Andy_117

I was really interested in Bodycount. It's made by the team who made the stellar Black and... okay well that's it, but it was enough to intrigue me in the game. ...then the game was released. And I lost all prior excitement for it. Why? ...well the plethora of 5/10 reviews didn't help. And so Bodycount was sorted into the "GET WIN FALLS INTO A BARGAIN BIN" pile of titles, joining games like Legendary and Duke Nukem Forever as first-person shooters that are only worth playing if you get them for an unfathomably tiny sliver of their initial price - in my case, $15 down from $100. So now that Bodycount has fallen into the bargain bins, how actually is it? ...well, I was pleasantly surprised by it, so take that for what it's worth. It's far from perfect. In fact it's as close to downright dreadful as you can get without becoming Too Human. But it's kept a lot of elements from the far superior Black. Weapon models look like actual guns as apposed to shiny 3D models of guns, and shooting things is a cathartic and entertaining experience; guns go BANG! very, very loudly and things spray blood at your camera and die with predictable assurance. It even retains what Black did well, by having not only shooting guns at things fun, but shooting guns at walls, or shooting guns into the sky, or even just reloading guns; every slam of the clip into the barrel sending shockwaves up your arm and every pull of the trigger causing things to shatter and shred apart in an entertaining and energetic display of mayhem. But then comes everything surrounding the gunplay, and it all falls unfortunately flat. The story, for example, is admirable as in it knows its place - as in, stay in the corner and don't move - but it's also trying too hard, weirdly, so you end up with an experience that's akin to trying to decypher a 50,000 page novel by only reading the chapter headings. It's confusing. I mean, cutscenes wouldn't have gone amiss. They could have stolen the Black idea of just filming post-mission briefings, eh? Hell, they could have given the protagonist a voice, and have him ask questions about stuff the player might not understand; at least then it'd feel like the developers were actually trying. Hand in hand with the story is the setting. At first I was glad because it looked like it was taking the Black route of dilapidated war-torn cities, but then it decided it was going to be a sci-fi game too, and threw out of place (yet actually rather pretty) cyberpunk structures at you. Worse than that is the futuristic HUD elements. I would have appreciated if it had let you turn off the ammo and powerup notifications off - which essentially highlight every dollop of collectible atoms that fall from enemies and objects - but it doesn't give that option, so after every gunfight it looks like someone left smarties all over the floor. The controls are also a bit gunk, but they're not that bad because Black controlled pretty awfully, too. Essentially, Bodycount is a game that evokes a much better game and is worth playing for those bits alone. There's quite a lot to like if you look for it, but if you don't you'll be faced with a confusing and nigh on unplayable game with excellent gunplay and very little else. As I mentioned, it has fallen into bargain bins, so you can likely give it a shot if you like console first-person shooters and be able to justify the expense. Just don't be surprised if you reach the end and feel the compulsion to return it immediately.