From the makers of Hellforces comes this action-stealth outing based on the Russian novel by Andrew Dashkova - Black Label.
The player assumes the role of an ordinary man who is marked for death, and swept into a twisted TV Game show where he must become the hunter hunted as he is pursued through various locales by gangs of thugs called the ‘Beaters’ as all the exploits are recorded by CCTV cameras in the name of entertainment.
The game lay is effectively a mix of established play styles roughly 70% Condemned and 30% Manhunt. One may use chance weapons such as a lead pipe to scrap with enemies, or at times there is the opportunity to sneak up for a ‘death move’. The enemy AI is strictly so-so. Hunters will sometimes react to close noises and the flash light, but completely ignore dead hunters, and there is the usual degree of scripting.
Progressing forwards often involves using a specific tool to access a new area, e.g. some doors require to be smashed down using a fire axe, a chained deadlock may be broken using a sledgehammer, a locker may be pried open with a sharp object etc. Also, the games’ protagonist being a tech savvy Web page designer, carries with him a PDA which can be used to connect with Wi-Fi outlets in order to view security cameras and unlock doors. One may also find money which can be used at shops that are dotted around to buy med. kits, armour etc., similar to in Xatrix’s Kingpin Life of Crime.
The games’ story unfolds using comic book style panels in between levels.
Technically speaking, the visuals, whilst a little rough around the edges, are approaching that of Lithtech’s Jupiter EX engine in terms of texture & lighting effects.
The PhysX engine employed provides the usual rag-dolls as you would expect, but somewhat disappointingly however is the destructible scenery, as only the key points of the scenarios can actually be broken, so the level progression remains completely linear.
Overall the game partially succeeds with creating some effective moments (the underground cannibal mine springs to mind), but basically this is simply a functional cloning of the earlier aforementioned titles.
