fall of Man. Blacksite is not worth $60. I even purchased the strategy guide because I was so jazzed about this title. Didn't need it as there is very little in the way of strategy. Very disappointed. Going to sell it.

AWESOME

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: November 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game rocks. a great achievment by midway. great story based on the all-popular area 51 mystery and features great graphics realistic weapons and freaky alien invaders.

Great Concepts and Cool Visuals can't Quite Save this Shallow Shooter

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ok, like I said in my title, this game has amazing graphics, and a very decent story. I really enjoyed the whole scope of the game (like driving across miles and miles of alien infested highway while you're making you're way from town to town. Another aspect I loved was the whole switch from the military look to the shootout at the abandoned gas station (truly classic material!) I do however have some serious reservations in reccomending this game.
1. Poor Dialogue. This game has pretty cheesy conversations and not the best voice acting either. : (
2. No Real Sense of Apocolypse or Terror. This game manages to out "shiny" itself (losing the grit of a true sci-fi terror game.
3. Feels Generic. I'm afraid this game has fallen into the rut so many have nowdays, and forgot to establish it's trademarks. tsk tsk. The game has no memorable main theme, no lovable main character-hero and no interesting twist of plot or theme.
Overall:
Area 51 is a highly entertaining shooter, that relies far too heavily on shiny graphics and generic action to solidify itself against other recent FPS ventures. Worth a rental!
PS
If you're looking for a great shooter for the 360 I reccomend the far superior Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3.

It's no C.O.D 4, but what the hey...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Camelot. Stonehenge. The Great Pyramids. The Great wall of China.

All of these names are ingrained into our culture. When we hear of them, we all think of what they are, and in some cases, what they mean. They all are indelibly burned into our collective psyche. Some are heavily inter-twined in mythology, while others are physical objects that are steeped in history.

In the United States, there is another name that brings up an air of mystery, of conspiracy. You probably know already which site I'm talking about here...

Area 51.

This secret military site, that has long been denied by the federal government, is steeped in secrecy and mystery. Some believe that this location is where the government keeps the bodies of aliens that were discovered in the 50's. Others believe that there are LIVE aliens kept there.

Of course, people believe it is the home of ultra secret black projects, or super high technology, technology that will help keep the American's at the top when it comes to global power.

Now, when you have something that is as cloaked in secrecy as Area 51 is, of course people will speculate.

And the media will take it one step further. There are dozens of novels about this secret location. There are many movies that deal with it, and it's been seen on television as well.

Best of all, it has been used in numerous video games.

Years ago, there was an arcade video game called Area 51. It was a first person shooter, one where you had to invade the military base and defeat not only aliens, but zombies that were brought back to fight with them.

Blacksite: Area 51 is pretty much the sequel to this video game, with updated graphics and I'd have to say far better game play.

When you begin the game, it starts instead of in Area 51, you find yourself in Iraq. The whole purpose of this, in my opinion, was to introduce the player to the games controls, and to give the player a little background information on several of your team-mates that would help you out later in the game.

I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with the scale of the game. Sure, you start out in Iraq, but the story quickly builds from there. After losing one of your team-mates, the game fast forwards several years.

I'll do my best to not give away too many spoilers from here on in.
This is where the scale of the game really comes into play. You have to travel cross country (although you don't get much of a choice in your route) in order to reach Rachel, Nevada.

Along the way you'll end up facing a literal army of the Reborn, the main foe in the game.

The fight for Rachel is pretty intense and quite enjoyable in this reviewer's opinion, and of course it'll lead you onto the next mission, where you'll have to fight and defend the military base you're based out of.

Finally, you will end up in Area 51, and confront the enemy in one final showdown.

All in all, the game is divided up into a total of six missions, and depending on what difficulty setting you play it at, the time to complete will vary. Expect to reload numerous times if you're not careful.

Even though I've only played a handful of Xbox 360 games, I found that this game played like the other first person shooters. You don't have a health meter, like in many other first person shooter games. Instead you can sustain a certain amount of damage and your screen turns red to indicate that you're about to die.

When this happens, find a safe place to hunker down and give yourself a short period of time to regenerate your health. If you don't, well you'll have to wait for a reload.

Fortunately, even though you can't choose where you save, there are numerous save points so you won't be forced to re-do large portions of a particular mission just to feel the frustration of having to do it all over again.

You're also limited to only two different weapons at any one time, so choose what you carry wisely! And, if you do need a specific type of weapon, try to remember where you saw it, or where you dropped it last. That'll save you a great deal of frustration as well.

Use your team-mates wisely. Try to go for head-shots as often as you can, as it improves the moral of your fellow warriors. The higher the moral, the better they fight. If you find that moral is slipping, get fancy and ventilate as many craniums as possible. It cheers up your friends.

The nice thing is that even if your team-mates get taken out in a battle, if you successfully eliminate all enemies, they'll get back up after a short period of time to continue to fight along side you.

As with several other games on the market, you are given a chance to drive in the game. Sometimes you are the driver, and your team-mates act as the gunners. Now this in itself can be frustrating, as they'll fire the main weapon until it over-heats and then you're forced to wait, usually taking heavy return fire, for it to cool down.
Other times you are the gunner and you can control this factor, and when you get the chance I would suggest taking it. It'll save you having to reload from the last save point several times.

The graphics, as I mentioned earlier, are very nice and clear. I had no problem differentiating the various enemies and I like how the game looked. Everything from fighting in the ruined bunker in Iraq to the tranquility of the trailer park, to a drive in theatre and of course Area 51 itself.

The use of lighting and music really set the mood as well.

There are a total of 44 different achievements that can be unlocked throughout the game, and many can only be unlocked during the multi-player mode. I have to admit that I didn't unlock any of those, but then again I've never been one that was big on multi-player games.

If I had any complaints about the game, it would be that I found there were too few aliens to fight! Your main opposition is the army of the Reborn, the aliens seem to be there more for flavour than anything... but be warned, some of the aliens you encounter can be very difficult to take out.

My other complaint is that the game is too damned short! I pine for the old days when it took me weeks of playing to beat Half-life. This game took me only about 6 hours to beat from start to finish.

Overall, I enjoyed the game, and when I have time, I'll try beating it on the hardest setting. Who knows, I might even give the multi player function a shot, and earn a few more achievements.

It's not the greatest game, and believe me, it doesn't come close to something like Call of Duty 4, but you know, it was enjoyable none the less.

3.5 out of 5

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