rating:2.5
Deep Black: Reloaded. Where to begin? First thing Im going to do is preface this review with one little statement. Deep Black Reloaded is not a wholly terrible game. Far from it in fact. Its just infuriating that a game that holds a lot of potential never really gets to reach any heights. Before being given the game to review I had previously never heard of it, so when I got my hands on the review code and while the game was installing I figured I'd watch the trailer. To say I was impressed is something of an understatement. This game went from not on the radar at all to almost essential within the 2:35 seconds of the trailer. Then came the ping of the installation complete, and it was time to play the game for real.
Deep Black Reloaded is a third person shooter with a whole lot of emphasis on the action. Coming into an already overcrowded market means most games of this type come with a hook. Something that it does different that no other game does. In the past there have been games that use terra forming as its hook or super fast action. With Deep Black Reloaded we are given underwater action - a hook that hasn't really been tried at this level before. As the story goes the world isnt what it once was. The year is 2047 and corporations now run the world at large with the main body dictating proceedings, Ishiguro-Himmel Systems. The remain governments have pooled their remaining strength together and a split into two organisations The United Federation of Gondwana containing South America, Africa, Southern Asia and Australia and the Global Strategic Alliance (GSA) consisting of North America, Europe and Northern Asia. The power of balance has shift and ISH is becoming the dominate force ahead of Gondwana and GSA, especially with the recent discovery of a fallen meteorite. You play as ex-operative Syrus Pierce, a mercenary whose last mission with Chief Amphibious Reconnaissance Operational Network (CHARON) saw many of his squad mates ambushed and killed by a terrorist network called Al-Azrad a terrorist network you frequently came up short against in prior attempts to dismantle them. Pierce has been called out of retirement to rescue a GSA research team that have been taken hostage by what appears to be the Al-Azrad terrorist network. Pierces mission is to rescue the hostages and exact some revenge on the network that handed him his biggest defeat. However, what you find out early enough into the mission is not everything is as it seems.
The setup for the story is typical action film fanfare complete with good guys, bad guys, Macguffin, twists turns and least we forget action. Theres nothing particular bad about the story and likewise there is nothing particular bad. As with many third person shooters out today the story is a means to an end, the end of which is to blow away the bad guy with an assortment of weapons and with extreme prejudice. Its never taxing and or offensive and the twists and turns that it takes are signposted. This was never going to be a game you got for the story. What Deep Black does do well is its strong control and movement mechanics. Taking its cue from the current staple of the third person action game Deep Black Reloaded relies on cover and shoot tactics. Movement in game is controlled with the keyboard and mouse. W,A,S,D as usual controlling forward back strafe left and right and the mouse controlling turning and pitch as well as aiming and shooting. There is no ability to jump, however you can roll. Rounding out the land based actions is the ability to take cover behind objects within the game. It isnt until you get to the underwater sections which make up a majority of the game where the controls open up slightly more. The way in which movement is carried out is the same i.e. keyboard and mouse but the way in which you move is obviously different. Your range of movement is multiplied. No longer resigned to lateral movement, the underwater sections allow you to move in vertically and horizontally. There is an ease at which you can move around with 360 degrees at a consistent speed being a freeing experience. The only other time that this has really been achievable was in 2011s Dead Space 2 in the no gravity sections. Coupled with the standard movements and actions (youre still able to take cover underwater) you are also given a boost function in place of the roll button. The boost function allows you to move faster underwater when water hazards present themselves as well as fast flowing water that the regular movement speed cannot tackle. Biart have clearly got a passion for underwater action as a quick look at their gaming history shows and Deep Black is no exception. Whether on the ground or in water the controls are tight and responsive and while there is a clear difference between the two in turns of movement the execution of actions that are use to command do not falter.
Visually the game is also impressive. While the graphics are not going to test the standards of triple AAA the last few years have given us, the visual that are on display here are impressive and like the controls on offer, admirable. There is a lot of great detail and textures on show. The intricacies of your suit for example have a lot of sharp and highly detailed. While slightly samey within the different areas you find yourself the environments are nicely textured and fit the setting of the game. Again when it comes to the underwater sections you really see how much detail has gone into the game on a graphical level. The water animations are consistent and impressive and your movements underwater cause effective ripples, waves and bubbles. There is a realistic sense of action as you fire off bullets underwater with them whizzing towards their intended target. Make no mistake Deep Black is a decent game with strong elements contained within but it begins to suffer through choices made at the development level. Firstly, the biggest problem with the game is the strictly linear style of game play. You are taken from mission to mission by following the same actions and tactics throughout the game. You enter a corridor, the enemy engage you, you find cover take out the enemy then move on. This is really the whole experience. The only time this really differs is when you are underwater. But even then its still the same thing essentially. In the water you still have cover and the human enemies in front employing the same tactics as the ones on land cover and shoot just like you. The only real variation comes from the drones that attack you forcing you to use the melee attack. Also there are times where you find yourself in a large pool of water with little cover dodging enemy attacks, but the large majority of the game, whether on land or underwater, is limited linear experience. Another questionable choice is the little sense of exploration in the underwater sections of the game. Looking at the Biart games you can see that they are passionate about underwater games, so the decision to use this as the main focal point but then never really let you have a sense of exploration is a strange one. As I was saying before the game is very linear, you occasionally have large pools of water but they are just for allowing more room to fight within. It doesnt feel like the underwater sections was utilised to the fullest. You have no reason to go off mission and even if you were to there is nowhere to go. You are just traversing one corridor to another. While the mechanics of the gameplay are solid there is no variation or variety in the action. Shoot, hack a door or press a button, shoot some more.
Another questionable decision within the game is the choice to open the game with a fairly long intro and have it all set to monotonous eighties sounding action music. The opening visuals are impressive with a comic book style image transitioning into a CGI camera pan and then back to a still image. There is a sense of motion and progression. This is then offset by the music and the fact that the background story is delivered on screen in text. A commanding voice laying out the story and your role within the game would surely have been the better option. It all falls a bit lifeless. There are some good aspects to Deep Black Reloaded and you can easily see the potential that lies inside. And there are occasion to enjoy the game such as using you harpoon to drag enemies on land into a watery death. The game has some solid mechanics and you can see what Biart want to create but the game feels like its lacking something. With a hook as compelling as this, to fight on land and water, the initiative has not really been seized upon. Whatever environment you are in it feels the same and there is no innovation on what we have seen before, save swimming instead of running. It is a decent showing and with the games that they are working on having similar elements Biart have the chance to really expand on the potential they have shown.
Deep Black Reloaded is out now.