Wednesday, February 23, 2011

GameLight Review - Project Blackout (Point Blank)

Official Site: http://pb.ntreev.net/

Source: Youtube Channel freemmogamer

Developers: Zepetto
Publisher: SG Interactive
Platform: PC
Release Date: December 10, 2010
Genre: Tactical First-Person Shooter

Pros:
-Lots of weapons to choose from
-Decent graphics with distinguishable color palettes
-Levels are moderately sized
-The game is free, easy to download, install and start playing

Cons:
-The usual lag is persistent and impedes on smooth gameplay
-Hackers are already on the rise with this game
-The hit-box for the head is hilariously large
-Not too different from the other dozen free first-person shooters

Project Blackout (originally Point Blank) is a free to play Online First-Person Shooter involving team-based objectives such as team deathmatch, plant the bomb, and such.  The game is very similar to other free first-person shooters such as WolfTeam, WarRock, Alliance of Valiant Arms, Combat Arms, and Soldier Front with the shop allowing players to purchase a weapon for use of up to 1 day, 7 days, or other set durations.  The game succeeds in creating a fast-paced, action shooter for those who want a quick game and instant satisfaction; however, the game suffers from a number of problems that disrupts the gameplay from being as smooth or fair as it could be.  Despite being very similar to other free shooters in the market, there is still potential and content it can offer players that may not necessarily be available in other shooters.

Graphics
The level designs and amount of detail is rather intricate.  They're bright and colorful with a wide variety of themes.  The textures; however, are archaic and don't seem to fit into the modern day graphics.  It's not entirely a bad thing since it makes the download a lot smaller and allows the game to run at its optimal speed at the highest settings.   Though slightly blocky, the models are decent.  The blood that comes out is unrealistic, but kind of funny.  It comes out it blotches of red splashes and disappears immediately.  The user-interface is easy on the eyes and easy to get around.  As seen in the trailer, there's a wide variety of places and themes with both indoor and outdoor combat.  The game's graphics are clean, crisp, and graphically runs very smoothly.  Graphics: 8/10

Audio
The audio is very standard for a free FPS.  The soundtrack is nothing special, the guns are not incredible, but not bad either.  The sound of a player getting shot is kind of funny.  Every hit, you'll hear the player go "euh ah oo".  The voice that announces the streaks such as "double kill" or "headshot" sounds very similar to the voices in "WolfTeam".  I wonder if it's the same guy.  Not much to discuss, the audio is very average for the game.  Audio: 7/10

Gameplay
Project Blackout plays similarly to other free FPS where the player logs in, create an in-game name, buy all the weapons they want to use and then join a game to start playing.  The controls are very standard WASD movement, spacebar jump, and the shift is walk like in Counter-Strike as opposed to Call of Duty's run.  Guns can be shot from the hip and is less accurate than aiming down sight (when given the option).  Holding down the fire button for automatic weapons causes the spray to become wider and is indicated by the cross hair.  As far as I can tell, body parts do have an effect on how much damage is dealt to a player.  So shooting the chest is more likely to kill an enemy as opposed to their hands and legs.  The hit-box for the head is rather large.  I got one head shot after another just by spraying from the hip on the upper half of the body.  It's possible to get a lot of headshots with a knife as well.  There's a frequent amount of lag within the game that really affects hit boxes and accuracy to the game.  I've had cases where I shot a player and their body ended up dead 10 feet from where I shot him from.  Players die pretty quickly in following suit of the "tactical" sub-genre of First-Person Shooters.  There's a good amount of weapons to choose from in the shop that players can buy and use for a certain duration before having to buy it again.  There's five different game modes to choose from with a decent amount of maps to play on.  Gameplay: 7/10

Overall
The game is pretty fun despite some of its set backs.  It was nice to finish the download so quickly and be able to start playing right away.  It's not better than a lot of the other free FPS I've tried, but I wouldn't mind logging on once in a while to play.  There's lots of weapons to experiment with, missions that can be fulfilled for more money and experience points, and the maps are unique.  If you're looking for an FPS to mess around on and want instant satisfaction, then I'd recommend trying Project Blackout.  Overall: 7.3/10

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