Nearly a month after Blacklight: Tango Down’s release, I revisited the battlefield after the bugs and release day issues were resolved. Blacklight brings a first person shooter experience to the downloadable market with a multiplayer that highlights customization and team-based gameplay. Its ambitious in that respect but somewhere down the line the execution didn’t quite match up to its high aspirations.
Blacklight: Tango Down Review
Developer: Zombie Studios/UTV Ignition Entertainment
Price: 1200 MSP
Platform: Xbox 360 [reviewed], PC
For what it is Blacklight brings to the table, it does competently. The guns are realistic and honed, the maps exude some tactical awareness, and there isn’t a shortage of multiplayer modes to choose from. Not to exclude its cooperative multiplayer, Black Ops, Blacklight introduces the objective based gameplay herein used in specific multiplayer modes, i.e. Retrieval as well. You will perform tasks such as capturing points, retrieving items, holding and defending a position by eliminating a certain number of guards in the area. The co-op mode isn’t particularly enthralling if you’re expecting an engaging storyline narrative – since the game itself vaguely touches upon the conflict between The Order and Black Ops.
The draw of Blacklight is primarily the multiplayer, so let’s stick with that. It’s a mixed conundrum of sorts, the gameplay is solid but doesn’t deliver the punch that would put Blacklight over its competition. From its presentation, the game is heavily reliant on its futuristic user interface, think a digital battleground. It does well to draw you in on its premise alone because of the retail polish. The standby HRV plays into the mythos of Blacklight, allowing players to scan the field for nearby enemies but immobilizes them from pursuing further action like shooting. Its a quick tactical feature to flush out cheap tactics like camping but with the absence of any other assists, you kinda feel forced to use it.
For a multiplayer game, you run into the inevitable but recurring problem of exploitation. This is rampant in Blacklight. For one, I’ve experienced a fair share of matches on maps that simply relegate to a one-sided affair with an opposing team overwhelmingly spawn camping, i.e. grenade spam, a base so much as to prevent any hope of winning a match – exacerbated by the game’s long match times. This level of abuse is simply unacceptable considering the maps were supposedly designed to counteract this very possibility of imbalance. Don’t worry about the health bar either, you will die quick and easily regardless of how much HP you have left.
Blacklight does, at least, offer the opportunity to make amends with its leveling and progression based reward system. Much akin to other multiplayer shooters as of late, you have a preset number of loadouts which you can then customize to suit your preference and playstyle. However, you can get confused if you have two identical assault rifle loadouts. Customization is the key here since there are a number of variables used to change different statistics factored into the game. However, again, its also easy to get lost without any assistance of how to use the customization feature.
The Final Word
Blacklight is a solid shooter that requires considerable time investment to really sink in its value. Thankfully, the low price level makes the game an affordable solution for those curious about what other multiplayer shooters are out there. It’s a standard fare experience that brings in your money’s worth but not without its problematic flaws that make it difficult to recommend further.
– MonsterVine Rating: 3 out of 5 – Average
